Bruce Beaton among first inductees to N.S. football hall
Bill Dunphy

Port Hood's Bruce Beaton is among the first 16 inductees to the brand new Nova Scotia Football Hall of Fame. The two-time Grey Cup champion will receive the honour at a dinner in Halifax on Saturday marking the 125th anniversary of Football Canada.

Bruce Beaton is among 16 inductees who will be honoured this weekend as the inaugural members of the Nova Scotia Football Hall of Fame.

The two-time Grey Cup champion with the Edmonton Eskimos will join 15 others who have excelled in a sport not often associated with the province beyond the college level.

“I think it’s neat,” said Beaton. “It’s kind of funny, when you look back at the initial starts of the NFL and the CFL with guys in leather helmets getting in their respective halls of fame. This is what it’s going to look like in 30 years.

`There’s going to be a lot of good football players coming out of Nova Scotia in those years to come, and I’m glad it (the new hall of fame) is going to be there for them.”

The induction ceremony will be held Saturday, Feb. 7th, at the Delta Halifax. It’s part of a dinner to mark the 125th anniversary of Football Canada and features CFL commissioner Mark Cohon as the guest speaker.

Along with Beaton, other inductees include Super Bowl winner Tyrone Williams, and fellow Grey Cup champions Marty Martinello, Wayne Smith, Terry Baker, and David Crabbe.

Twelve of the recipients are already in the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame, including Williams, Martinello, Smith, Baker, Crabbe, along with Peter Corkum, George Cutten, Bob Douglas, Bob Hayes, Don Loney, Keith MacKenzie and Wyman Porter.

Four inductees, including Beaton, have not yet been inducted into the Nova Scotia hall, and they are Larry Uteck (coach), Ken Fultz (official) and Rick Rivers (builder).

“I can’t imagine a guy like Larry Uteck not being in the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame,” said Beaton. “But I guess you have to be nominated; it’s not something the hall does.”

A group with the Chestico Museum Society in Port Hood began the paperwork necessary to have Beaton inducted last year, and it’s quite likely he will be inducted into the Nova Scotia hall this coming October.

Now 40 years old, Beaton’s CFL career was nothing short of illustrious. A 12-year veteran, he was three times a league all-star and a two-time Grey Cup champ.

A product of Acadia University, Beaton was drafted by B.C. in 1991. He was traded to Ottawa and spent two seasons with the Rough Riders. He spent one season in Calgary (1995) before moving on to Montreal where he was a CFL East all-star in ‘96 and ‘97.

Signed as a free agent in 1998, Beaton never missed a game in seven seasons with Edmonton; and in 2002 he was the West Division finalist for the CFL’s outstanding lineman award.

He initially retired in 2004 after winning his first Grey Cup. Amazingly, he came back in 2005 and helped Edmonton win another Grey Cup before packing it in for good.

Moving to Kentville with his wife, Michelle, and young family, Beaton entered the business world.

He and former teammate Dan Comiskey created a motivational company, Goal Setters, to help people maximize their potential. Together, they co-authored a book, The Truth About Success.

Their company has since evolved from goal-setting and is now known as Dan the Safety Man.

“You know, the football awards don’t mean much to me. I’m on to other things. Helping people and making a difference in their lives is so much more important to me now,” he said.

“Three people in Canada died today from an industrial accident, and to me, that’s unbelievable in a country of 30 million. People think getting hurt at work is a way of life! These are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters we’re talking about.”

Beaton said becoming an entrepreneur was an easy transition from professional football player.

“It’s fun for me; business, to me, is the closest thing to sport.

`No matter what changes you are faced with, you just can’t compete with someone who loves what they do and has a passion for it.”