听
With 37 years of service and seven Mann Cup rings to his name, former Victoria Shamrocks trainer Jim (Downtown) Cain was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in the Builder category on Saturday night in New Westminster.
He joins a prestigious list of Shamrocks inducted into the hall including the likes of Gary and Paul Gait, Kevin Alexander, Fred (Whitey) Severson, Archie Browning, James (Pee Wee) Bradshaw, Chris Hall and current assistant coach Art Webster, to name a few.
It鈥檚 an honour Cain, who joined the Shamrocks in 1979, will cherish throughout his lifetime, he told Hall of Fame officials.
鈥淚t means everything to me. When I was asked to come on board, I was thrilled to bits,鈥� he recalled of first joining the organization upon coach Bill Munroe鈥檚 request. 鈥淭hey had heard about me from hockey, because I did hockey for about 19 years.
鈥淏ill Munroe was a good friend of mine and he said: 鈥榃e鈥檙e going to take a run at the cup.鈥� They had just lost in 1978 and he said: 鈥榃e want you to come on board and give the guys a hand and keep them healthy.鈥� I said: 鈥榃hen do we start?鈥� 鈥�
The Shamrocks won the Mann Cup that season, Cain鈥檚 first of seven. He went to another eight Mann Cup finals in which the Shamrocks lost out in the national Senior A championship.
His seven Mann Cup rings are more than any other individual has won as a Shamrock and a plaque hangs in his honour on the organization鈥檚 Wall of Fame at the Q Centre.
鈥淚鈥檓 so pleased to see a trainer getting this prestigious recognition,鈥� said Shamrocks general manager Chris Welch. 鈥淛im, like so many other trainers in our sport, was always the first one to arrive for games and practices and the last one to leave. His work was done away from the spotlight and the highlight reels, but was vitally important to our success. I can think of no one who is more deserving of this honour.鈥�
Welch and 10 other members of the organization including Rod Wade, Jason Sperling, Bob Heyes, Webster, Delbert Whynot, Cliff Butt, Mike Simpson, Jeremy Dennett, Gareth Gilson and John Hamilton travelled to New Westminster for the induction ceremonies, along with members of Cain鈥檚 family.
