Gord Horner

Gord was born on July 30, 1934 and grew up in Elmwood. From an early age, he would be seen walking around with a lacrosse stick in his hands. Gord performed in the Winnipeg Senior Box Lacrosse League for thirteen years, from 1951 to 1963, first being called up to play while still of juvenile age. Although Gord was one of the smaller players in the league, he was known as a fierce competitor with a great “feel” for the game who made great decisions on the court. Gord was also recognized as a highly skilled player. With his quick hands and accurate shot he became a very effective creaseman on his team’s power play unit. Available league records show that Gord was a prolific goal scorer, consistently placing among the Senior League’s top ten scorers throughout his career. Records also show that he fired in 4 goals in the final game of the provincial championship series against the Deer Lodge team. Gord’s value was recognized with his selection to the Manitoba Junior All-Stars Team five consecutive times, from 1951 to 1955, which competed in the national Junior A playoffs. He proved to be one of the key players on those teams. The 1954 squad won the Eastern Canadian Junior A Championship, defeating Ontario and advancing to face British Columbia in the Minto Cup Final. In 1955 Gord scored the clinching goal with just 43 seconds remaining in the game as the All-Stars defeated British Columbia, capturing the Western Canadian Junior A Championship and once again earning a berth in the national final to compete against Ontario for the Minto Cup. Gord was instrumental in forming the Olympics Senior Box Lacrosse Team in the early 1960s, eventually becoming the team’s playing coach. In 1962, in addition to being selected to the Senior League’s all-star squad, he was chosen as the recipient for the Most Valuable Player Award. As would be expected, Gord continued to perform at a high level right to the end of his playing days, recording several multiple-goal games in his final year. True to form, Gord capped off his outstanding career by scoring the winning goal as his team, the Olympics, captured the 1963 Winnipeg Senior Box Lacrosse Championship. Manitoba’s lacrosse community lost a legendary player when Gord passed away on September 19, 2005.