Renaming awards is generally a bad idea. It disrespects history. I don't care if no one knows who Dr. David A. Hart is. I want Sidney Crosby to win the Hart Memorial Trophy just like Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Gordie Howe before him.
But there has been no real objection to the renaming of the Pearson trophy, and that is the one trophy named after a person that every Canadian should know of.
His ties to hockey aren't as strong as Ted Lindsay, and Lindsay is very deserving of such an honor. But I am glad to Randy Boswell of CanWest News Service take the defense of leaving the trophy named after Pearson:
Pearson, a Nobel Peace Prize winner whose name adorns Toronto's airport and the Ottawa headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs, "was proud of that trophy, and he was proud of his life as a sportsman."
I'm afraid the lack of an uproar may encourage those in hockey who think renaming the trophies is a good idea to push harder for the remainder trophies. As a purist I am against the idea, and have even suggested a hybrid solution.
After all, you wouldn't rename the Stanley Cup would you?
2 comments:
Completely agree, but not surprised about the lack of debate. It seems that turning the page on history is occasionally in fashion - while LB Pearson was a big baseball fan, he understood the meaning of sportsmanship. He was a WWI vet and a great, underappreciated leader. Lindsey is deserving in his own way but its not like the NHLPA couldn't have created something new to honour him.
Ouch. I had no idea that this had just happened. I agree with you and rockfish. Too bad.
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