As the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame turns 40 this year, it will induct a new round of players and builders.
This year’s class includes several people with lengthy athletic careers, as well as one of the Oshawa General’s strongest-ever teams.
“[They’re] mainly Oshawa residents. Not born here, but lived here through their playing career,” said Adrian Vanhemmen, a member of the committee responsible for overseeing operations at the Hall of Fame. V
anhemmen also volunteers his time to run the hall and share its stories with visitors.
“We’re one of the few sports halls that everybody knows about,” he said. “We wish sometimes people would know a little more about what’s in here.”
The 2026 inductees are as follows:
Ross Francis (Athlete)
Ross Francis played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He started his career at Eastdale Collegiate and Vocational Institute and played from 1971 to 1976. After graduation, he played for Queen’s University. In his professional career, he played for multiple teams between 1980 and 1986.
Kim Haagmans-Hawke (Athlete)
Kim Haagmans-Hawke started her career as a gymnast who reached the gymnastics national championships in 1977. From 1981 to 1985, Haagmans-Hawke participated in tetrathlons, earning second in the world. She went on to do pentathlons from 1983 to 85. Thirty years later, Haagmans-Hawke competed in cross-country mountain biking, ranking fourth in the world in 2019.
Rob Grepe (Builder)
Rob Grepe was a cross-country runner at R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute, then went on to the University of Arkansas on a sports scholarship. Grepe came back to McLaughlin in 2002 as a coach to build up the school’s cross-country and Track and Field teams. Grepe also served as the Team Ontario coach from 2006 to 2009.
Bob Solomon (Athlete/Builder)
Bob Solomon was a member of the Oshawa Tony’s fastball team from 1968 to 78. In that decade, Solomon was pivotal in taking the team from the municipal and district level to the national and world stage. In 1974, the team won both the Ontario and Canadian championships in B.C. During that tournament, Solomon set a Canadian record with 63 put-outs, which earned him a mention in the Guinness World Records.
Oshawa Generals 1986-1987 team
That season, the team scored 49 wins and 14 losses. The City of Oshawa is also giving special recognition to Scott McCrory, captain of the team and top scorer in the league, who already has his own spot within the hall. From this team, 21 of the 22 players went on to play professional hockey, with 12 reaching the NHL.
The official induction ceremony will take place in June.