February is Black History Month, and when it comes to sports, it is hard to argue that the most important athlete in black history is Jackie Robinson, who broke the colour barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Robinson went on to a Hall of Fame career, and his number 42 has been retired league-wide. Today, on April 15, every Major League player wears Robinson’s number 42.
Amongst hockey fans — and those pulling into the drive-thru for a double-double and a Boston Cream donut – it seems everyone is acquainted with the name “Tim Horton” but many have no idea who Tim Horton was.
While awaiting his birth, his mother always referred to him by ‘Tim,’ but too ill to attend the christening, she was astonished to discover that her husband had named the baby ‘Miles Gilbert Horton.’ “He was always ‘Tim’ to relatives and friends, and later to his many fans,” his wife, Lori, wrote in In Loving Memory: A Tribute to Tim Horton. “Except for certain documents and the odd piece of official business, Tim’s given names were never used.”