· Niagara Falls Public Library

Player Name

E. Barry Mitchelson

Type

Athlete

Sport

Basketball, Football

Inducted

2013

Era

Pre 1970

Description

Inducted January 2013
During his youth, Barry Mitchelson played sports every season of the year – basketball, hockey, football, baseball and track and field. He loved the comradeship and competition. He had the privilege of captaining many of the teams on which he played and the teams won numerous league and zone championships, and the 1957-58 Optimist Midget Hockey Team won the provincial championship.
Upon graduation from A.N. Myer Secondary School, Barry enrolled at the University of Western Ontario and was a member of the varsity football and basketball teams for 1961-1964. He was named Freshman Athlete of the Year in 1961-62 and Athlete of the Year in 1962-63 and 1963-64. Barry was the number one overall pick in the CFL’s annual draft in 1964 and was selected by the Edmonton Eskimos. He played for the Eskimos for three years.
From 1967-1976, Barry was the Golden Bears basketball coach at the University of Alberta. He compiled one of the best win-lose coaching records in Bears history and concluded his coaching career by writing the Level One Coaching Manual for the Canadian Basketball Association. In 1981, Barry was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Alberta Recreation and Parks, and one of his responsibilities included managing the Olympic Secretariat which oversaw the Government of Alberta’s contribution to and involvement in the 1988 Olympics in Calgary.
Barry returned to the University of Alberta in 1989 and assumed the lead role in the establishment of a new MBA program with specialization in Leisure and Sport Management. Today Barry maintains many of his volunteer interests and a part-time management consulting practice specializing in leadership development.

Subject

Niagara Falls Virtual Sports Wall of Fame
Awards
Portraits - Biographical
Sports - Recreation - Leisure