Cobourg

Layton Dodge was born in Cobourg on March 4, 1937, to parents, William and Kathleen. After high school, Layton joined the staff of the Cobourg Sentinel Star as sportswriter and publisher until his final column on October 8, 1996. In between, Layton covered most sports in Cobourg and the surrounding communities with love, diligence, integrity and honesty.

To say that the local sporting community was lucky to have him would be a gross understatement. Layton was the league and individual statistician for many local sporting groups including the Cobourg Community Hockey League, Legion Minor Softball, the Cobourg Mercantile Hockey League, the Cobourg Men's Softball League and the Cobourg Bowling League, to name just a few. Perhaps Layton's greatest quality was his understanding that sports meant as much to the house league player as it did to the all-star athlete.

To that end, Layton gave as much space on his sports pages to the house league games and players as he did to the rep teams and stars. He was the very best small-town sportswriter that you could ask for. Layton was recognized by many local organizations over the years for his outstanding contributions to their particular sport.

One of his proudest recognitions came from the Ontario Amateur Softball Association in 1987 when he was presented with the Frank Feaver Award as Ontario's “Mr. Softball”. Layton had a nickname that many of his friends and acquaintances used when referring to him. That name was “Scoop”. He never owned a car and rode his bicycle to almost all local sporting events.

He was never without his camera and notebook and always had a smile on his face and a positive remark to share. Simply put, “Layton was the BEST.

Fred Dufton was born in Stratford, Ontario in 1886. After public school, his family moved to Toronto where he attended Jarvis Collegiate. In Toronto he went to work for Clark and Clark Tanneries. He became the manager of the Strollers Baseball Team, a semi-professional team that played their games at Christie Pitts Park. In 1926, he moved with his wife, three sons and three daughters to Cobourg, to join the Edwards and Edwards Tanneries.

Fred became interested in football when his sons started playing in high school. He got involved and then became the manager of the Cobourg Collegiate Teams. When the boys left high school, Fred decided to start up an Intermediate football team. The year was 1935 and the team was known as the “Red Raiders.” However, in 1937, with the goal of revitalizing the team, the name was changed to “The Cobourg Galloping Ghosts.”

Over the years he earned the nickname “Ferocious Fred” because of his tremendous desire to surmount all obstacles and bring home a winner. The Galloping Ghosts won a total of eight Ontario Championships and became Dominion (Canadian Amateur) Football Champions in 1946, 1948 and 1950. Fred Dufton managed the team for its full 13-year existence. Layton Dodge, Cobourg’s most distinguished sportswriter ever, proclaimed, “The Galloping Ghosts were, and continue to be, the most famous of all teams in Cobourg’s history”.

This legacy was a direct result of the work ethic, commitment and passion of Fred Dufton.

“Fast” Frank Mazza is a Gold Medal Olympian and a Gold, Silver and Bronze Paralympic World Games medalist. He started racing in 1982 and represented Canada internationally from 1983 through 1986.

Frank Mazza was born in Peterborough on April 7, 1958, to his loving parents, Frank and Maria. He was born with Cerebral Palsy (C.P.) which affected his body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone-reflex, posture and balance. It also had an impact on his fine motor skills, gross motor skills and oral motor functioning. Cerebral Palsy’s effect on functional abilities varies greatly. Many affected people can walk but others, like Frank, need to use wheelchairs. In the early 1980s Frank started wheelchair racing.

Frank’s C.P. affected both of his legs and his right arm. He used his left arm only to propel his wheelchair while his competitors used both arms. He competed in the Eastern Ontario C.P. games as well as the Ontario C.P. games and won many of the events he participated in. These successes led to greater athletic opportunities. A two year training program was designed by Team Canada for him and he was able to acquire a racing wheelchair. Frank’s goal was to compete at the 1984 Olympics for the Physically Disabled, which were called the “International Games for the Disabled” and were the equivalent of today’s Paralympics.

