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Saint John Speed Skating Heritage 1930-Present |
...began skating as a young girl. She received a pair of
skates for Christmas and went to Lily Lake to try them out. Dorothy is a
distant relative of world speedskating champion Charles Gorman. During 33 years
of competition, she skated as far away as Newburg New York and Boston and as
near as Chatham and the Annapolis Valley.
Her successful career officially began in 1938 when she placed second as a 12
year old at a provincial indoor meet. At the age of 43 she won the New
Brunswick Senior Indoor and Outdoor Championships. She trained with Johnny
Quigg, another senior skater. It was during this time that she went to the
Canadian Championships and won silver and bronze medals. Her fastest skate was
in Sudbury, Ontario when she led the mile race in seven out of eight laps. She
placed second but she also defeated two Olympic skaters and clipped a fifth of
a second off Gladys Robinson's record skated back in Gorman's time.
Kennedy was elected into the Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. A pencil drawing of
herself in three different phases of her skating career was done for the Saint
John Sports Hall of Fame by Saint John artist Ray Butler. Dorothy has been
called "Queen of Blades". Her younger brother David was also a speed
skater and it was not unusual at the time to see headlines about the victories
of the two Kennedy kids. Her speed skating accomplishments include: Provincial,
Maritime, New Brunswick, Maritime Senior Ladies, City & District, N.B.
Seniors Indoor, and Outdoor Champion. In 1993 she was nominated for New
Brunswick Hall of Fame.
Today Dorothy is an active member of the Saint John Metro Skating Club where
she can be seen cutting up the ice at the local rinks . She also enjoys bowling
and swimming weekly. Dorothy met her husband skating and they have two
children. She is a grandmother of three.
... was born in Sussex,
New Brunswick on October 28,1919. By the time he was a year and a half old he
had moved to Saint John to become a life long resident of the city. Following
in the footsteps of his older brother Jimmy, he started speed skating and
within a few years began to make his own mark in the world of speed skating.
His initial attempts at skating were on a pair of skates he had built himself.
Between 1930 and 1940 he was Maritime Champion in his age group, each year. In
the years 1938,1939 and 1940 he was the Maritime Seniors Champion. He brought
the Canadian Championship back in his age group in 1930 and in 1934. In 1939 he
was the Canadian Indoor Champion. This also was the year he won the Olympic
trials which were held in Saint John. Johnny joined the armed forces in 1940
and spent the next six years in the service of his country.The war wiped out
any chance he had of competing in the Olympics. When he returned to Saint John
he once again donned the blades and began to train for the 1947 Maritime
Championships. He continued his winning ways not only in 1947 but repeated this
triumph in 1948 and 1949.
At the age of twenty nine, John retired from speed skating to devote more time
to his family and a thriving car dealership--Quigg Motors. The City of Saint
John held a dinner in his honour at the Admiral Beatty Hotel in 1949 for his
retirement. He was made a member of the New Brunswick Hall of Fame in 1980.
Johnny Quigg has been described as "a gentleman on and off the ice."
In his skating career Johnny Quigg earned many titles including : Maritime,
Canadian and New Brunswick and Senior Speed Skating Championships.
Francis Cusack was born
December 5, 1934 . He was the youngest of ten children and began competitive
skating at the age of twelve. Francis spent most of his time skating at Lily
Lake , the home of the World & Maritime Outdoor Speedskating Championships.
Francis won many titles in his skating career.
One of the highlights of his skating challenges is a photo finish at the old
Forum when he triumphed over Thedee St. Pierre - a Canadian Champion from
Dalhousie, New Brunswick. At the age of eighteen , Francis began working for
the Canadian National Railway. He later was married to Wanda and had five
children. All their children... Tom, Jeffrey, Mary, Mark and John... were
involved in the local Saint John Speedskating Club. Wanda and Francis gave
their time to the club and served on the Executive and behind the scenes, in
whatever capacity that was asked of them.
