Niagara Falls announces 2025 Sports Wall of Fame Inductees

Photo Credit: City of Niagara Falls/Facebook

Two athletes, two teams and a builder were part of the class of 2025 that entered the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame earlier this week.

Soccer, Para Cycling, Hockey, Soccer and Baseball were the sports featured in this year’s class.

Poppy Gilliam – Athlete – Soccer

Poppy Gilliam began her soccer journey at the age of six with the Niagara Falls Soccer League.

She then transitioned to the St. Catharines Jets premier soccer team at age sixteen, playing with them for two decades. She served as captain for 15 years, helping to guide her team to numerous Ontario championships. Gilliam proudly represented Team Ontario for two years as both a defender and forward and was selected to train with the National Development program competing with the top women across Canada.

During high school at AN Myer Secondary School, she excelled in soccer, basketball, volleyball and badminton, winning many Zone and SOSSA championships, advancing to OFSAA in both soccer and basketball. She captained numerous teams, served as Student Council and Athletic Council president and won the Excellence in Education award, earning her a spot in the school’s Hall of Fame.

Her education and soccer landed Gilliam at Brown University, a Division 1 Ivy League school in Providence Rhode Island from 1992-1996, where the soccer team was ranked 12th in the nation her third year. She was named to the All-Ivy Team, was captain her senior year, and won the Ivy League Championships twice. She also excelled academically with a 4.0 average and was awarded the Brown University Leadership award. In 1997, she played her fifth year of eligibility back locally for Brock University, where the Badgers advanced to the OUA championships, and she won the President’s Award.

Gilliam has dedicated over 30 years to coaching both school and travel teams, ran the ‘Just for Kicks’ summer camp in Niagara Falls, and in 2022, co-led soccer for the Canada Games held in Niagara. Following her work with the Canada Games, Canada Soccer invited her to assist in running National Soccer Championships, further demonstrating her ongoing influence in the sport.

Shelley Gauthier – Athlete – Paracycling

Shelley Gautier was a competitive mountain biker in 2001, when she crashed her bike on holiday in Vermont, crushing her helmet and sustaining a severe head injury. Following that, she spent six weeks in a coma, and then eight months in a Toronto rehab learning to walk and talk again. As a result, the right side of her body is affected by hemiplegia (one-sided paralysis). This injury, however, was not the end of Gauthier’s athletic career.

Following her recovery she began competing in disabled sailing, racing across Canada and the United States before switching over to paracycling. In 2009, Gauthier became the first T-1 rider in international para cycling. won a total of nineteen 19 in the Union Cycliste Internationale Para-cycling Road World Championships time trial and road race events, with 18 of them being gold.

Gauthier has also competed in multiple Parapan American Games, earning silver medals in 2011 and in 2015. She has also competed in three Paralympic Games, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, and London 2020, earning a Bronze medal in the women’s T-1 time trial in 2016. This made her the only T-1 female Para-cyclist from any country in the world to medal at a Paralympic Games.

In 2015, she was inducted into the Inaugural Toronto Sports Hall of Honour and awarded the Sports Niagara Para-Athlete of the Year in Para Cycling. Gauthier competed and was awarded a silver medal in the mixed time trial event at the 2015 Parapan American Games and founded the Shelley Gautier Para-Sport Foundation to allow access to Para sport for people with disabilities.

Gauthier’s cycling career has been outstanding and she continues to compete at the world level and inspires others to do the same.

Niagara Falls Thunder 2001-2002 Midget AAA – Team – Hockey

The Niagara Falls Thunder 2021-2002 Midget AAA’s were one of two teams to be honoured Sunday at the Gale Centre – site of the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame.

After an okay regular season which saw the Midget AAA team finish in sixth place in their division, the club caught fire in the playoffs, winning two tightly contested five-game series in deciding fifth games on the road against St. Catharines and Halton respectively which qualified the team for the OMHA championships in Peterborough. At the OMHA Championship tournament, the team worked their way to a 2-1-1 record, earning a spot in the gold medal matchup with the Quinte Red Devils, the only team to defeat them in the round robin. After scoring an early goal to start the game, the team rode hot goaltending and solid defensive play to hold off Quinte, preserve the shutout and capture gold with a thrilling 1-0 win.

With that championship victory, the team progressed to the Air Canada Cup National Championship regional tournament, competing against other Ontario Hockey Federation league champions in Timmins, ON. The team competed to a 2-4 record, narrowly missing out on a berth in the bronze medal game.

1981 Under 13 Boys Ontario Cup Champion Soccer Team -Team – Soccer

In 1981, the Under 13 Boys soccer team won the Ontario Cup Championship, a competition that included 77 of the top teams from across the province. As a small soccer centre in comparison to the other top tier teams in larger areas such as the GTA, this was an impressive accomplishment, making this the first time the City of Niagara Falls won this championship in this age group.

Niagara Falls also won in the U8 age group on the same day and are on the Sports Wall of Fame. Niagara Falls also had two other teams in the final that day in the U10 and U16 who did not win. This was a testament to the player and coaching development by Niagara Falls Boys Soccer Club and their many dedicated volunteers.

The team had a remarkable season, winning both the league and playoff championships and several invitationaland international soccer tournaments which included competition from the US and other provinces.

Unfortunately, the National Championship for this age group was cancelled in 1981, depriving this team from competing for a National Championship which would have included some of the teams from other provinces that it had already defeated in tournament play.

Tim Topping – Builder – Baseball

Tim Topping’s lengthy career in coaching started with his young son’s T-ball team over 40 years ago. Since then, he has coached baseball for teams in Niagara ranging from house league to university.

Topping has coached three Ontario Baseball Association championship-winning teams with the Greater Niagara Baseball Association (GNBA): a minor mosquito team that won the provincial title in 1996, a midget team that won in 2005, and a peewee team as assistant coach that won the title in 2014.

He was also a pitching coach for the Brock University baseball team from 1995 until 1999, his teams winning back-to-back CIBA championships in 1998 and 1999.

The GNBA teams that Topping coached have represented Niagara Falls across Ontario.He created the first Niagara Falls baseball team to compete in an American Legion Baseball League, which brought his team to New York, and several American teams to Niagara Falls. His teams also played several times in the Freeport Invitational, a large international tournament in Freeport, Pennsylvania, where they competed against teams from the US, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Japan.

In the off months, Topping held baseball clinics and workshops for both players and coaches while attending clinics himself and improving his coaching levels for the NCCP. He became a member of the GNBA executive while coaching, and remained on the board for 25 years, including a 2-year term as president beginning in 2000.

Later, he was privileged to be made a lifetime member of that organization. He also served on the NDBA board for over 15 years, and received a Niagara Falls Volunteer Recognition award in 1998, and in 2017 he was made a Paul Harris Fellow by the Niagara Falls Rotary Club for his outstanding contributions to his community. Tim continues to be active in baseball.

All five 2025 sports wall of fame inductees now have plagues on display at the Gale Centre.

The Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame’s objective is to honour and perpetuate the names and deeds of Athletes and Teams whose athletic abilities have brought fame to themselves and our community and of Builders whose interest in and work for sport have resulted in a climate that benefits athletes and athletics. We accept nominations in each of those three categories.

Online nomination form for athletes, teams, builders and sponsors. Hardcopy forms will also be available upon request. at the McBain Community Centre of Gale Centre.

The deadline to submit nominations for 2026 May 2, 2025.

Nominations must include all three (3) of the following:

A complete narrative describing the activities and achievements of the nominee (including copies of newspaper clippings, documentation, etc.) and tell us why you feel your nominee should be selected.
All necessary proof to substantiate the information provided.
One photo of the nominee must be received by the submission deadline. Photos should be approximately 5 x 7 inches and of clear, high quality (black and white is preferred). Additional photos and video footage may be requested later, if your nomination is accepted.
Important! Incomplete nomination forms will be returned for further information and may not be eligible for this year’s consideration. All applications must be received by the first Friday in May.

All materials should be sent, uploaded, to the digital nomination form or sent via email, fax, or post to the Recreation & Culture office at the MacBain Community Centre.

More information can be found here: https://niagarafalls.ca/living/citizen-awards/sports-wall-of-fame.aspx