About us

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The Yorkton Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1994. The concept was originally proposed by Vern Pachal in 1993, leading to the organization being officially set up as a non-profit corporations in February of the following year. Founding members were Vern Pachal, Jerry Bulitz, Dave Baron, Gord Johnson, Merve Laube, Dave Rusnak, Byron McCorkell, Lynda Ziglo, Pattie Pilon, Randy Goulden and Bev Fruin.

The first home for the Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was the lobby of the Godfrey Dean Cultural Centre, with the portraits of the first inductees displayed on the walls after the inaugural induction dinner was held on the first day of October of 1994. Seven individuals and one team were honoured as Home Town Heroes, and became the first members of the Hall of Fame.

The lobby area, however, lacked the space needed to not only recognize the inductees, but also to display the sports memorabilia the organization had collected, ranging from trophies to photos to sports equipment and uniforms. 

The next move was to the historic Land Titles Building attached to the Godfrey Dean Centre, which had room for showcases and standing displays. While the facilities had lots of space for the Hall of Fame and Museum, neither the organization nor the city which owned the building were able to provide the staffing required to make it accessible to the public, resulting in the doors being locked unless someone requested access and a volunteer opened the building.

With the city requiring the space for other purposes in 2016, it offered the organization space on the second floor of the Gallagher Centre across from the curling lounge entrance. The Sports Hall of Fame purchased and installed showcases, which has allowed it to display museum items, memorabilia and artifacts representative of the inductees.

The last induction ceremonies were held in 2014, and except for setting up the displays at the Gallagher Centre, the organization was largely inactive until a group including previous board members met in 2020 with a view to reviving the organization. 

A new board was elected, an advisory committee was established, and the organization's incorporation was reactivated. Under the leadership of Don Pfeifer, the new board and advisory committee decided on priorities for the next several years:

• Refurbish and expand the display at the Gallagher Centre;
• Create an online Sports Hall of Fame and Museum so it is available for everyone everywhere to view;
• Revive the induction ceremonies.

The expansion of the Gallagher Centre display area started in late 2020 with the addition of photos of all inductees to properly recognize them, and a determination to rotate the memorabilia in the showcases more frequently. 

This website is being expanded to display Yorkton's sports history online and display photos of the museum artifacts. The revival of the induction ceremony happened in  September of 2022, with the financial support through sponsorships of more than 30 Yorkton business and organizations.