The Ontario Lacrosse Association (OLA) recently announced the newest 9 members of the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame (OLHOF) in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Among those names is former Fergus Thistles player Bob Hamley.
The 2008 inductees are Joe Caruso of Brampton, Brian Connors Of Akwesasne, Oliver “Lover” Hill of Onondaga Nation, Hamley, Terry Lloyd of Oshawa, Randy Mearns of St.Catharines, Larry “Wamper” Power of Oshawa, Gerald Ravary (deceased) of Whitby and Steve Thomas of Akwesasne.
Elected in the players category, Hamley played competitively for over 20 years in Jr. B, Sr. B, major and professional.
Known for always scoring big goals and as a huge offensive threat he was the Jr. B MVP in 1984, Jr. B top scorer in 1986, and Sr. B MVP in 1988.
He was a member of the Presidents Cup Champions, Fergus Thistles in 1988 and 1992.
He is currently coaching in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
The 2008 Induction Ceremony will be held on Saturday October 18.
Hamley is current head coach and General Manager of the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League.
Hamley played four seasons with the Buffalo Bandits, winning two Championships. Following his playing career, he became head coach and GM of the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves of the Ontario Lacrosse Association. After three years in Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamley was named an assistant coach to Bob McMahon of the Albany Attack, and took the team that had the league’s worst offense in 2001[1] to the 2002 Championship game, losing at home to the Toronto Rock.
In September 2002, Hamley was named head coach and GM of the Columbus Landsharks.[1] In 2003, the Landsharks moved to Arizona, becoming the Sting. Hamley hired Bob McMahon, his boss in Albany, to be an assistant coach.
In the 2005 season, the Sting finished second in the Western Division, and beat both Colorado and Calgary to make it to the Championship game. However, history would repeat itself as Hamley and McMahon were denied the Championship once again by the Toronto Rock. Hamley was named the 2005 recipient of the Les Bartley Award for Coach of the Year,[2] and the next day was also named GM of the Year,[3] becoming the first person in league history to win both awards. In the 2007 NLL season, he again brought his team to the championship game, this time losing to the Rochester Knighthawks. Hamley continued to serve as the Stings head coach and General Manager until the 2008 NLL season, when the Sting decided for "a number of business reasons" to opt out of the 2008 season following the labor dispute.[4]
Due to the Sting suspending operations for the 2008 season, Hamley joined the Colorado Mammoth as an assistant coach under Bob McMahon. This reunion was short-lived. The Edmonton Rush, after starting the 2008 NLL season with an 0-5 record, fired head coach and general manager coach, Paul Day, and hired Hamley to replace him.[5]
