This past week the NLL Inducted lacrosse greats into the hall of fame (HoF) for the first time since 2016, when Josh Sanderson, Tracey Kelusky, and John Tavares had entered. This would also be the fifteenth anniversary of the existence of the Hall which was started back in 2006.
The management crew of Commissioner Nick Sakeiwicz, Deputy Commissioner Jessica Berman (formerly of the National Hockey League), Executive Vice-President Brian Lemon, and the rest of their inner circle had decided to revamp the entire HoF process. Like everything else they had done with the league in their tenure, they made sure it was to their standards before restarting the process.
After a five year hiatus, inducting just a few players just wouldn’t cut it, so a short list of twenty players was released, with ten inductions set for June 3rd.
On this list were seventeen players, and three officials from different eras, all extremely important in the building and development of the league over the years. Every single player was deserving of the honor, and if not on this ballot, would certainly be inducted in the near future.
“This is indeed an impressive selection of candidates whose contributions to lacrosse and the NLL span several eras and the breadth of North America,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. “We are honored to be continuing the tradition of honoring the greats and we look forward to selecting the next inductees for the most prestigious individual honor in our sport.”
Here are the eight players, and two officials inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2021:
Colin Doyle
Kevin Finneran
Casey Powell
Pat McCready
Shawn Williams
John Grant Jr.
Regy Thorpe
Steve Toll
Roy Condon
Bill Fox
“After a long and careful process of re-engineering the NLL Hall of Fame it’s exciting to relaunch with an incredible list of nominees. Thank you to the Hall of Fame Committee for an incredible process and selecting ten outstanding individuals. We are very proud of all those nominated and welcome those chosen to be inducted as the newest members of the NLL Hall of Fame Class of 2021 presented by GAIT Lacrosse,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz.
Congratulations to all these great men on their great careers, and their induction into the NLL Hall of Fame
Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.
An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.
Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.
In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.
Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).
Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.
Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.
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