When chosen honorary chairman of the 1996 Atlantic Bowl, Dr. Bill Stanish was humbled by the recognition. When the 53-year-old Toronto native was selected to the Nova Scotia Sport Heritage Centre Hall of Fame, he told reporters he was humbled by the honor. A humble person, perhaps. But a much more appropriate label to describe the man, his achievements and his work is Excellence. Excellence best addresses his athletic career. He captained Dalhousie University’s football and hockey teams in the same academic year, the first Dal student to hold the leadership position with both clubs. In 1965, he won the Climo Award that goes to Dalhousie’s outstanding male athlete. He has often been called one of the university’s finest athletes ever.

Excellence, too, defines his accomplishments as director of Dalhousie’s Orthopedic and Sport Medicine Clinic, which he founded in 1976, to rehabilitate many injured athletes, research physiology and bio-mechanics of ligaments and tendons, and produce over 130 publications. With the word excellence so up front in everything Stanish has done, the list of honors and awards received, appointments accepted, and tasks undertaken is extremely lengthy. However, his most significant role, perhaps, has been his work with Canada’s elite athletes. That work at a national level began with the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and continued as chief medical officer for the Canadian team at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 1988 Games in Seoul. He was Canadian team doctor at the Pan-American Games in Puerto Rico, several times served as team doctor of the Canadian water polo team, and was team doctor for the Canadian Gymnastics Federation. He remains a member of the Canadian Olympic Trust. Bill Stanish was president of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine, the Herodicus Sport Medicine Society, the Orthopaedic Society of Nova Scotia, and the Recreational Council for the Disabled.

He has also held positions with Victoria General Hospital, the Dalhousie Alumni Association and the Canadian Track and Field Association. Excellence, as well, is the most fitting definition of Bill Stanish’s outstanding career as a clinical scientist, professor of orthopaedic surgery, researcher, author, and much-travelled lecturer. Yes, Bill Stanish has done – and continues to do- tremendous things for his community, his province and his country. And, yes, he does get humbled when he’s saluted for his efforts. “People talk about my involvement with the Olympic movement and that sort of thing, and I was very honored. But it’s the day-to-day, in-the-trenches work I do with athletes of Nova Scotia and the Maritimes that is the most satisfying. It’s gratifying to see kids playing varsity sports, after blowing out their knee or shoulder, getting back to that high level again.” The great news is that retirement is not yet in his vocabulary. “I’ve been in practice for 20 years and it only seems like yesterday. I enjoy it so very much. My wife (Carol) and I actually talked about when I was going to slow down. I’m not prepared to do that quite yet. My health is fine, everything we write seems to get published, the research is going very nicely, and I still enjoy getting people better. “Dr. William D. Stanish, a magnificent man in our community and a magnificent contributor to the Nova Scotia sports scene, adds still another honor to his collection with his induction into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame. You can be sure he will be humbled once again.

Bio Courtesy of Hugh Townsend