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Hughes Gerald

Gerald (Gerry) Arthur Hughes
Sport: Football
Year Inducted: 1986

Better known as “Gerry”, Gerald Arthur Hughes was one of the finest all-round athletes to develop in Cornwall during the late 1940’s and throughout the 1950 decade.

Outstanding in every sport in which he played, it is the consensus of opinion that his excellence, accomplishments, and recognition in football outshone his starring feats in the other sports.

Another product of the OCOT program, Gerry participated and starred in all aspects of the program: football, hockey, baseball, softball, winning local and Ottawa District Championships in several categories.

In 1947, he was awarded the Ernest Hamel Memorial Trophy for his all-round abilities and sportsmanship. He was named MVP on 3 occasions.

Gerry was a standout quarterback at CCVS in 1951, a strong-armed passer and also did the punting.

The next year, for geographical reasons, he transferred to St. Lawrence H.S. There, he continued to play a starring role.

However, after graduation, it appeared a most promising football career was over. With no junior or senior teams, Gerry concentrated on other sports.

After a 6 year layoff, in 1958, the Cornwall Emards were born and joined the tough Quebec Rugby Football Union with teams from Verdun, Montreal, and Trois-Rivieres. Gerry could not resist the urge to return to the game he loved. Almost immediately, he took up where he had left off at SLHS. His outstanding play, along with that of other local stars, carried the team to a successful season, losing out in the finals to Verdun Shamcats. Gerry’s play was so impressive that he was awarded the Ambrose Shield as the league’s MVP.

His abilities didn’t go unnoticed by the CFL scouts and he was offered professional contracts by both the Ottawa and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Gerry chose Ottawa, but was farmed out to the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen on a recall basis by Frank Clair. He was offered a contract in 1960 but declined for various reasons.

In baseball, he was a member of Walt McDonald’s Junior Legion team that went to the Ontario finals in 1953 and won the All-Ontario Championship in 1954. He played fastball in the North End League for 12 years, and led the league in home runs. At St. Lawrence H.S., he was also captain of the senior basketball team, and later played with the City Champions – Canadian Tire. He was also a MVP in broomball and a high average bowler in the City League.