Mark Cusack their son was a six year old Learn To Skate Club Member who died
unexpectedly in 1977. The St. Francis Hazen White Elementary School where Mark
attended donated a Trophy (Mark Cusack Memorial) to our Club.
Skaters earning this trophy have maintained a positive attitude towards
themselves, other skaters, coaches and parents. These skaters have shown that
winning is not the only game in town. They have worked hard and are good club
representatives. (see photo album Best Sport Trophy) .
John Cusack was four years old when he started skating with our club. He skated
in many competitions and won silver and bronze medals at the North American and
Canadian Championships in 1982. He ended his skating career in 1983 at the age
of 16.
Mary Cusack, Francis and
Wanda's only daughter competed in the 1979 Canada Games. She ranked eleventh
overall at the 1980 National Team and second overall at the North American
Championships in 1982 held in Victoria B.C. Mary brought home silver and bronze
medals at that event. Mary continued to skate competitively until 1982 until an
ankle injury ended her skating career. In the following years she obtained her
Level 3 Coaching Level and taught Learn to Skate to the Upper Levels of
Speedskating. Mary was on the Board of Directors with the Club as Director of
Coaching & Competitions and was recognized in 1989 as Coach of the Year by
the Saint John Speedskating Club. Year. Mary continued to coach until she was
married in 1992 to Daryl Thompson. Today Mary is an active member of our Club
returning with two of her children, Luanna, and Mark in the Learn to Skate
Levels and again offering her time and coaching skills to our members.
He was born on June 23, 1937 and started skating at the age
of nine. For his first competition he borrowed a pair of skates and won the
race. Buddy was told he was a natural speed skater . Soon after his father
purchased a pair of "reachers" for him to compete. He skated at the
Saint John City & District Championships and was sponsored by the Carleton
York Regiment. Buddy placed first in all the Maritime and City Championships.
Buddy set two national records in the 220 and 440 yd distance in Canada's first
Olympic Speed Skating trials on February 10,1951 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Buddy won both races and captured the Canadian Juvenile Crown. Throughout his
skating career he won six Maritime and Provincial titles during his career
including the Rothesay, Dominion and Charles I. Gorman Memorial Races in Saint
John. Buddy was awarded the Legion Athlete Award in 1951 - a medal used for the
first time in Canada at a Speed Skating Competition in Saint John. He placed
second at the Eastern United States Championships held in Lake Placid, and
Saratoga Springs, New York in 1949. Buddy finished his speed skating career at
age 17 in 1954. In 1981 he coached speed skating at a local Rink. A trophy was
donated by Buddy to the Saint John Club to be granted to a skater who
represents The Best Sport. Today Buddy is well known and remembered as a great
speed skater who owns a Jewelry Business in Saint John.
...was born in Saint John and started skating in
1947. Over the course of eleven years he had won 87 trophies, 35 in the United
States. As a young skater Johnny Walsh cracked Charlie Gorman's 440 yard
record. Some other achievements included winning The New England Indoor
Championships (1952), Long Island Indoor 1953, North Eastern Outdoor 1953,
Saratoga Three Mile (1954). Johnny won national recognition in United States
when he captured the Race of Champions at Madison Square Garden competing at
the Silver Skate. Walsh stated winning that race before 13,000 spectators was
"one of the biggest thrills of my career." At the age of 30 he
finished the two-mile course ahead of Ray Blum, a member of the 1952 U.S.
Olympic Team, Dick Ring and 21 year old Steve Stensin of College Point, New
York.
started skating at the
age of 8. Her mother had intended to enroll her in figure skating but was sick.
Susan relates “ I heard about speed skating, had no idea what it was, but
it sounded interesting. I walked the three miles to the rink to register and
never looked back.”
Sue skated until 1975 when a back injury at the Canada Games sidelined her
career for five years. She returned to skating in 1979 and was surprised with
her successes. She made the National Team in 1980 and again in the following
two years. During that time Sue won several National and North American medals,
an overall Championship in each, and set National and North American records.
