Vancouver – The UBC Sports Hall of Fame has welcomed four new standout inductees along with a celebrated Thunderbirds team as the honoured class of 2020. Ralph "Hunk" Henderson, Gerald McGavin, Annamay (Pierse) Oldershaw, Al Morrow and the 1975-1976 UBC Men's Volleyball team will be enshrined as new members and join fellow distinguished T-Birds who laid the foundation for the most decorated varsity athletics program in Canada.
 
As usual there was a very large and competitive pool of alumni to choose from to go along with a great response and wonderful nominations from the community.


 
The first inductions into the Hall were celebrated in 1993 and with each year since inductees of unparalleled quality have been embraced, the product of a careful research and selection committee process.
 
The celebrated inductees have all left a remarkable impact on the UBC community and will be recognized as members of the prestigious UBC Sports Hall of Fame.
 
 
Ralph "Hunk" Henderson
Basketball, Football 1933-38, 1945-46
 

 
Ralph "Hunk" Henderson's story spans four decades and leaves an important legacy.
 
His career began at UBC in 1933/34, when he played on both the Thunderbird basketball team and the UBC Junior Varsity football team.  Henderson's two-way play led UBC basketball to the league championship and ultimately the Canadian title after defeating the 1936 Olympic silver medalists, Windsor Fords.  The 1936-37 T-Bird team was inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Henderson left UBC to become the first athlete to play pro football in 1939 with the Edmonton Eskimos.  Following the season with the Eskimos, Henderson, at age 26, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force serving in World War II for five years, where he was held in an Airman's prison camp in Nazi Germany for three of those years.

When Henderson returned from the P.O.W. camp, he also returned to UBC and the Thunderbird basketball team. This 1945-46 team proved to be one of the greats and was inducted in the UBC Sports Hall of Fame as well as the BC Sports Hall of Fame.  Henderson, along with teammates such as Sandy Robertson, Reg Clarkson, and Pat McGeer competed in the U.S. Pacific Northwest Conference, becoming the first Canadian team to win an American inter-collegiate conference, and even defeated the famed Harlem Globe Trotters. Hunk also helped raise funds to build the current War Memorial Gymnasium.

After graduating from UBC with a degree in Commerce in 1946 Henderson was visible on the local football landscape as he is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the BC Lions. After one year as vice president of the Lions, he was promoted to the team's president for the next 2 years.

Though Ralph passed away in 2003 at the age of 89, his legacy has been acknowledged by many institutions in this province including the BC Sports Hall of Fame as well as the BC Basketball and BC Football Hall of Fame.

 


Gerald McGavin
Builder, Rugby


 
Gerald McGavin has been a leader in the community throughout BC for almost 5 decades.  He has been recognized on numerous occasions for his outstanding commitment to his community, including becoming a Member of the Order of BC, Member of the Order Canada, and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal among many other accolades.
 
Gerald showed early signs of excellence as a student-athlete at UBC.  Not only did he manage his studies in Commerce while being a valued member of the Thunderbird Rugby team, Gerald was selected to represent the Senior Men's Provincial team. As a player representing Canada, Gerald had the opportunity to square off against the best teams in the world, including the Barbarians, the British Lions, and New Zealand Universities.
 
Since his playing days, Gerald has remained a very active member of the Vancouver business community, serving on numerous boards, including chairing the BC Sports Hall of Fame, serving on the UBC Alumni Association Board and chairing the Alumni Fund. 
 
In 1995, the Gerald McGavin building was opened in recognition of his 20-plus years as a trustee and chair of the Discovery Foundation which created the cutting-edge Discovery Park project. During his tenure, the project created technology and knowledge transfer facilities on the campuses of not only UBC, but also BCIT, SFU and UVic.  This Discovery Park project set BC at the forefront of technology heading into 2000 and still continues to facilitate innovation and development of the BC technology sector.
 
More recently, the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre opened in 2013 owing in large part to Gerald's leadership, planning and fundraising.  The pavilion has created a home for UBC Rugby on campus and has brought together the men's and women's programs to continue the alumni legacy for student-athletes. Gerald is a stalwart supporter of UBC Rugby and has remained committed to the Thunderbirds and the University as a builder.
 
