Two prolific goal-scorers, Dale Mitchell, from Vancouver, and Branko Segota, who was raised in Toronto, will be honoured at the induction ceremony to be held in
\u200bVaughan, Ontario, on Saturday, May 4, 2002. They will be joined there by former star players, Doug Greig, Mike Sweeney and Fred Whittaker, from British Columbia, and Randy Ragan, from Alberta. Dickie Stobbart from Vancouver, and Doug McMahon from Winnipeg, Manitoba, who ended his career in Montreal, are being inducted posthumously.
At the same time, three stalwart personalities will be inducted into the Builder category, Dick Howard, Eric King and posthumously, Ray Morgan, all from Ontario,
\u200balthough King previously resided and played in Saskatoon.
Each of the Builders has had an extensive career in his respective specialty in Canada. Howard, after representing Canada five times in the net, became, in
\u200bsuccession, a goalkeeper coach, Technical Director of the CSA, an analyst on TV, a scribe of a newspaper column, and finally a member of FIFA’s Technical
\u200bCommittee. King, on the other hand, forsook a playing career to become the first full-time employee and, for 16 years the Executive Director of the CSA,
\u200bprior to becoming Vice President Administration of the Coaching Association of Canada. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame was his lobbying activity which
\u200bbrought so much more soccer into the Canadian home via television.
Morgan spent almost all his soccer career as a referee, handling 9 “A” (full international) matches at a time when the number played was infinitely fewer
\u200bthan today, becoming the Chairman of the Referee Committee of the CSA, being appointed to the FIFA panel of referee lecturers and honoured in 1971 with a
\u200bFIFA Special Award. Also, unbeknownst to many, he was a Big Brother to a Little Brother in Brazil.
SOME HIGHLIGHTS:
Dickie Stobbart was a star in the 1920 – 30 period, played 7 times for Canada, 4 for British Columbia All-Stars, and won the National Championship with Nanaimo in 1923, Westminster Royals in 1928 and again in 1931, losing in 2 other finals.
Doug McMahon’s career spanned WWII, starting with United Weston (Winnipeg), overseas to Wolverhampton Wanderers 1938 – 40 with whom he went on a European
\u200btour and scored a goal in each half against a Danish Select Team in Copenhagen.
\u200bHe played 3 times for Eastern Canada in representative matches during 1947-9, scoring 71 goals in the 1948 season while leading Montreal Carsteel to victory
\u200bin the National Championship.
Fred Whittaker scored 5 goals in 10 matches playing in 1946-47 for Notts County in the English League, and in 1949 won the National Championship with North Shore. He played 11 times for British Columbia All-Stars, managed the aggregation 4 times and coached it twice more.
Doug Greig played 4 times for Canada, 19 times for British Columbia All-Stars in the 1950-60 period. Playing at various times for Vancouver St. Andrews, North Shore and Firefighters, with supreme ball-control and an electric shot, he was considered at the time to be in a class of his own, and Canada’s best player.
In the last quarter of the 20th Century, the paths of Mitchell, Ragan, Segota and Sweeney crossed repeatedly, when they played for Canada and for Club teams in the NASL, CSL and Indoor Leagues.
Dale Mitchell played 55 times in full international competition and 9 more in Olympic Games. He scored 43 goals in 129 NASL games, 37 in the CSL while operating in a mid-field role, and almost a goal-a-game over 9 indoor seasons.
Randy Ragan was a member of Canada’s Youth Team in 1976, became top draft choice of Toronto Blizzard and blossomed into a top mid-field role. He represented
\u200bCanada 40 times, playing outstandingly for the Olympic Team in 1984, and in all 3 World Cup matches in 1986. In 5 NASL seasons, he played 177 times and scored
\u200b6 goals.
Branko Segota first represented Canada in the World Youth Championship in Japan in 1979, and earned his first Full Cap against Mexico in 1980. He was a member of the World Cup Teams in 1981 and 1986, was voted North American Player of the Year by Professional Soccer Reporters Association in 1984, and was an MISL All-Star in 1980-1981-1985-1986 and 1987. He scored 73 goals in 147 regular NASL games, 12 more in 13 play-off games, and an incredible 426 in 369 Major Indoor soccer games in that League’s first 10 seasons.
Mike Sweeney played 61 times for Canada. He made his mark on the National Youth Team in 1978-9, and earned a place on the full National Team in 1980 despite a very limited professional career. He was a member of the 1981 and 1986 World Cup Teams, and continued to represent the country into the 1990’s. Sweeney played a total of 129 NASL games during a five season career with 4 different
\u200bClubs, scoring 4 times. He also played 7 seasons in MISL, appearing in 277 games and scoring 74 goals.