Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Jim Donlevy passes away

As a football coach he was a national champ and an absolute institution at the University of Alberta.   But it’s likely that Jim Donlevy may actually have made an even bigger impact in hockey where he was instrumental in the formation of the post secondary scholarship system in Junior Hockey. Jim was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame just a few months ago.  

His brother Michael is a long time Red Deer resident and recently retired from a brilliant career of his own at Red Deer College.   Here’s what Michael shared with friends after the death of his oldest brother:

Early Sunday, we lost an amazing individual in Jim Donlevy. A great husband, father, uncle and Grandpa – and my oldest brother. He was a friend and mentor to me over many years in my career and in life, who encouraged all of what I did. I was and remain deeply proud of what he accomplished, benefiting so many people and am very grateful that Jim was properly recognized this year, with his induction into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Jim was a coach and dedicated educator, totally committed to teaching, learning and student athletes.  He leaves an incredible legacy and all of us will miss him dearly.

Here’s Jim Donlevy’s Alberta Sports Hall of Fame induction video.

‘Jim’ Donlevy devoted his professional career to more than 50 years of coaching, teaching and administrative leadership. His career in football began in 1954 coaching Bantam and High School Football teams. He joined the Edmonton Huskies from 1961 to 1963 and won two Canadian titles. At the University of Alberta, he led the Golden Bears to four National Championship games and brought home the Vanier Cup in 1972 and 1980. He had the most wins of any Golden Bears football coach with 89 wins, 69 losses and 3 ties. From 1993 to 2015, Jim was the Western Hockey League’s Education Consultant. He built a formal education and scholarship program for the student athletes playing in the league. It is now considered one of the most comprehensive education programs for hockey in the world today.

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Mike Rogers played professional hockey for a total of 12 years; five years in the World Hockey Association, then seven years in the National Hockey League. Mike has the distinction of being one of only four players in the NHL to achieve 100 points in their first three seasons – the others are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Peter Stastny. Mike’s first year in the NHL was with the expansion Harford Whalers team in 1979/80. He scored 105 points in both his first and second year. Mid-way through the 1980/81season, he was named captain. Mike joined the New York Rangers for the 1981/82 season and led the team with 103 points. He averaged 67 points in his next three seasons as the team adapted a more defensive style of play. In 484 regular-season NHL games, he had 519 points. In 1974/75, during Mike’s first year in the WHA, he led the Edmonton Oilers rookies in goals and points and was selected the WHA’s Most Gentlemanly Player. He was traded to the New England Whalers in 1975/76 and was their top scorer in 1978/79. In 396 WHA games, he scored 145 goals and had 222 assists for 367 points.

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