WESTLOCK - Ted Dul, a retired farmer from the Fawcett area, will be honored in Ottawa this May when he’ll be inducted into the 80+ Hockey Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit organization which nationally recognizes active recreational hockey players over the age of 80.
Dul fits the category nicely, having just recently reached his 82nd milestone and still actively playing hockey with the Fawcett Funtimers. He will be the first Albertan inducted into the hall, which started down east in 2011 and currently has 220 members, not counting the 2023 group.
Dul, who didn’t get his first pair of skates until he was 15, will fly to Ottawa, proudly wearing his hockey hero Bobby Orr’s No. 4 on his jersey. This special evening will include playing a hockey game with the others, and a dinner celebration which includes the induction into the hall, a baseball cap, medallion pin, 50 hockey cards, his photo on the hall’s website and a plaque. Each inductee will be knighted with a 1930s wooden hockey stick and have their photo taken. There is a large plaque that each inductee will get to have for two to three weeks (before passing on to the next inductee.
In Ottawa at the induction ceremony, the new inductees will be divided into two teams, blue and gold, and when they arrive to play, will be escorted to the dressing rooms, where their Hall of Fame jerseys will be on display.
The hockey game itself will consist of two, 20-minute, stop-time periods and the players will be introduced one at a time and will have their photo taken on the ice.
One of his daughters, Soul Sisters Memorial Foundation president Christine Vachon, nominated him for the award and along with other family members plan to join him for the celebration.
At the Soul Sisters’ Feb. 24 Sports Night event, his nomination was announced, and he and his wife Donna were presented with new Funtimers jerseys.
Donna Beamish, whose husband Calvin plays goal on that team, wrote a short history of the group, which she presented at the sports night.
In short, she says the Fawcett Funtimers began in 2010, originating from a discussion of a small group of Old Times that talked about the good old days and still wanted to play the game they loved. Beamish’s first call was to Dul to see if he was interested, and it was an overwhelming yes!
The next step for most on the team was to upgrade their equipment, and then off to the Fawcett Arena.
Donna notes, “After a few weeks of aches and pains, the team was taking shape. Ted was, and still is, a pillar of the game. He rarely if ever, has missed a Saturday night.”
She adds, “He is a defenceman who proudly wears No. 4. He’s a good sport no matter the outcome and shares his positivity of the game and good sportsmanship with players and the community. If there is a hockey tournament, Ted can be depended on to help when and where help is needed.”
The Fawcett Funtimers have twice hosted the CFCW Critters, a hockey team from radio station CFCW who go to different communities to raise money for community projects.
“You can never tell on the ice the era each player is from, but it usually comes up in the dressing room, and Ted always stands out,” Donna says. “He has never let a number hold him back from giving 100 per cent. He didn’t let broken ribs keep him from playing either. I think Ted is definitely deserving to be recognized for his contribution and dedication to the sport of old timer hockey. He is an ambassador and an inspiration!”
