Lui headlines Hall’s Class of 2023
Santorelli, Taylor, Miki, Synergy also to be inducted.
Lui Passaglia’s formative football years growing up and maturing into a professional were spent while residing in North Burnaby. His legendary gridiron exploits led him to induction into the BC Lions Wall of Fame, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and now the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame.
Passaglia has been chosen for induction to the Burnaby hall along with local broadcast legend Don Taylor, former NHL and Vancouver Canucks forward Mike Santorelli, international curling coach Fuji Miki and Cliff Avenue United Synergy, the 2008 Canadian U14 girls soccer championship team. They will all be inducted at the BSHOF banquet to be held March 15, 2024 at the Riverway Golf Club., in Burnaby.
ATHLETE — Lui Passaglia/Football
Lui Passaglia’s formative football years growing up and maturing into a professional were spent while residing in North Burnaby. His legendary gridiron exploits led him to induction into the BC Lions Wall of Fame, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and now the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame.
Lui’s family moved to Burnaby in 1968 when he was 14 years old and attended Notre Dame High School where he started playing football with the Jugglers juggernaut coached by Al Blesch and George Oswald (a 2012 Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame inductee). Passaglia helped lead Notre Dame to three provincial championships (1968, 1970, 1971) playing quarterback, safety, punter and place kicker.
After graduation he headed up Burnaby Mountain to play for Simon Fraser University where he played wide receiver along with his kicking duties. He also played on SFU’s soccer team. Passaglia’s pigskin exploits caught the eye of the local Canadian Football League team and the BC Lions chose him fifth overall in the 1976 CFL draft. He remained living at home in Burnaby during his first four seasons with the Leos. He even caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in his first CFL game, July 22, 1976 against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Click Here For Lui Passaglia’s Full Profile
ATHLETE — Mike Santorelli/Hockey
Santorelli, who grew up in Burnaby and played for both Burnaby Minor Hockey Association and Burnaby Winter Club, was not a primo puck prospect. But that didn’t stop him from climbing the hockey ladder and eventually playing 406 regular season and four playoff games in the National Hockey League. His story is one of perseverance. Santorelli played two seasons in the BC Hockey League with Langley and Vernon.
His 67 goals and 148 points in two seasons caught the eye of scouts from Northern Michigan University, where he played three seasons scoring 61 goals and 110 points in 121 games. The Nashville Predators took notice of his play, drafting him in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL draft. After joining the Predators organization, Santorelli spent the best part of three seasons playing for the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, where he scored 74 goals and 171 points in 207 games.
Click Here For Mike Santorelli’s Full Profile
BUILDER — Don Taylor/Broadcaster
Taylor, a big booster of Burnaby, his hometown, throughout his long career in local broadcasting, is the first media member to be inducted into the Hall. This honour follows on the heels of him recently being chosen for induction to the BC Sports Hall of Fame’s media wing. The long-time resident of Burnaby first gained notoriety in the Vancouver sports market with his entertaining co-hosting of CKVU’s nightly Sports Page show from 1985 to 2000.
His highlight packages with his funny phrases were a must-see and hear for local sports fans every night. Who can forget Taylorism like “the mesh ripples,” “top shelf where mom keeps the peanut butter,” or his use of phrases made famous by legendary Montreal Canadiens play-by-play broadcaster Danny Gallivan like “it was a scintillating save” or a “Savardian spinarama” or when he mimicked Maple Leaf Gardens public address announcer Paul Morris.
Click Here For Don Taylor’s Full Profile
COACH — Fuji Miki/Curling
Fuji Miki’s first introduction to curling was in Midway, a border town in the West Kootenays, when his family was interned during the Second World War. At the war’s conclusion he moved to South Burnaby where he resided for 50 years.
After a successful playing career, in which he played lead for BC men’s champion Glen Pierce in 1979, and second for Pierce when they won the Canadian mixed championship in 1982, Miki took up coaching. One of his first coaching successes was to guide a junior men’s team that included his son Bryan (a 2017 Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame inductee) at second and Pierce’s son Brent at skip to a 1987 provincial championship.
Click Here For Fuji Miki’s Full Profile
TEAM — 2008 U14 Cliff Avenue United Synergy
The Synergy of a group of girls from North Burnaby on the soccer pitch was something to behold. The collection of U14s simply ran roughshod over all comers from coast to coast in going unbeaten in the 32 games they played that season. In 19 games on the local soccer scene the only blemish on their record was one tie to go along with 18 wins.
They breezed through the Coastal Cup A Championships winning all four of their games and another four at the Provincial Cup Championship. That enabled the Synergy, coached by Tony Drescher and Mark Pennington, to advance to the Canadian youth championships in Prince Edward Island Oct. 5-13, 2008.
Click Here For 2008 U14 Cliff Avenue United Synergy’s Full Profile
