The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum is pleased to welcome in the 2015 Induction Class which includes: three Players, two Builders, a Pioneer, an Organization of Distinction and a Team of Distinction. 

This year, the Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies will take place at Chateau Le Jardin Conference and Event Centre in Vaughan, ON on Nov. 8. The open house at the Hall of Fame Room at the Ontario Soccer Centre will take place on Nov. 7. 

The Canadian Women's CONCACAF winning team of 1998 enters the Hall of Fame as this year's Team of Distinction. Canada won the CONCACAF Women's Championship in 1998 by beating Mexico 1-0 at Centennial Stadium in Etobicoke. Canada had beaten Puerto Rico, Martinique, Guatemala and Costa Rica to get to the final that year. This event was the fourth and final staging of CONCACAF's Women's Championship under that name. It would be renamed the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup in 2000. Canada took the sole automatic qualifying place by finishing first. The runner-up, Mexico, qualified after defeating Argentina in a two-leg playoff in December 1998. It is considered one of the greatest achievement by the women's program. 

Photo Credit: Les Jones - Covershots Inc

Jim Brennan, Kara Lang and Pat Onstad enter the Hall of Fame in this year's Player category.

Clubs: Toronto Sora Lazio, Bristol City, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City, Southampton

Jim Brennan made his first team debut for Bristol City in the Football League Second Division on October 29, 1996 against Bournemouth. By the start of the 1999-2000 season he was attracting offers from some of England's top clubs and eventually signed for Nottingham Forest. While there, he made 123 appearances and scored one goal. From there he moved on to Norwich City in 2003 and Southampton in 2006. He was a member of Canada's CONCACAF Gold Cup winning team in February 2000. He joined Toronto FC of Major League Soccer when the team was formed in 2007 and was made captain. He played regularly at Toronto FC during seasons 2007, 2008 and 2009, appearing in 84 games, but retired early in 2010 to take an office job with the club.

Kara Lang played 92 times for Canada and scored 35 goals. She holds the distinction of being the youngest player to ever play in a senior women's international for Canada and also the youngest player to score a goal in a senior women's international. Her first goal came when she scored against Wales in the Algarve Cup on March 3, 2002, at 15 years and 132 days. At the age of 16, Kara played in all six games for Canada at the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2003, and was a member of the Canadian team at the 2008 Olympic Games in China when Canada reached the quarter finals. She was also a CONCACAF champion in 2010.  Unfortunately, knee injuries ended her career prematurely.

Clubs: Vancouver 86ers, Winnipeg Fury, Toronto Blizzard, Winnipeg Fury, Toronto Rockets, Montreal Impact, Toronto Lynx, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Dundee United, Rochester Raging Rhinos, San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, D.C. United 2011.

Pat Onstad won the Canadian Soccer League championship with Winnipeg Fury in 1992. He was A-League goalkeeper of the Year in 1998 with Rochester when his team won A-League championship. He led the Rhinos to the U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. national championship in 1999, shutting out the Chicago Fire and the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer along the way. Onstad was a CONCACAF champion in 2000. He is currently the assistant coach of Columbus Crew.

In the Builder Category, John Kerr and Jim Hubay have been selected as part of the 2015 Induction Class.

Jim Hubay was President of the Canadian Minor Soccer Association in 1974, vice president in 1975 and treasurer in 1976. Jim had a long history of involvement in youth soccer in Canada in many capacities dating back to 1957 when he was a founding President of the Laurentian Hills Soccer League. Before turning to administration, he played from 1950 to 1952 for Junior Hungaria in Montreal winning the Quebec championship in 1951 and 1952. From 1959 to 1966 he helped create the Quebec Minor Soccer Association and was treasurer from its inception until 1966 when his job took him to Quebec City. In 1969 he attended the founding meeting of the Canadian Minor Soccer Association in Toronto and upon returning to live in Montreal was elected President of the Quebec Minor Soccer Association. In 1971 he was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Minor Soccer Association and in 1972 elected to the National Executive of the Canadian Soccer Association and Chairman of the Adidas National Soccer Skills Contest. In 1972 he was elected fourth-vice-president of the Canadian Soccer Association. In 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980 he was Chairman of the National Soccer Skills Contest, resigning after the 1980 contest when his job took him to Saudi Arabia. In 2007 he decided to write down his experiences in his many years of involvement in soccer and the end result was a book titled "Development of Youth Soccer 1950 to 1981."

The late John Kerr was selected for his outstanding work in organizing and leading the North American Soccer League Players Union in the years when that league was running. As a player, he played 10 times for Canada. Kerr made his international debut for Canada against Bermuda in a World Cup game in 1968. He was playing for the Detroit in the NASL and he played in all four qualifying games in that year. Kerr missed the qualifying games for 1974 but returned to the team again in 1976 by which time he was playing in Washington. Kerr spent one season playing in the German-American Soccer League of New York for Hota and in that year Hota won the U.S. national championship. He spent one season in Mexico playing for Club America. He passed on in June of 2011. 

George Anderson has been selected as Pioneer in the 2015 Induction Class. Anderson toured Australia with the Canadian team in 1924 and played in all six international matches. He played for Upper Island and the Pacific Coast League against the English F.A. touring team in 1926, and broke his leg in the PCL game. He played for B.C. Lower Mainland against the Welsh F.A. tourists in 1929. He played in the Canadian Challenge Cup final in 1926 for Canadian Collieries of Cumberland, B.C. losing to Winnipeg United Weston. On moving to Westminster Royals he helped them to win the Challenge Trophy in 1928 and 1930 against Montreal C.N.R and in 1936 against United Weston.

Montreal Carsteel has been selected as an Organization of Distinction as part of the 2015 Induction Class. Carsteel were one of the great Canadian teams before and just after World War Two. Owned and operated by the Canadian Car and Foundry Company, the key person behind this team was the company's vice president and general manager Len Peto. Carsteel won the Quebec Cup for the first time in 1925, and would win it eight more times in the next 15 years. During that time, they won the Eastern Division of the National Soccer League four times and the National Soccer League championship twice. Peto eventually moved on to the hockey world. Carsteel would win the FA trophy in 1948 by beating Vancouver St. Andrews. Shortly after the team was renamed Cancar and disappeared in the 1950s. 

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Ticket details for the Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum Induction night will be released soon.

You can help support the Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum by attending their Annual Golf Tournament.
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Media Contacts

Ben Rycroft | Ontario Soccer Association Communications Manager | 905-254-9390 ext. 255 | Email: brycroft@soccer.on.ca

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About the Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum:

The Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum was created to acquire, document, preserve, display and interpret artifacts and archival materials that tell the story of the development and continuing history of soccer in Canada. The Museum was opened in Vaughan at The Soccer Centre in 2000 and is operated by the Ontario Soccer Association.

About the Ontario Soccer Association:

Founded in 1901, the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) is the largest provincial sports organization in Canada. Its members include more than 650 clubs, servicing over 24,000 teams, with 380,000 registered players, 70,000 coaches and managers, and 10,000 referees. The OSA develops and delivers programs and services throughout Ontario with the mission of providing leadership and support for the advancement of soccer in collaboration and cooperation with our membership, partners, and other stakeholders by providing exceptional and sustainable programs and services.