Delisle inducted into Canadian Hall of Fame
The contingent who came to see Tewenhni’tatshon Louis Delisle (centre) officially inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame last weekend included his son Landon (behind him), friends, and old teammates. Courtesy Joe Delaronde
To make one hall of fame is already special, but to get into two means you must have the body of work to go with it, and Tewenhni’tatshon Louis Delisle certainly does.
Already a member of the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Delisle was one of 16 inductees to enter the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame on November 1 at the Mont Hill Golf and Country Club in Caledonia, Ontario, going in as a builder.
“It’s such a great venue,” said Delisle, who was very impressed with the day’s proceedings and the sheer number of people there for the induction ceremony - over 300 previous inductees, family, and friends of those making the hall this year.
Delisle brought nine people with him for the ceremony, including ex-teammates, his son, and his broadcasting partner when he did Senior lacrosse commentary on the radio in the 1980s, Joe Delaronde.
“It was an honour to be asked to sit at the table with him,” said Delaronde.
He knew who Delisle was already because of his time as a player, but Delaronde really got to know him and become his friend while working with him.
“That’s the thing about lacrosse, it creates a whole network of people everywhere,” said Delaronde.
The hall of fame induction day showed that to be true, as teammates and friends reunited to celebrate lacrosse.
“You could tell stories, you could congregate with people at tables. It was really well paced,” said Delisle.
“We stayed in a hotel where it seemed like everybody else was staying, so people would stop by where we were sitting in the lobby, and it was conversations pretty much non-stop,” said Delaronde.
They also stayed in the same hotel as the National Lacrosse League (NLL)’s Georgia Swarm, who are holding their training camp in Six Nations, which meant getting to meet some players and even going to see a practice.
Delaronde said Delisle received a big reaction from those in attendance when his name was called to come to the front for the induction.
“It seems the entire lacrosse world, hall-of-famers, people who were nominated, everybody knows him,” said Delaronde.
The importance of his time in Kahnawake and outside the community as a coach, mentor to players and coaches, administrator of teams, and being a “leader in the creation” of what is now the Kahnawake Mohawks Minor Lacrosse Association in the late 1960s and early 1970s meant he was omnipresent in lacrosse for many years, making a ton of connections and building his reputation, and Kahnawake’s reputation along with it, to now being a place with a robust lacrosse community and programs.
“He didn’t do it alone. He always gives credit to others, but he was the impetus,” said Delaronde of the building of minor lacrosse in Kahnawake.
After receiving a lot of recognition in the Haudenosaunee lacrosse community, and the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame, it was very meaningful for Delaronde to see someone from Kahnawake who did so much for the community and the sport make it to the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
“This is the big one. That’s why it was even more important to be there,” said Delaronde.
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Two other Haudenosaunee were also inducted into this year’s class.
Frank Tewesatene Roundpoint, who helped set up one of the biggest lacrosse stick making manufactories in the world from his home in Akwesasne, was inducted posthumously as a builder, and Cory Bomberry from Six Nations was recognized for his playing career that included two Mann Cup wins with the Six Nations Arrows, a lengthy NLL career, and four silver medals as part of the Iroquois - now Haudenosaunee - Nationals World Indoor Championships team.
