For three decades from 1965 to 1995, Lorne Davies’ name was synonymous with the Simon Fraser University Athletics program. As SFU’s Athletics Director, Davies helped build the program from the ground up and turned it into one of the premier athletic programs in the entire country.
Football, however, was always Davies’ first love. Davies had a standout playing career highlighted by being a key part of the 1947 Vancouver Blue Bombers – the first-ever BC team to win a Canadian national junior championship – and through earning an athletic scholarship to Western Washington University but he made his biggest mark in football as a coach. His 25 years spent on football sidelines included stints with the Vancouver Blue Bombers, Western Washington University, University of Oregon, UBC and the BC Lions.
Davies has piled up a long list of awards and achievements over the years including being inducted into the SFU Sports Hall of Fame (1986), Western Washington University Sports Hall of Fame (1995), Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame (2009), and BC Sports Hall of Fame (2010). He was also awarded the Premier of British Columbia Award in 1994 and the Order of BC in 2000. He was the 2005 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (now the Bob Ackles Lifetime Achievement Award) presented by the BC Lions at the annual Orange Helmet Awards Banquet.
Presently, Davies serves as the Executive Director of the Terry Fox Humanitarian Awards Program. At Simon Fraser University, his legacy continues to live on as the school’s top male and female athlete each year, respectively, are bestowed with honour of being named the Lorne Davies Athlete of the Year.
