Tony At 10: ADMIRATION; BLOG# 169; FEB 6, 2015

THE TOPICS:

During my lifetime, there were many people that I admired. I believe they provided a positive influence as well as much entertainment amongst my peers. As a young lad these people were predominately found in the spheres of SPORTS, MOVIES, MUSIC AND LEADERS.

MY SPORTS HEROES

NORBERT 'NOBBY' WIRKOWSKI

Quarter Back of the Toronto Argos. He attended Miami U and played under Sid Gillman and Woody Hayes. After college, he joined the Toronto Argos and led them to a 7-5 record in the 1951 season. In 1952, Wirkowski won a Grey Cup championship. From 1952 to 1957, Wirkowski taught Physical Education and coached the senior football team at De La Salle Oaklands in Toronto. "Del" was my high school alma mater which won consecutive league championships in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Later 'Nobby' moved to York University. He was named Athletic Director and Head football coach, (1968 to 1975 ) and joined the Faculty of Physical Education as a professor. He is a member of the Miami U Athletic Hall of Fame and the Mississauga Hall of Fame. On October 15, 2014, Wirkowski died with his family at his side at the age of 88.

MAX BENTLY

This Saskatchewan farm boy from Delisle began his NHL career with the Chicago Black Hawks. His arrival in Toronto gave the Maple Leafs the NHL’s deepest trio down the middle in 1947–48, behind Syl Apps and Ted Kennedy. During his next four years with the Leafs they won three Stanley Cups. Bentley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. I became a Leaf nut during those years and continued on until I knew better. Max passed away in 1984 at the age of 63.

MICKEY MANTLE

He was a centrefielder for the New York Yankees for 18 seasons, from 1951 through 1968. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. When Mantle retired, he was third on the all-time home run list with 536.

Mantle was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He died in 1995

JACK DONOHUE

I had the privilege of working with Jack at the Men's National basketball team selection in Ottawa in 1979. He was an outstanding leader of men, a knowledgable coach, and a true gentleman. He was Canada's coach from 1972 to 1988. His death in 2003 was a great loss for all who knew and loved him

TONY'S CAVALCADE OF STARS

MOVIES

KIM NOVAK
"PICNIC"

WILLIAM HOLDEN
"BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI"

ALFRED HITCHCOCK
"PSYCHO"

MARTIN & LEWIS
"THE CADDY"

DORIS DAY
"THE MAN WHO KNEW
TOO MUCH"

JOHN WAYNE
"THE LONGEST DAY"

JIMMY STEWART
'VERTGO"

JAMES DEAN
"REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE"

MUSIC

MCGUIRE SISTERS
"SUGAR TIME"

PLATTERS
"THE GREAT PRETENDER"

FATS DOMINO
"BLUEBERRY HILL"

KINGSTON TRIO
"HANG DOWN YOUR HEAD TOM DOOLEY"

ELVIS PRESSLEY
"YOU AIN'T NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG"

PETER PAUL & MARY
" PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON"

THE 4 ACES
"LOVE IS A MANY
SPLENDORED THING"

BUDDY HOLLY
"THAT'LL BE THE DAY"

BOBBY DARRIN
"MACK THE KNIFE"

CHUCK BERRY
"JOHNNIE BE GOODE"

CONNIE FRANCIS
"WHO'S SORRY NOW"

PAUL ANKA
"DIANA"

FRANK SINATRA
"MY WAY"

EVERLY BROTHERS
"WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE"

