CREDIT: FANSHAWE ATHLETICS
Ernie Durocher has been working in Fanshawe's Athletic department since 1978.

Times were much different when Fanshawe College athletic officer Ernie Durocher joined the school's sports department as a team trainer in 1978. The tiny B gymnasium had a stage directly behind the north basket, resulting in collisions at each Falcons men's and women's basketball game. The college's A gym had a tile floor, which also saw injuries of the slipping and sliding variety.

Thirty-four years later, Fanshawe has grown from a campus of less than 4,000 full-time students to more than 15,000 students. Varsity athletes, intramural and extramural sports participants plus members of the community enjoy a modern athletic complex that rivals any Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) facility.

Durocher, 54, of Brampton, Ontario, is now the veteran amongst the Falcons' athletic staff, and one of London's longest-standing sports personalities.

"I'm a team person," said Durocher from his Fanshawe office, surrounded by memorabilia from the past 34 years, including two men's Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) basketball championship titles in 1980 and '81. "I love the environment here. The people are great. And I'm a sticker."

As a Sheridan College student studying athletic training and management, Durocher did his work placement with the Toronto Young Nats Jr. B hockey club, whose roster included a 14-year-old hockey phenomenon by the name of Wayne Gretzky.

"The trainer found out I was from Brampton. Gretzky had moved from Brantford to Rexdale. He needed a ride to Maple five days a week, for practices and games. Once we got to know each other, he talked like crazy — and he could eat like crazy too," said Durocher.

A decade after they spent hours together commuting to the team's arena, Gretzky remembered his old friend when he invited Durocher to his Edmonton wedding in 1988. Durocher had just finished visiting his parents in Western Canada, and didn't want to make the return trip — but Gretzky had other ideas.

"Wayne called and said, 'I hear you are not coming to the wedding. I want you on that plane Friday. We have a flight for you, and a hotel. Bring your wife.' How do you say no to that?" said Durocher.

As a student reporter at Fanshawe College in 1981, I interviewed Wayne Gretzky as part of my first feature story. Durocher and I have another connection. During an intramural basketball game, I fell and twisted my ankle. Durocher brought me into his trainer's room and taped up the swollen ankle, much to the amusement of recently retired Falcons men's basketball coach, Glenn Johnston, who quipped, "What did you do, Scoop, drop your tape recorder on your foot?"

Today, Durocher remains as active as he was during his early years at Fanshawe, but with much more responsibility, playing a big part in the operations of Falcons varsity sports. "Our varsity programs are in full swing," said Durocher from his office, which acts as the central nervous system for the Falcons. "We just finished soccer season and are now getting into volleyball and basketball. It never ends."

Yet Durocher wouldn't have it any other way. He's an avid golfer, plays floor hockey and referees when he's not behind his desk or attending games at home and on the road. He and his wife, Ruth- Anne, have two children: Andrew, 25, and Alanna, 23. And Durocher loves working with today's students, whom he also considers family.

"My most memorable experiences are dealing with so many of the students who have walked through these doors," said Durocher. "Between students, their parents and alumni, it keeps me young. I love the environment."

Jeffrey Reed is an award-winning journalist, and has been a member of the local sports media since 1980. Write to him at jeff@londonontariogolf.com.