 
 
Annamay (Pierse) Oldershaw
Swimming 2006-2011


 
Annamay burst on the UBC scene in 2006, and was a member of the "Decade of Dominance" team, an era that saw UBC win 10 consecutive men's and women's national championships in swimming. In 2007, Annamay won silver in the women's 200-meter breaststroke at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil, breaking a Canadian record.  She would go on to be named Top Female Swimmer at the 2007-08 Canadian Interuniversity (CIS) National Championships where she broke three CIS records in the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke categories.
 
In 2009, at the Canadian National Championships, she broke the world record in the 200m short course breaststroke, posting a time of 2:17.50.  Annamay would go on to win the CIS Female Athlete of the Year in the same year.


 
Annamay set another world record in the 200-meter long course breaststroke at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, posting a time of 2:20.12 in the semi-finals, ultimately taking a silver medal in the finals.
 
Annamay graduated from UBC in 2011 leaving a tremendous legacy in her wake. Annamay's T-Birds coach, Derrick Schoof, spoke highly of her stating "Annamay's continued success is a testament to her passion, commitment and dedication to the sport.  She has proven to herself and the world that she is truly a world-class athlete."  Annamay is now a teacher in Ontario and recently served as Team Canada's Chef de Mission for the 2020 Youth Olympic Games.
 
 
 
Al Morrow
Builder, Rowing 1972-76



Al Morrow began his illustrious coaching career while at UBC as a student in Physical Education.  During the early 1970s Morrow rowed for UBC and represented Canada in the eights at the 1976 Olympics.  Still as student, Al coached the UBC/VRC Thunderbird men's rowing crews which he coached until he graduated in 1979. He guided his varsity crew to victory at both the 1976 Western U.S. Intercollegiate Championship and the 1978 Canadian Championships.
 
Morrow's first year as men's rowing coach proved to be significant in that it was at this time the UBC women's rowing program was introduced.  The idea of a women's team was actually spearheaded by two student athletes and it was Morrow who suggested fellow coach Glen Battersby take the reins of this new women's team. Despite obstacles, the women's team was launched in November 1976.
 
For five decades Morrow either rowed for or coached Canada's national team to eighteen medals at World Championships in addition to four gold, one silver and eight bronze in Olympic competition.  Within his accomplished body of work, he is best known as head coach of Canada's women's rowing teams for 5 consecutive Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008.
He has several times been awarded the Wittnauer/Longines Coaching Excellence Award, the Geoff Gowan Coaching Award and was named the 1999 World Rowing Federation Coach of the Year.  He is an inductee in the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, Rowing Canada's Hall of Fame and the Canada Sports Hall of Fame.
 
Morrow's UBC and BC rowing experiences set the stage for one of Canada's most impressive coaching resumes and the annual UBC/UVic Brown Cup and Gorge Regatta he created continue to support student-athletes in BC today. 


 
1975-1976 UBC Men's Volleyball Team



The nucleus of the powerful 1975-76 team was first formed in 1971-72 with then Head Coach Dale Ohman and student-athletes Charlie Mueller, Merv Mosher, and Tim Frick. In 1972-73 Keith Gallicano and Ian Gregory were key additions to the team and the following season Wolfgang Neufeld, Olli Korhonen and Jamie Campbell joined as well. Finally, in 1974-75, Gary Warner, Tom Jones, Dwane Hrechka and Walter Janzen were added under coach Ray Lepp.   

This group of athletes collected 1 of the 4 national titles in program history and 3 of the 5 Canada West conference titles (1974, 1976, 1977). During the 1975-76 season under coach Lorne Sawula, the team was dominant both against Canadian and American opponents. In Canada West they went undefeated with at 8-0 match record and 24-0 set record, losing only one match and 5 sets overall in tournament play.

One particular highlight was when the team defeated University of Southern California (USC) in a thrilling five-set exhibition match at UBC. USC was ranked #2 in the NCAA for 1976 and that team formed the nucleus of USC's 1977 NCAA Championship team.  


 
Beyond their impressive playing careers at UBC, the majority of their team have remained very active with the current UBC Men's Volleyball Team and played a key role in maintaining the men's volleyball program during the UBC Sports Review in 2013. Their involvement and support helped reignite the program and in 2018, T-Birds men's volleyball celebrated its first national title in 35 years.

A big congratulations to the 2020 UBC Thunderbirds Hall of Fame class! Videos of each inductee will be shared on the alumni Facebook page.
 
The UBC Hall of Fame, located in the main foyer of Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, features some of the university's most respected sports figures and moments. It highlights UBC's decorated history through photographs and memorabilia. Nominations for the 2021 class are now open until late 2020.