Moncton Sports Wall of Fame

Ulysse Doiron is an accomplished boxer whose passion for the “sweet science” directly contributed to the sport’s revival in New Brunswick in the 1980s and inspired countless young athletes to step into the ring.

The 1980 Eastern Canada Middleweight Champ and a 1989 inductee to the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame, Moncton, NB-born Doiron began training as a 13-year-old in 1966, developing what would eventually become his powerful left hook. A fierce, disciplined fighter, he competed as an amateur for a decade, winning two Maritime and three New Brunswick Golden Glove Championships. He was named the province’s Most Improved Boxer at the 1973 NB Golden Glove tournament, and in 1976 was voted the Golden Glove’s Outstanding Maritime Boxer across all weight classes. That same year he turned to professional boxing, notching 10 consecutive victories in his first fights, with a record of 15 wins and three losses before he retired in 1984.

He continued to contribute to the sport as a certified official and ringside judge for many years and as a coach for several decades. In 1988 he co-founded the now-thriving F.I.S.T.S Amateur Boxing Club, and continues to be an ardent promoter, organizer, and administrator of the sport locally and regionally.

Doiron is recognized by his peers not only for his deep commitment to growing the sport in his community, but for being a model of sportsmanship, humility, and discipline to the many young competitors he has mentored.

Serge “Bâyo” LeBlanc’s unflagging commitment to excellence has distinguished his career as an equipment manager for some of Canada’s most successful hockey teams over the past three decades. Often regarded by his teammates as the backbone of their unit, his professionalism, technical expertise, and attention to detail have directly contributed to their achievements on national and international stages.

A native of Sainte-Marie-de-Kent and a resident of Moncton from 1995 to 2011, LeBlanc has marked over 125 games with Team Canada. His international résumé includes medal-winning performances at two Olympic Winter Games (2018 and 2022), two Women’s Senior World Championships (2021 and 2022), two U18 Women’s World Championships (2015 and 2016), and two Men’s World Junior Championships (2008 and 2011). He was also part of the gold-winning Canadian men’s squad at the 2013 Winter Universiade.

LeBlanc served as the Moncton Wildcats’ equipment manager for 11 seasons, notching 865 games and contributing to winning the QMJHL Gilles-Courteau trophy in 2006 and 2010. In 2008, he was honored with the franchise’s first-ever Commitment to Excellence Award, recognizing his dedication and impact behind the scenes.

LeBlanc’s journey as a skate-and-stick guru began in 1993 with the Cavaliers of École Clément-Cormier, winning a provincial title in 1995, and continued with the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus (1995–1999), where he helped the team capture the Atlantic University Sport championship in 1999.

Normand Léger has played an essential role chronicling, developing, and promoting sports in New Brunswick. Whether as a sports writer and photographer, event founder and organizer, referee, coach, or volunteer, his passion for athletics has created numerous opportunities for multiple generations of competitors and teams.

Among his accomplishments, Léger co-founded and sustained the Jeux de l’Acadie, reporting on the first-ever games at the Université de Moncton in 1979. He also documented the history of the games with books marking their 10th and 40th anniversaries. He represented New Brunswick at 12 Canada Games and at nine International Francophonie Games, often serving as chef de mission or as a senior member of Team New Brunswick’s leadership. As a key organizer of the World Junior Track and Field Championships in 2010, Léger helped to shine an international spotlight on Moncton.

In his career as a sports reporter, he covered major international events including the 1972 Summit hockey series between Canada and Russia, the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, and the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. Since 2008, he has been the communications officer for the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus.

Léger has also been a force behind grassroots sport development, organizing youth hockey tournaments, founding an atom hockey league, and helping to structure the region’s minor hockey system. As a founding member of the Moncton Minor Hockey Association, he coached midget hockey and baseball teams.

In each of his varied roles, Léger has exemplified the values of dedication, community, and excellence in sport. 

A hockey trailblazer both on the ice and behind the bench, James William “Bill” Riley has established a long legacy of nurturing talent across Atlantic Canada, making players’ and teams’ development his top priority.