LEADERS

LESTER B. PEARSON
CANADA PENSION PLAN
CANADIAN FLAG

JOHN F. KENNEDY
CUBAN MISSILE
CRISIS

MARTIN LUTHER KING.
I HAVE A DREAM

MARGARET THATCHERCONTROL OF TRADE UNIONS

TOMMY DOUGLAS
FATHER OF MEDICARE

LYNDON B. JOHNSON.
JUSTICE AND EDUCATION
IN THE USA MUST BE BLIND
TO COLOUR AND RACE

MOTHER TERESA
LOVE DOES NOT MEASURE.
IT ONLY GIVES

AUNG SAN SUU KHI.
1991 WINNER OF NOBEL PEACE PRICE

ROBERT F.KENNEDY
I DREAM OF THINGS THAT
NEVER WERE AND ASK
WHY NOT

SIRIVAMO BANDARANAIKE
IN 1960 BECAME FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER
OF A COUNTRY (SRI LANKA) IN THE WORLD

LIKE MOST OBSERVERS, I WAS NOT A FAN OF JIMMY CARTER WHEN HE SERVED AS THE 39TH PRESIDENT OF THE USA. I ADMIRE THE POSITIONS HE HAS TAKEN AFTER HIS PESIDENCY


JIMMY CARTER U.S. PRESIDENT, 1977 to 1981.

THE INDEPENDENT > "Carter is widely considered a better man than he was a president." While he began his term with a 66 percent approval rating, this had dropped to 34 percent by the time he left office, with 55 percent disapproving.

ON THE DEATH PENALTY

Carter is known for his strong opposition to the death penalty. In his Nobel Prize lecture, he urged "prohibition of the death penalty". Carter has continued to speak out against the death penalty in the US and abroad. He has written, "As you know, the United States is one of the few countries, along with nations such as Saudi Arabia, China, and Cuba, which still carry out the death penalty despite the ongoing tragedy of wrongful conviction and gross racial and class-based disparities that make impossible the fair implementation of this ultimate punishment. In 2012, Carter wrote an op-ed in the LA Times supporting passage of a state referendum which would have ended the death penalty. He opened the article: "The process for administering the death penalty in the United States is broken beyond repair, and it is time to choose a more effective and moral alternative. California voters will have the opportunity to do this on election day."

ON EQUALITY FOR WOMEN

In October 2000, Carter announced that he was severing ties to the Southern Baptist Convention over its opposition to women as pastors. What led Carter to take this action was a doctrinal statement by the Convention, adopted in June 2000, advocating a LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE. This statement followed a position of the Convention two years previously advocating the submission of wives to their husbands.

In subsequent years, Carter has joined with other world leaders who have spoken out about the subjugation of women by religious and other institutions. On July 15, 2009, Carter wrote an opinion piece about equality for women in which he stated that he chooses equality for women over the dictates of the leadership of what has been a lifetime religious commitment. He said that the view that women are inferior is not confined to one faith, "nor, tragically does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple."

ON GUN CONTROL

Carter has publicly expressed support for assault weapons bans and background checks. In May 1994, Carter, along with former presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, wrote to the U.S. House of Representatives in support of banning "semi-automatic assault guns." In a February 2013 TV appearance Carter agreed that if the assault weapons ban did not pass it would be mainly due to the NRA and its pressure on "weak-kneed" politicians.

ON RACE IN POLITICS

Carter ignited debate in September 2009 when he stated, "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man. Obama disagreed with Carter's assessment and went on to say, "Are there people out there who don't like me because of race? I'm sure there are but that's not the overriding issue here."

ON TORTURE

In 2008 Carter criticized the alleged use of torture at Gitmo, saying that it "contravenes the basic principles on which this nation was founded." He stated that the next President should make the promise that the United States will "never again torture a prisoner."

HIS LEGACY

Carter has received numerous awards and accolades since his presidency, and several institutions and locations have been named in his honor. His Library was named after him and opened in 1986. In 1998, the US Navy named the third Seawolf-class submarine in honour of former President Carter and his service as a submariner officer. It became one of the first US Navy vessels to be named for a person living at the time of naming. That year he also received the UN Human Rights Prize and the Hoover Medal, recognizing people who have contributed to global causes. In 2002 he was awarded a Nobel Peace Price. Six of Carter's audiobook recordings have been nominated for the Grammy Awards. The Jimmy Carter Regional Airport was named in 2009.

THE QUESTION: