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The Golden Age of Sport: The V<strong>and</strong>ertoorn <strong>and</strong> Murphy Years<br />
Mike V<strong>and</strong>ertoorn <strong>and</strong> Jack Murphy were phenomenal. They took the sports program by the<br />
scruff of the neck <strong>and</strong> turned <strong>Mahone</strong> <strong>Bay</strong> into one of the top schools in the province. They<br />
committed huge amounts of time into leadership, coaching <strong>and</strong> fund-raising. They didn’t go<br />
the extra yard: they went the extra mile.<br />
Initially they had to do just about all the coaching themselves. But they soon attracted<br />
other coaches to a high profile program: Don Gray, Lowell Ritcey, Murray Barkhouse,<br />
Chris Lenahan, Dave Allen, Carl Hennebury, <strong>and</strong> Ivan Carey [a passionate volleyball<br />
coach]. And they set st<strong>and</strong>ards for future coaches to follow.<br />
Sport was big. Funding came from the Leaders Corps <strong>and</strong>, for special events, the<br />
school board even kicked in funds. <strong>School</strong> Spirit was on fire. Crowds came to watch.<br />
Championships came rolling in. Maybe, their inspiration was Santa. Here, with<br />
“Murph.” in the middle, they share a ‘Ho…Ho.. Ho!’ with him.<br />
Bluenose Classic <strong>and</strong> the County Championship. The junior girls finished second in<br />
the county. The senior girls enjoyed their most successful year, <strong>and</strong> all other teams had<br />
winning seasons.<br />
Intramural Sports:<br />
It was not only about winning. In the yearbook, Douglas Frank reported students<br />
‘having noon hour enjoyment throughout the week with fastball, volleyball, basketball,<br />
soccer, German baseball, badminton, table tennis, gymnastics <strong>and</strong> weight lifting spread<br />
over the year…The object is to provide fun <strong>and</strong> enjoyment.’<br />
County Champions, 1973<br />
Mr. V. had gone to <strong>Mahone</strong> <strong>Bay</strong> for a year in, 1963-4, set up the student leader corps,<br />
then went to Liverpool before being tempted home to Lunenburg. He returned in<br />
September 1969. At the same time he was joined by Jack Murphy, straight out of<br />
Teachers College, who had done his teaching practice in <strong>Mahone</strong> <strong>Bay</strong>.<br />
By 1973 the yearbook cover [below], the scoreboard, the banners <strong>and</strong> the students<br />
themselves, were proudly announcing that <strong>Mahone</strong> <strong>Bay</strong> <strong>School</strong> was, ‘The Home<br />
of the Hawks.’ A tradition of outst<strong>and</strong>ing achievement was being established in<br />
badminton, volleyball <strong>and</strong> basketball.<br />
In 1973, the junior boys basketball team<br />
were county champs. They won the<br />
<strong>Mahone</strong> <strong>Bay</strong> Invitational, The Junior<br />
The yearbook recorded, ‘Thanks are extended to Mr. Michael V<strong>and</strong>ertoorn <strong>and</strong> Mr.<br />
Jack Murphy for their timeless work to make the sports program of 1973 a huge<br />
success.’<br />
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