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James Naismith Invents the game of Basketball
James Naismith (Canadian) invented Basketball for a gym class in Springfield College, Missouri. He used "duck on a rock" as inspiration and continued to remodel the game until he was set on 13 rules. He was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1955. He will be forever remembered and is respected by all as the legend who invented one of the most popular sports in the world.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/james-naismith -
Tom Longboat
Thomas Charles Longboat was an indigenous athlete who was famously known for running. He has received many accolades between 1906-1912 and won countless races. The thing that made it extraordinary was the fact that he was Indigenous. In Ontario 2008, 100 years after his running career, Bill 120 was declared as Tom Longboat Day. This proves that after 100 years this Indigenous athlete is still respected by many.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tom-longboat -
Edmonton Grads
Women's Basketball team that won 95% of their total games. Countless numbers of championships, national and international. The Grads, short for Commercial Graduates had many minor league and sister teams of players who would eventually join the main team. The Grads were inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and prove as a source of inspiration to women across the world. Their final record is 502-20
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/edmonton-grads -
Summit Series
Canada was challenged to face the USSR team in an 8 game hockey series. Canada was allowed to use their NHL stars. This team would lose 2 of the 4 games in Canada but win 1. The second half of the games were in Europe and the players knew that the couldn't let their nation down. They ended up losing the 5th game. This means they would have to win the next 3 games in a row. They eventually do, but barely.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/1972-canada-soviet-hockey-series -
Blue Jays Win the World Series Back to Back
The Blue Jays were known as a losing team. In 1992 the Jays went against all odds and won their first American League Championship. Shortly after they proceeded to defeat Atlanta and won their first World Series. The next season they had made changes but manage to beat Chicago to win the ALC and then conquer Philadelphia to win another World Series. The second World Series was hyped up more as it was won on Canadian soil. The Jays then proceeded to not make the playoffs for the next 21 seasons. -
Toronto Raptors
The only Canadian team in the NBA, managed to achieve many accolades including World Champions in 2019. Created in 1995 and since then many failed attempts but eventually were able to come through and emerge victorious. The Toronto Raptors were consistently good for the most part but have had their "off years". This year the Raptors are entering their 25th season and have many expectations as they are the reigning champions.
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/toronto-raptors
