Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award facts for kids

The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is a special honor given every year to newspaper writers or reporters who have done an amazing job covering ice hockey. It celebrates journalists whose writing has brought respect to both journalism and the sport of hockey.

This award was created in 1984 by the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's named after Elmer Ferguson, a famous Canadian sports journalist from Montreal. Each year, a group of people from the Professional Hockey Writers' Association chooses the winner. The award is given out at a ceremony in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Winners receive a special glass plaque that is displayed in the media section of the Hockey Hall of Fame. It's important to know that even though this award is from the Hockey Hall of Fame, these media honorees are not considered full Hall of Fame players. Their ceremony is separate.

Award History and Milestones

The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award has been given out for 39 years, with 65 winners in total. In 1984, the very first year, 17 journalists were honored. These included Red Burnett, Jim Coleman, and Elmer Ferguson himself. For several years after that, at least two journalists received the award each year. There were no awards given in 1992, 1994, 1996, and 2021.

In 2005, Helene Elliott from the Los Angeles Times made history. She became the first woman to receive this award. She was also the first woman to be honored in the media section of any of the "Big Four" major sports halls of fame in North America.

Sometimes, the award is given to someone after they have passed away. This has happened eight times. For example, Dave Fay received the award in 2007, four months after he died. Journalists who worked for the Toronto Star have won the award seven times, which is the most for any publication. Reporters from The Globe and Mail have won six times, and Le Journal de Montréal journalists have won five times. All 65 winners have been journalists from either Canada or the United States.

Award Winners

Red Burnett, a reporter for the Toronto Star, was one of the first 17 winners in 1984.

Red Fisher was honored in 1985 for his great work.

Here's a look at some of the journalists who have received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award. The dagger symbol () means the award was given after the person had passed away.

Key

	Indicates posthumous award

Recipients of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award

Year	Recipient	Publication(s)
1984	Beauchamp, JacquesJacques Beauchamp	Montréal-Matin/Le Journal de Montréal
	Burchard, JimJim Burchard	New York World-Telegram
	Burnett, RedRed Burnett	Toronto Star
	Carroll, DinkDink Carroll	Montreal Gazette
	Coleman, JimJim Coleman	Southam Newspapers
	Damata, TedTed Damata	Chicago Tribune
	Desjardins, MarcelMarcel Desjardins	La Presse
	Dulmage, JackJack Dulmage	Windsor Star
	Dunnell, MiltMilt Dunnell	Toronto Star
	Ferguson, ElmerElmer Ferguson	Montréal Herald/Montréal Star
	Fitzgerald, TomTom Fitzgerald	The Boston Globe
	Frayne , TrentTrent Frayne	Toronto Telegram/The Globe and Mail/Toronto Sun
	Laney, AlAl Laney	New York Herald Tribune
	Nichols, JoeJoe Nichols	The New York Times
	O'Meara, BasilBasil O'Meara	Montréal Star
	Vipond, JimJim Vipond	The Globe and Mail
	Walter, LewisLewis Walter	Detroit Times
1985	Barton, CharlieCharlie Barton	Buffalo Courier-Express
	Fisher, RedRed Fisher	Montréal Star/Montreal Gazette
	Gross, GeorgeGeorge Gross	Toronto Telegram/Toronto Sun
	Lespérance, ZotiqueZotique Lespérance	Le Journal de Montréal/La Petit Journal
	Mayer, CharlesCharles Mayer	Le Petit Journal/La Patrie
	O'Brien, AndyAndy O'Brien	Weekend Magazine
2005	Elliott, HeleneHelene Elliott	Los Angeles Times
2007	Fay, DaveDave Fay	The Washington Times
2022	Morganti, AlAl Morganti	Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC Sports
2023	Mulvoy, MarkMark Mulvoy	Sports Illustrated
2024	Burnside, ScottScott Burnside	Windsor Star, ESPN.com, The Athletic
2025	Gagnon, FrançoisFrançois Gagnon	RDS, La Presse

Award Statistics

This table shows which publications have had the most journalists win the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award.

More About Sports Awards

• BBWAA Career Excellence Award
• Bill Nunn Memorial Award
• Curt Gowdy Media Award