Fastball’s Floyd Daniels among NWT hall of fame entrants

Fort Smith fastball legend the late Floyd Daniels joins gymnast John Tram and 1972 Olympian Roseanne Allen as the latest inductees to the NWT Sport Hall of Fame.

Daniels passed away in August, aged 62, after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

A renowned pitcher, Daniels was active in the sport for most of his life and was still coaching in Hay River this summer.

“Floyd wasn’t just a great athlete, he was a greater person,” catcher and former team-mate Frank McKay told CKLB in August, on Daniels’ passing. “It’s a huge loss for his family, friends and fans.”

Skier Allen passed away a decade ago at the age of 55.

Born in Aklavik in 1954, she joined fellow NWT cross-country skiers Sharon and Shirley Firth in representing Canada at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics.

Allen is remembered as one of the first Indigenous women to compete at the Olympic Games. At the time of her death, Sharon Firth said Allen had been “a really happy person [and] a great storyteller.”

Tram, who coached Team NT’s gymnasts at this year’s Canada Winter Games, is considered the Yellowknife Gymnastics Club’s most distinguished athlete of all time, having picked up a range of western and national medals.

In 2006, Tram was a gold medallist at the Western Canada Gymnastics Championships and bronze medallist at that year’s national championships.

All three inductees into this year’s hall of fame will enter the athlete category. The hall of fame also recognizes builders, who helped to grow NWT sports, and teams.

The NWT Sport Hall of Fame is administered by the Sport North Federation.

“Through the NWT Sport Hall of Fame, Sport North recognizes and shares the sport stories of the territories’ great athletes, builders and teams,” the federation said in a news release.

“Their stories will be celebrated and showcased to continue to inspire NWT youth to live healthy active lives and set their goals high.”

The 2019 induction ceremony takes place on November 22 at the Yellowknife Elks Lodge. Tickets go on sale online on October 11 via Sport North’s website.