Amherst, NS-born Riley was the third Black player in the NHL, playing 139 regular-season games for the Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets (1974-1980). He later settled in Moncton, captaining the AHL’s New Brunswick Hawks to a Calder Cup in 1982, then served as captain of the Nova Scotia Voyageurs and became assistant coach to the Moncton Alpines in 1983.

Riley balanced the dual roles of player-coach and captain of the Herder Memorial Trophy-winning St. John’s Capitals (1986-1987), and coached the Amherst Ramblers to their first-ever Callaghan Cup in 1990. He brought the Midland Jr. Hawks to an Atlantic Championship in 1993. Later, he was the head coach and general manager of the Miramichi Timberwolves and helped establish the nascent Moncton Wildcats, serving as their first head coach (1996-1997).

Riley has built a reputation for tirelessly donating his time to hockey clinics, practices, and special appearances, and for mentoring Black and underprivileged players. From 1984 to 1993, Riley established and ran a Riverview-based hockey school where all players were welcome regardless of their ability to pay, while also hosting hockey schools in Sussex and St. Andrews.

Among his many accolades, Riley was inducted into the Canadian Black Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Christopher Rochon, née Robertson, is the first-ever New Brunswicker to claim a gold medal in the Canadian Senior National Track and Field Championship decathlon, while also setting provincial records for points earned and for the pole vault at the 2018 event. The following year he re-joined the same podium with a silver.

Rochon honed his multi-sport prowess during his 18 years living in Moncton, NB as a member of Athletisme Sud-Est/South East Athletics (ASEA), which he proudly represented until his 2019 retirement.

Rochon set four other NB records during his athletic career: in 2016, for highest points at the Atlantic Track and Field Championships; in 2015, for U23 male pentathlon (indoor); in 2014, for the U23 decathlon at the Canadian National Senior Track and Field Championships; and in 2011, for the U20 decathlon at the Canadian Junior Championships. Rochon also represented NB at the 2009 and 2013 Canada Summer Games and at the 2017 Jeux de la Francophonie in Côte d’Ivoire.

An accomplished University of Western Ontario varsity athlete, in 2012 he was a member of the school’s first-ever team to win a USport Championship. He later led the squad as Captain in 2014-2015.

Rochon has applied fierce determination to overcome challenges during his track and field tenure, including a serious back injury in 2013. Facing a dearth of pole vault coaches in Atlantic Canada, and later a lack of coaching resources near his Oakville, ON student residence, he consistently overcame those setbacks with resourcefulness, positivity, and persistence. 

The Moncton Keefe Cubs Junior Baseball Team won three consecutive provincial championships between 1984 and 1986 and two consecutive Atlantic championships in 1985 and 1986. The team showed exceptional tenacity under pressure, with seven straight elimination wins during provincial playoffs in both 1985 and 1986. During the three-game NB league finals in 1986, they initially suffered a crushing last-inning loss but, facing elimination in the second game, staged multiple comebacks – including a dramatic rally with their final strike – before winning in extra innings and ultimately advancing to seize the title. In addition to talented pitchers, their well-rounded roster boasted strong defensive players in key central positions. When not suited up for the Cubs, members of the squad supported daily ball clinics in the community and umpired youth games, with several taking roles as coaches, educators, and leaders in their later years. This talented group left its mark on Maritime junior baseball, inspiring a wave of young players to follow in their footsteps.

The team included Serge Babineau, Luc Belliveau, Mike BeLong, Bob Bowser (coach and manager), Ronnie Bourque, Don Cormier, Ola Cormier, Rhéal Cormier, Terry Coyle, Dave Daigle, George Ferrier (coach), Chris Gibson, Andy Grenier, Jamie Hynes, Bruce Landry, Jean Marc LeBlanc, Grant Lipscombe, Scott MacLean (player then coach), Brent MacTavish, John McCarthy, Roger McGraw, Larry McDonald, Stephen McWilliam, Gary Melanson, Tim Melanson, Gary Mellon, Charlie Michelin, Ross Sobey, and Rod Savoie.