In 1981 she moved to Sherbrooke, Quebec to train with coach Yvon Deblois and
some of the best female skaters in the world, Sylvie Daigle and Maryse
Perreault. Sue learned a lot about discipline and hard training. During her
first session there sue thought she would die before the warm up was over but
before the end of the season was skating right with the girls. The highlight of
her career was just being able to train with those great skaters.
Sue was always willing to try new things and confirms she was the first female
skater in Canada to skate on the new Laberge skates. Breaking them in was
painful on her blisters, and bloodied feet, but she relates “boy could
those things go”! One particular race stands out in my mind. It was the
sheer elation of being on the edge at your fastest. I got off the line last ( a
rarity for me) in the 400m at the 1981 North Americans in Michigan. It was a
really tight race and I just kept passing one be one to finish second. No gold
medal - but the feeling of the speed and achievement was fantastic!” Sue
continued to compete until 1984 when she ended her speedskating career and took
on the challenge of Technical Director and Provincial Coach. (see Coaching
Career on Skater Profiles)
was 15 when he quit hockey and joined Speedskating. He joined the Saint
John Amateur Speedskating Club in November 1974. In three short months Hurley
was off to compete at the Canadian Long Track Championships in Red Deer Alberta
and was a triple medal winner in the junior age-class. He captured a gold medal
in the junior men’s 1000 meters, a second place silver medal in the 500
meters and collected a bonze medal in the junior men’s 800 meter race. In
the 500 meters, he was clocked at 45.7 seconds, only two-tenths of a second
behind the Canadian record. Dan was one of four out of twelve to meet the
qualifying standards to compete at the national outdoor event at Red Deer
Alberta held Feb 8th,9th, 1975.
While at Red Deer Alberta Dan also competed at the Canada Winter Games in
Lethbridge, Alberta February 12-14th 1975. He turned in the best performance by
any New Brunswicker in Lethbridge, Alberta.
The races in the Canadian Outdoor were all mass starts. But in the winter
games, the events were run on an Olympic style basis - with two skaters at a
time skating against the clock. There was one mass-start event in the winter
games. This was a 1500 meter event, with no fewer than 43 skaters taking part.
Dan competed at the North Americans Long Track Championships in Winnipeg in
February 1975 and finished 4th. In January 1976 he participated at the Junior
National Training Camp in Lethbridge, Alberta for one month. At the age of 17
he ended his competitive skating career.
Katie Hurley daughter of Dan and Kathi Hurley joined the Saint John
Speedskating Club. She has skated competitively for the past five years and
also competed at the Nationals in Red Deer, Alberta in 1996. Both Dan and Kathi
have served on the Board of Directors with our club.
Dan has worked with the Group I competitive skaters as Coach and has coached
long track teams in St. Foy Quebec by arranging training camps there.
Born March 23,1967 Saint John, N.B. He set a Canadian Record in
the 3000 meter in 1992 and became an Olympic silver medalist with Canada's 5000
meter relay team in Albertville , France. Mark distinguished himself as the
only New Brunswick athlete who competed in the Olympics at that event. Lackie's
silver was the first ever earned by a New Brunswick athlete at the Olympic
Games. He placed 7th in the 3000 meter individual. Over the course of five
years while skating for the New Brunswick National Team he competed in the
World Team Championships , World ShortTrack Championships, Pacific Rim
Championships, Canadian Individual Team Trials No. 1 , and No. 2, World
ShortTrack Championships, Excellence Cup, World Championships, Canadian Team
Trials No. 1, No. 2. Friesland Cup, Teisan Cup, Canadian Team Trials No. 1,
Skate Electric of England, North American Championships, Canadian
Championships, Winter Olympics at Calgary, Canadian Championships, Canada
Winter Games , North American Championships, and Canadian Championships.
These Other Pages Also Available... |
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| Saint John Speed Skating Heritage 1890-1929 | A Brief History of Indoor Short Track | History of the North American Short Track Championships |
2 More
All pages © Heritage Resources and New
Brunswick Community College - Saint John.
