Last week, after more than two decades of astonishing success on and off the football field, legendary Oak Park Raiders football coach Stu Nixon was inducted into the Manitoba Football Hall of Fame.
"Being inducted into the Manitoba Football Hall of Fame is not something I ever considered might happen. So many people I admire are in there," said Nixon, now a Pembina Trails School trustee for Ward 1. "It's a privilege for sure."
His success as a Raiders football coach is remarkable. Here's a list of what his teams accomplished at the provincial championships:
- 2002 champs as an assistant coach
- 2004 finalists as varsity head coach
- 2007 champs as varsity head coach
- 2009 finalists as varsity head coach
- 2010 champs as varsity head coach
- 2011 finalists as varsity head coach
- 2014 champs as varsity head coach
- 2017 champs as junior varsity head coach
- 2020 finalists as junior varsity head coach
It's debatable, but one could make a strong case that even more reflective of Coach Nixon's success as a football coach than all of the Raiders' provincial titles and finalist appearances is this: Oak Park has produced more professional football players than any high school in Canada.
The Raiders football program under Nixon's tutelage Oak Park was a veritable assembly line of CFL talent. Andrew Harris (Toronto), Sean Jamieson (Montreal), and Nic Demski and Brady Oliveira (Winnipeg) are all graduates of the vaunted Oak Park Raiders football program.
One can imagine that getting inducted into the Hall of Fame and being immortalized for football greatness would conjure up a lot of memories.
"I want to thank my father John and my mother Molly. They never missed a game I played in or coached until their health prevented them from doing so," says Nixon. "When I played with the University of Manitoba Bisons they would drive to Saskatoon for our away games. I also want to express my gratitude for my family; my daughters, Marina and Erica and my wife Connie."
"Dad passed away in 2011 and Mom passed in 2014, during our playoffs. It was a very difficult time. In 2014, we clinched the game when St. Paul's missed a field goal in the dying seconds. Our bench went crazy. One of the boys, Ben Tashibamba, came over to me and said, "Hey coach, your mom blew that one away!" I'll never forget that."
Coach Nixon's list of people to thank is even longer than his list of provincial championship titles.
"I also want to express my gratitude toward every coach I've worked with over the years. I didn't name names at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for fear of leaving someone out. There are some long standing ones that should be mentioned. Ryan Soroka, Dave Black, Paul Bennett, Ian Holland, Chad Mackay, Chris Ollson, Austin Harvey, George McFall, Doug Young, Dave Young. I hope I didn't forget someone. Those dudes were there for the whole ride."
"Lastly, I'm grateful to all the players I coached. I enjoyed a very joyous career because of them."
Congratulations Stu on dedicating more than 20 years to the sport of football and mentoring so many young men to become champion football players and champion people.
