Alberta Sports Hall of Fame celebrates Veterans Week
In honour of Veterans Week 2020 and the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is highlighting some of its Honoured Members who served in the armed forces, and those who stepped up to fill the roles left behind by our men in uniform.
The hall of fame has set up several panels from a past exhibit “Victory on the Field,” which looks at sports’ response to the wars, as well as the rise of women’s sports due to men being called overseas to fight.
This mini-exhibition is available to view free of charge for all visitors and reflects on the impact of the two world wars.
The November “Artifact of the Month” has ties to wartime sports as well – a wool sweater that belonged to Helen (Northup) Alexander c. 1939 of the famous Edmonton Commercial Graduates Basketball team, who were World Champions from 1937 -1940. They were forced to disband in 1940 when the Edmonton Arena was taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force, leaving the Grads with nowhere to play.