Terry Sanderson To Be Inducted to NLL Hall of Fame

The National Lacrosse League has announced Terry Sanderson has been voted into the NLL Hall of Fame as the lone inductee of the Class of 2015. Sanderson, who passed away in 2014, will be inducted posthumously as the 24th member of the Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Sept. 29 in Toronto as just the fifth coach/general manager in history to receive the league’s highest honor.

Sanderson served as an NLL head coach for seven seasons with Albany from 2000-2001, Montreal in 2002, Ottawa in 2003 and Toronto Rock from 2004-2006, which included a Champion’s Cup win in 2005. He finished his head coaching career with a 51-49 record. Sanderson was an assistant coach for Buffalo Bandits (2004), Philadelphia (2007) and won the Champion’s Cup in 2009 with the Calgary Roughnecks (2008-2009). Sanderson served as the Rock’s general manager for five seasons (2010-2014), an impressive tenure highlighted by a Champion’s Cup victory (2011), along with two East Division titles (2010 & 2015). The Orangeville, Ont. native played in the original NLL for Syracuse (1974) and Quebec (1975). Sanderson passed away suddenly this past November at the age of 62, leaving behind an iconic lacrosse legacy.

“We know how happy he would be about this, and we’re happy for him,” said 18-year NLL veteran Josh Sanderson about his father’s Hall of Fame selection. The Toronto Rock forward added that the selection “means a lot, and our entire family looks forward to the induction ceremony.”

The five finalists for the Class of 2015 were selected earlier this month by the league’s Hall of Fame Committee. The other four finalists included Kevin Finneran, Tracey Kelusky and Gavin Prout along with Jake Bergey, who automatically returned from last year’s ballot. Sanderson received votes on 80 percent of the overall ballots, followed by Kelusky (63%), Prout (60%), Finneran (37%) and Bergey (33%).

Hall of Fame ballots were cast by the teams, current members of the NLL Hall of Fame and the league’s senior media members. Voters were able to select up to three of the five nominees on the ballot. To win induction into the Hall of Fame, nominees must be selected on a minimum of 75 percent of the overall ballots cast or 75 percent of ballots cast by Hall of Fame members. Kevin Finneran, Tracey Kelusky and Gavin Prout will automatically return to the ballot next year.

The NLL Hall of Fame was established in 2006. The 23 current members are: