Moncton Sports Wall of Fame to Honour New Inductees on Oct. 24

The 2026 inductees to the City of Moncton’s Sports Wall of Fame include an accomplished athlete who represented Moncton on the international stage and five builders who opened doors for young competitors to excel.

Inductees for 2026 include: 

• Brianna Middleton: Athlete — Baton Twirling
• David Barley — Builder, Fastpitch Softball
• Euclide Gautreau — Builder, Hockey
• John Hunter — Builder, Baseball and Football
• Gary W. O'Neill — Builder, Hockey
• Judy Vautour —  Builder, Physical Education

“This year’s inductees represent the many ways sport can shape a community: through outstanding performances, dedicated leadership, and a lasting commitment to helping others succeed,” says Randy Roth, chair of the Moncton Sports Wall of Fame Committee. “Each of these individuals have left a meaningful mark on the sporting community, and we are proud to recognize the dedication, passion and contributions that have helped strengthen sport in Moncton. On behalf of the Board, I extend our warmest congratulations to the 2026 inductees”

The 2026 Moncton Sports Wall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place at the Capitol Theatre on Oct. 24, 2025 at 7 p.m. Tickets are free and are available at the Capitol Theatre box office located at 811 Main St., by calling 506-856-4379, or online at capitol.nb.ca. 

The Moncton Sports Wall of Fame is located in the Avenir Centre, 150 Canada St.

Brianna Middleton — Player/Athlete, Baton Twirling

Brianna "Bri" Middleton is one of the most accomplished baton twirlers New Brunswick has ever produced. 

Born in Moncton and a lifelong member of Baton Atlantik, she began twirling at age four, started competing at six, and qualified for her first Canadian National Championships in 2009 at seven. 

By 2023, Brianna ranked among the top twirlers in the world, winning a silver medal at that year’s IBTF World Championships in Liverpool, UK. The following year she was named to Canada's ten-athlete TransWorld Team. Her performance at the 2025 World Championships in Turin, Italy, led to Canada taking 6^th place in the overall World Cup. 

She remains the only NB athlete to win four Grand National Championship titles, capturing Three Baton in 2019 and 2025, Two Baton in 2023, and Medley in 2024. In 2016 she became the only NB baton twirler named the Canadian Baton Federation's Junior Female Athlete of the Year, and three years prior to that, she earned the Challenge Cup for the highest overall score at Canadian Nationals. 

Remarkably, she studied full-time during her final four years of international competition, graduating with high honours from the University of Prince Edward Island in 2025 — the same year she competed at her final World Championships.

Brianna now coaches, choreographs, and runs clinics across Canada, sharing her passion for the sport as a mentor to the next generation of twirlers.

David Barley — Builder, Fastpitch Softball

Born in Truro, NS, and raised in nearby Masstown, David “Dave” Barley showed an early talent for building winning teams. At just 17, he assembled a local squad to compete in the Truro and District Softball League, even constructing a ballfield across from his family home.

Dave moved to Moncton in 1963 for a job with Vipond Sprinklers and built the Moncton Vipond Fastball team into a Maritime powerhouse. They captured NB and Maritime Intermediate A honours in 1966, the NB and PEI Senior B title in 1967, and the NB Senior A championship in 1968. Vipond won back-to-back NB and Atlantic Senior A championships, advancing to represent Atlantic Canada at the Canadian Senior Men's Fastball Championships in Saskatoon (1969) and Winnipeg (1970) and becoming the first Maritime team to win a game at the nationals. A versatile player in addition to being the team leader, Dave's ingenuity extended off the field, too — famously chartering small planes to fly the team to a playoff game to capture the win, and later securing the first and only team bus for a Maritime fastball squad.

No Moncton Senior A men's fastball team has won a provincial, Maritime, or Atlantic title since. The 1968-70 Vipond squad was inducted into the Softball New Brunswick/Labatt Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Moncton Sports Wall of Fame in 2010.

Euclide Gautreau — Builder, Hockey

A lifelong Memramcook Valley resident, Euclide "Euki" Gautreau spent more than five decades building and preserving hockey, fastball, and golf across southeast New Brunswick. 

Euclide brought professionalism and consistency to minor, senior, and community hockey leagues as a respected referee for over 40 seasons. He became one of the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus' most enduring figures, serving as the program's official scorekeeper and home-game announcer for 43 years, from 1982 to 2025, while also supporting minor, Junior A, Junior B, and senior hockey in the same roles. He was official scorekeeper for the Memramcook Valley Fastball League for roughly a decade and served on the 1987 organizing committee for the Jeux de l'Acadie, a major provincial youth sport and cultural event.

In golf, Euclide managed memberships at the Memramcook Valley and Amherst golf courses in the 1980s and helped organize events including the Aigles Tournament, the Memramcook Valley Club Championship, and the Guy Dupuis Tournament.

Alongside a full-time career, Euclide authored two books chronicling the history of Aigles Bleus hockey — “La voix des Aigles Bleus 1910–1999” and “La voix des Aigles Bleus Tome 2: 2000–2012” — and contributed to “From Pond to Pro,” helping to preserve more than a century of regional sport history.

Euclide was inducted into the Memramcook Wall of Fame in 2023 for his lifelong dedication to sports. He passed away on Dec. 18, 2025.

John Hunter — Builder, Baseball and Football

Born and raised in Moncton, John Hunter has devoted more than four decades to building and enhancing the city’s baseball and football communities.

An executive with the Moncton Senior Mets baseball club from 1985 to 1989, John served as general manager from 1993-1995 and 1998-2000. He was also vice president of New Brunswick Senior Baseball, vice president of the Moncton Minor Baseball Association, founder of the Moncton Intermediate Baseball League, and a founding member of the Metro Baseball Association in 2014. For 30 years he was an executive member of Moncton Minor Baseball. John’s provincial leadership helped bring national and international baseball to Moncton's Kiwanis Park, including the 1997 World Junior Championship and the Canada Cup in 2011 and 2018.

In football, John coached the Moncton Peewee Eskimos and Bantam Longhorns through the 1970s, winning two city championships and a provincial title. He also coached at Bernice MacNaughton High School for two years. He served for 20 years on the Greater Moncton Football Association board, earning Honourary Life Member status.

A tireless community fundraiser, John continued his advocacy despite a battle with throat cancer several years ago. For 12 consecutive years, he has chaired the annual Paul ‘Tubby’ Melanson Memorial Golf Tournament with proceeds to Moncton Minor Baseball. For the past decade he has also chaired the annual Tee-Off for Kids Golf Tournament for the Boys and Girls Club of Moncton. 

Gary W. O'Neill — Builder, Hockey

Gary W. O'Neill is the official founder of Timbits Hockey, the entry-level program that has introduced generations of Canadians to the game. 

Born in Tatamagouche, NS, Gary settled in Moncton in 1974. He originated the Timbits program in southeastern New Brunswick during the 1981-82 hockey season by sponsoring his son’s team. By then, Gary had launched four Tim Horton’s franchises and money was tight, but after seeing the children in hand-me-down uniforms, he bought each one a brand-new jersey, paying in three installments to cover the costs. The program spread across the region through the 1980s and '90s, enrolling future NHL superstars including Sydney Crosby, Nathan McKinnon, and Brad Marchand. It was adopted provincially and then nationally by Tim Hortons, and has since expanded into baseball, soccer, and other sports. Today it remains a cornerstone of youth sport in Canada, with more than 80,000 children starting their hockey journey each year wearing a Timbits jersey. 

Gary also spent a decade as owner and president of three AHL franchises — the Moncton Alpines (an Edmonton Oilers affiliate), the Moncton Flames (Calgary Flames), and the and Moncton Hawks (Winnipeg Jets) — bringing top hockey talent to the city, including a 1980s exhibition visit from a young Oilers squad featuring Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Jari Kurri. 

He passed away on May 31, 2024, leaving an enduring legacy of support for youth sport.

Judy Vautour — Athlete and Builder, Physical Education

Moncton’s Judy Vautour has transformed athletics in the region through her roles as a multi-sport coach, official, administrator, and mentor, while being an accomplished athlete in her own right.

When Judy began teaching physical education at Harrison Trimble High School in 1983, girls' soccer had no sanctioned provincial league. She worked over five years to successfully secure full NBIAA sanctioning, permanently expanding access and equity for female athletes in NB. In her 33 years at HTHS, Vautour was also head coach of varsity soccer for 28 years, field hockey for 21, and basketball for 10, while also coaching track and field and badminton. 

Outside of the school year, she coached Codiac AAA provincial boys' soccer teams for 16 years and represented NB in two national championships; officiated soccer for 32 years at the college and university levels; and was appointed chief referee liaison officer for the FIFA Women's U20 and FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015. For 25 summers she was senior coach at MultiSport Camp Moncton, and for over 40 years she has contributed to the Legion Youth Leadership Camp, including 11 as camp director.

Previously an AUAA All-Star in field hockey at Université de Moncton, Judy returned to competitive university basketball at age 47, becoming the oldest woman in Canada to do so.

Today she serves as director and general manager of the Moncton Mystics semi-professional Maritime Women’s Basketball Association team.