He surpassed this goal. At the 1984 Ontario Provincial Games, Frank won the 60 metre sprint, the 100 metre sprint and the 400 metre sprint. That same year, he was a gold medal winner for Canada in the 4 X 100 metre relay at the International Games for the Disabled. In 1986, Frank took part in the International Cerebral Palsy Games, in Belgium, where he won gold in the 4 X 100 metre relay, silver in the 400 metre sprint and bronze in the 100 metre sprint. Unfortunately, Frank’s racing career was cut short by a cancer diagnosis in 1986. Although he beat the disease, he was unable to compete again. Frank Mazza was inducted into the Ontario Cerebral Palsy Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

The Ito family arrived to Canada in 1910. Don Ito was born on August 16, 1937, in Ocean Falls, British Columbia. In 1941 he moved with his family to Cobourg. Don was an outstanding all-around athlete. He was an exceptional skater and played the 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons with the Peterborough Stoney’s Junior B team. In the early 1960s, Don competed in drag racing at the Shannonville race track, taking home many trophies with his 1962 Chevy 409 Impala.

In 1960, Don found his calling with the formation of the Rice Lake Ski Club and he emerged as an exceptional competitive kite flyer. In 1966, Don won the Canadian National Kite Flying Championship at Collins Bay, Ontario, and was second overall at the U.S. Nationals held in Austin, Texas. Don continued to excel. He claimed first place at the U.S. Nationals in 1967 by winning first in the Tricks competition,second in the Slalom competition and first overall.

At the 1968 U.S. Nationals, Don was first in the Tricks competition, first in the Slalom competition and named overall champion while accumulating a perfect score of 4000 points. At the North American Championship at Man and His World in Montreal, he broke the world record for Tricks and was overall champion.

1969 saw Don dominate the Senior Men's division at the U.S. Nationals, once again capturing a first in Tricks and Slalom, and named overall champion. At the North American Championships held in Montreal, Don repeated this standing and was first overall in the Open Division competition.

In 1970, Don won the Tricks Division at the U.S. Nationals. At the U.S. National Kite Flying Championships in 1971, Don took the Senior Men's honours with a slalom run of 48 buoys including 6 on a 40-foot line, which they said couldn't be done! Don Ito was a great Canadian athlete and a source of great pride for Cobourg and the surrounding area.
 

William (Bill) J. O’Neil was born in Oldcastle, Ontario, on December 28, 1924. As a youngster, Bill had a great love of sports and played both baseball and softball. He coached youth baseball for a number of years in the village of MacGregor, not far from his hometown. Bill started work with General Foods in Windsor, Ontario, at the age of 18. In 1963, he moved with the company to Cobourg, where he went on to make a significant impact in the athletic community. Bill coached the local General Foods sponsored team in the Cobourg Men’s Softball League from 1963 to 1970.

He coached Juvenile and Junior Ontario Amateur Softball Association (OASA) teams that also played in the Cobourg Men’s Softball League from 1971 to 1990. He was the coach of four OASA Juvenile “B” championship teams during the 1970’s. Over the years, Bill O’Neil received numerous honours and awards for his outstanding dedication to sports in the Town of Cobourg. In 1976, Bill was named Cobourg’s Sportsman of the Year. In 2002, he was saluted for serving 40 years as Treasurer and a volunteer with the Cobourg Men’s Softball League.

On November 17, 2004, the main building at Legion Fields was named “The Bill O’Neil Pavilion”. The Ontario Amateur Association recognized Bill by presenting him with the F.R. (Frank) Feaver trophy as Ontario’s “Mr. Softball”. During his coaching career, Bill was always the cool, calm and collected field manager. Over the years, he never abused an umpire or a player but would discuss and reason a solution to its conclusion. He respected the game and all those involved. Bill O’Neil was a unique individual.

He gave back far more to the sporting community than he ever took and was a true gentleman. Bill O’Neil was a great role model and an incredible asset to Cobourg and District’s athletic community.