Lorne Allard (sports builder)
| Lorne Allard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 Port Arthur, Ontario |
| Years in Thunder Bay | from 1932 |
Lorne Allard (born 1932) was a multi-sport athlete and prominent coach and organizer in Thunder Bay who contributed to the development of minor hockey and baseball. Lorne Allard was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1984 as a builder.[1]
Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
Lorne Allard was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame on 29 September 1984 in the builder category for hockey, baseball, track and field, boxing, football and soccer.[1]
Career and service
Born in Port Arthur, Ontario, Lorne Allard attended St. Joseph's Elementary School and Port Arthur Collegiate Institute. During his youth, he participated in a wide variety of sports, including Track and Field, Boxing, Hockey, Baseball, Football, and Soccer. Although he was offered a scholarship to the University of Arkansas for his achievements in Track and Field, he chose to remain in his hometown. In the 1950s, he competed in Boxing under the guidance of Billy Powell, a former Canadian welterweight champion. Allard eventually secured a district welterweight title and assisted in the establishment of the Orphan Boxing Club at the Finn Hall.[1]
In Track and Field, Allard focused on the quarter-mile and 10-mile events. He established a district record in the quarter-mile with a time of 53.2 seconds, a mark that remained unsurpassed until it was broken by Don Domansky. He also recorded a time of 4:22 in the mile during trials for the Empire Games. Following his competitive years, he helped found the Phalanx Track and Field Club, which was based at the Port Arthur YMCA. In Baseball, he played as a catcher and pitcher for the Junior Red Sox and Port Arthur Giants before transitioning to center field. He later contributed to the sport as an organizer for Port Arthur Pony League Baseball and supported the development of a diamond at George Burke Park.[1]
Allard was a long-term two-way player for the Port Arthur Mustangs in senior Football. However, Hockey remained his primary focus. His playing career reached the junior level with the Port Arthur Juniors under coach Ed Lauzon. He spent over four decades in the sport as a sponsor and coach for minor hockey. He was a member of Port Arthur Junior Hockey Inc. and coached the Volunteer Pool Midgets during the late 1980s. He was the first individual from the region to participate in a national coaching clinic and subsequently introduced similar training programs to Thunder Bay.[1]
As a coach, Allard reached Level 4 in the National Coaching Certification Program. His minor hockey rosters included future National Hockey League players such as Lee Fogolin Jr., Vic Venasky, and Nelson Pyatt. A notable moment in his coaching tenure occurred in the 1970s when a midget-aged team he organized with Joe MacArthur defeated the visiting Soviet Dynamo midget squad at the Fort William Gardens. In 1976, the Royal Canadian Legion named him Senior Sportsman and presented him with the George Rowe Memorial Award.[1]
Residence in the Thunder Bay area (from 1932) rests on the following dated evidence. Born in Port Arthur in 1932, he attended school there, boxed in the 1950s, coached in the 1970s and late 1980s, and received a local award in 1976.[1]
Honours and achievements
- Held the district quarter-mile record of 53.2 seconds for many years
- Won a district welterweight boxing championship in the 1950s
- Ran a 4:22 mile at the Empire Games trials
- Coached a local midget team to a victory over the touring Soviet Dynamo Midgets in the 1970s
- Attained Level 4 certification in the National Coaching Certification Program
- Received the George Rowe Memorial Award for Senior Sportsman in 1976
- First person from the district to attend and then establish national coaching clinics in the region[1]
- Possibly the same as Lorne Joseph Wilfred Allard (died 2016); the name matches, but too little is shared to merge the pages.
- Possibly the same as Lorne Allard; the name matches and some details fit, but too little is shared to merge the pages.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Lorne Allard", builder profile, Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, https://www.nwosportshalloffame.com/builder-profile/ce4caaaf-a833-46c9-bbb0-0f01e5d4162c (accessed 31 October 2026). Archived copy on datum.locker.