Sports Hall of Fame

Class of 2024 Considered 
One of the Best of All-Time

Story by Fred Grove

A Grey Cup champion, a Stanley Cup champion, a three-time gold medalist and a five-time national university champion.

This year’s class of inductees into the Windsor Essex County Sports Hall of Fame is impressive and it could be one of the most star-studded in the hall’s 42-year history.

“I would say it is probably our strongest, and youngest class. They are all around the country and the United States and many are still doing their jobs,” said Hall of Fame Chairperson Chuck Smith.

Windsor’s Ciociaro Club was the site of this year’s ceremony on October 5 where seven of the region’s most influential hockey, basketball and football coaches and athletes were recognized for their contributions.

Meghan Agosta (athlete), Chantal Vallée (coach), Josh Bourke (athlete), Steve Ott (athlete), Miah-Marie Langlois (athlete), Gerald Serviss (coach), Glen Mills (coach) are the 2024 inductees. Tyrone Crawford (athlete) and Luke Willson (athlete) will go into the Hall of Fame next year.

The recipient of the Bob Turner Award was Gerry Strong who was a well-known wrestling and football coach at Riverside, Forster, Sandwich and Walkerville High Schools.

“He (Turner) was a special man in the sports scene. He contributed so much in many ways,” said Smith.

Selecting this year’s inductees was not a huge challenge for the 14-person selection committee.

“It wasn’t a difficult year. It was all unanimous in the athlete category. Athletes are considered three years after they have retired,” added Smith.

Besides the accolades that have been bestowed on this year’s inductees, there is a distinctive coach-player connection. Essex Ravens Coach Glen Mills has helped several football players to both the CFL and NFL ranks including Wilson.

Coach Mills helped start the Ravens football program over 25 years ago and has been the club president since 2012. He has guided the Ravens to nine Ontario championships and in 2017 was named the Ontario Football Coach of the Year.

“A lot of them will say it (Ravens’ program) was instrumental in teaching them the fundamentals. We do a great job teaching them how to compete and deal with adversity,” said Mills.

The Essex Ravens as an organization is also being inducted into the Windsor-Essex County Sports Hall of Fame this year.

“If someone would have told me 27 years ago, we’d be this successful I don’t think I would have believed it,” Mills added.

Another coach-player connection is that of Olympian Miah-Marie Langlois who played for University of Windsor women’s basketball coach Chantal Vallée.

Coach Vallée was the architect of five straight Lancers’ Canadian championships from 2010 to 2015. She was the CIS/U Sports Coach of the Year twice and in 2018, took a break and became the Coach/GM of the pro men’s team, the Hamilton Honey Badgers.

“I was extremely surprised. I didn’t know that anyone nominated me,” said Vallée of being inducted. “He (Smith) said it was really well deserved; I was humbled.”

A native of Montreal, the coach came to Windsor when she was just 29 years old but has embedded herself deep into the city.

“I’m very loyal to Windsor. When I came here, I wanted to be part of the community.”

Langlois, a Catholic Central High School grad, was the constant for the Windsor Lancers’ women’s hoopers from 2010-14 where she led them to four national titles. She was a three-time CIS all-defensive team recipient and played professionally in Sweden. Langlois was also on the Canadian National Team for seven years and an Olympic team member in 2016.

“I honed my skills through mental and physical training alongside the loving support from my family which resulted in championships,” Langlois told Windsor Life Magazine.

“It is so special to be going in with Miah. She was a pivotal person in our program,” said Vallée. “Going in alongside her is a special as going in myself.”

A past Allan Cup champion with the Windsor Bulldogs in 1963, Gerald Serviss is known as one of the winningest coaches in the region. He coached the St. Clair College Saints for seven years beginning in 1977 when his team was a perfect 20-0 before winning the national title.

Another inductee with an impressive hockey history is Steve Ott who is now an associate coach with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. As an assistant coach in 2019, he helped guide that team to a Stanley Cup. Ott’s playing career saw stops in Buffalo, St. Louis, Detroit and Montreal. All totaled he played 848 games in the NHL scoring 109 goals.

Perhaps the best women’s hockey player to come from this area is Meghan Agosta.

Growing up in Ruthven, she played on the Cardinal Carter high school boys’ team before playing AAA on another boys’ rep team in Chatham. That got her to the college ranks with Division I Mercyhurst in the NCAA where she became the CHA Player of the Year.

Agosta is a 3-time Olympic gold medalist and still holds the single season scoring CWHL record. Off the ice, her accomplishments are just, if not more impressive. 

In 2014 she joined the Vancouver Police Department and for several years ran her Meghan Agosta Foundation and the High-Performance Hockey Academy. The foundation financially supports young children in their involvement in hockey.

Josh Bourke grew up in the area, but his football development happened in Michigan where he also attended college at Grand Valley State. A member of the Canadian Football League’s Hall of Fame he is a two-time Grey Cup champion with the Montreal Alouettes.

The offensive lineman played 151 pro games and from 2008-2014 he was a CFL All-star.

According to Smith, not all the Class of 2024 were at the Induction ceremony on October 5, however everyone in attendance had the honour of a four-minute video presentation highlighting each of the inductees’ accomplishments.