Bill Brownridge. (Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame/Twitter)

By CKOM News and paNOW

Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame unveils Class of 2022

Apr 27, 2022 | 2:59 PM

There’s no question northern Saskatchewan is well represented in the 2022 Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame class.

Prince Albert’s Harry Jerome, North Battleford’s Rueben Mayes, Rosthern’s Toni Beerling, Porcupine Plain’s Colette Bourgonje, Humboldt’s Lyndon Rush, Tisdale’s Shannon Miller and Vawn’s Bill Brownridge are just some of the many inductees this year.

Brownridge isn’t going into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame for what he did on a field, a rink or a track, but for what he did on paper and canvas.

The Vawn product — one of the five members of the Class of 2022 announced Wednesday — has spina bifida, so he has shown his love of hockey and other sports through writing and painting. He has written five children’s books and is an internationally recognized artist.

“I never was able to participate seriously in any sport, but have found that art has given me a voice,” Brownridge said in a video announcing the inductees. “I now can fully express my passionate love of sport and the spirit of the game.

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“The day (the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame) phone call came, I was stunned. Words cannot describe how deeply this honour has touched my life.”

According to the Hall of Fame, Brownridge — who’s being inducted in the builder category — designed the logo for the Calgary Centennials junior hockey team and a version of the Calgary Flames uniforms. He also was the official artist for the 1988 Calgary Olympic bid and his paintings helped spark the creation of Hockey Day in Canada.

Three of the 2022 inductees — Saskatoon’s Kelsie Hendry (athletics), Harry Jerome (athletics) and Rueben Mayes — are going into the Hall as athletes. Toni Beerling (athletics) is joining Brownridge in the builder’s category.

Hendry, a pole vaulter, won two national titles and competed in two Commonwealth Games for Canada, winning a bronze medal in the 2010 Games in Delhi, India. She also competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Jerome set seven world records as a sprinter, including in the 100 metres at the Olympic trials in Saskatoon when he was just 19. He was a three-time Olympian, winning a bronze medal in the 100m in Tokyo in 1964.

Mayes starred at Washington State University, where he set 15 records. He’s the only Canadian-born player in the College Football Hall of Fame and was the first Canadian ever nominated for the Heisman Trophy.

He was selected in the third round (57th overall) of the 1986 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints and was named the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year that season after rushing for 1,353 yards in 16 games. He twice was named to the Pro Bowl during his six-year NFL career.

Beerling is a Level 5 international athletics official, the highest attainable level. Her 45-year officiating career began in Saskatoon, but she has worked at provincial, national and international events. During her career, she officiated at a world track and field championship, as well as the Pan American Games and the Commonwealth Games.

The Class of 2022 is to be inducted alongside the Class of 2021 on Sept. 24 at the Conexus Arts Centre. The 2021 induction ceremony was postponed due to COVID-19.

Tickets to the induction dinner and ceremony are $100 per person and can be purchased here.