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Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID |
2024.4.1 B |
Object Name |
Video Recording |
Title |
Ivan Bomberry Interview (Phyllis Bomberry) |
Scope & Content |
Ivan Bomberry interview, 18 October 2023. Born digital MP4, viewing time 00:17:03. CBC Sports' Devin Heroux speaks with Ivan Bomberry about his late sister Phyllis Bomberry, a softball player and 2023 Order of Sport recipient. Transcript: Ivan: My name is Ivan Bomberry. I think as a brother of Phyllis Bomberry, we need to look at her background as a Haudenosaunee or Six Nations female from Ohsweken, Ontario. Our people hold our women and girls in high esteem, and as they are the ones who have the power to bring life into this world. So right from the early years, as a smaller player, she had the foresight to know community was already behind her. She then tried her best to bring the game of softball to success. She then tried her best to bring the game of softball to successful and sometimes winning results. Through her dedication to the game, she ended up winning most of the game. Through her dedication to the game, she ended up winning most valuable player, top batter, and Canadian championships numerous times. Our father, Alfred, was her mentor throughout the years. She challenged the traditional assumptions about women's roles in sport by being very determined in her games and never giving up, which was instilled into her by her dad. She faced racial challenges, as we all do, even as she became a star player, hit on, and didn't listen to the spectators. Again, what my father taught her. She wanted to play ball, and nothing was going to stop her. She didn't realize her playing was going to earn her awards. The pride and honor of winning Tom Longboat award, she was, again, surprised at this and humbled to accept. And like I started off, the community attachment by all athletes, I think I mentioned when I first started. Interviewer: Thank you for that, Ivan. I can see how much it means to you. What would Phyllis think of all of this? Ivan: She was a very humble person and didn't really bask in the limelight type of thing. She would just accept it and move on type of thing. She'd be really honoured by all of this. Interviewer: You talked to her with your dad and the lessons and the mentorship that he provided her. What was that like? Because you had the front row seat to that. Ivan: He was pretty hard on all of us to play our best game and not get into any trouble fighting and stuff like that, which was kind of hard to do because I'm a lacrosse player. I was a lacrosse player. But yeah, he always shunned us getting into fights because lacrosse is a Creator's game and they're not supposed to fight. And he got into that with her too. He had to calm her down a couple of times. Interviewer: Was she feisty? What was Phyllis like? Ivan: Yes, she was feisty. But yeah, she could pretty well balance when she was playing. She was a good player, I would have to say. A really good player. Interviewer: She excelled in softball. But as I understand it, she played almost every sport. Ivan: Yes, she did. Interviewer: Tell me about that. Ivan: I had to rely on my other sister, Betty, because she came right behind her all the way through school. And it's like Phyllis was there. This is the kind of player she was. You should be just as good. And she had to live up to that. So she tried her best. And they were kind of looking to her to be a leader like my sister Phyllis was. But Betty's not a leader. But she played good. She was a good player as well. Interviewer: You very vulnerably shared with us the racism that Phyllis would have faced. Ivan: Yes. Interviewer: Do you recall that? You said people would be yelling. And she went through a lot, it sounds like. Ivan: Yeah, she put all that, she tuned herself out of that and just concentrated on the ballgame. And that was how she got through it. Just never given them an audience type of thing. They're the audience, but they're trying to make her the audience. And she wouldn't go for it. She just played ball. That's what she wanted to do. Interviewer: I think what's the age difference? Is it five years between you and Phyllis? Ivan: Me and Phyllis? 10. Interviewer: 10. So you're big sister. Ivan: Yeah. Interviewer: And you're the bat boy for this team. So what are you thinking? I've been watching your sister as the bat boy on the team she's on. Ivan: I was just trying to make sure the bats were out of play type thing and make sure all the players were safe and everything. And it was just something to be on the bench with her. We're sitting in front of them, but we're right there, right? So when they go up to bat, then Frank and I, we used to take turns going to get the bats. And that was really something. Interviewer: Describe her for me. Was she noticeably better than the rest? What was her demeanor and attitude as an athlete when she was there? Ivan: She was just-- I would say she was like a player and a leader. And she would-- if the girls got down on themselves about something and made a mistake or something like that, she'd bring them back up. And she was good at that. Yeah. She was a leader for sure. Interviewer: What does Phyllis mean to the community? You were telling me you've organized an event. And I'm sure everybody's so damn proud. But what's your sense, Ivan, of what she means to the community? Ivan: Well, like I started out, our women are held in high esteem to the rest of the community. And she knew the community was behind her because they were all congratulating her and everything after the games. And we had one particular gentleman. He was an umpire at one point. And he used to tease her. He used to tease Phyllis. And he's the one that started to call her Yogi after Yogi Berra. So, his name was Punch. His name was Punch Gartle. And he actually became a part of the lacrosse team I played on, the senior team. And he was one of our trainers. And I let him know that he was the best trainer we ever had when he was still with us. Interviewer: He gave your sister the nickname Yogi. Ivan: Yeah. Interviewer: That's some pretty high praise. Did it stick? Did people call? Ivan: Yeah. Interviewer: Tell me about that. Ivan: Everybody seems to-- if you talk about Phyllis, and they'd say, who's that? And then they'd say, Yogi. Then they knew. Yeah, that's her. They knew who it was. Interviewer: That is very cool. That is very cool. Let's go back to the induction. And the woman who nominated Phyllis, how did that come to be? Ivan: I just got an email that they were looking for somebody that knew Phyllis Bomberry. And this lady contacted me and asked me if it would be OK to nominate her. And that went from there and through a lot of emails. And a couple of years later, she finally succeeded. And I couldn't tell anybody about it for a while, like I knew in February and just in September, they said it was OK to announce it. So that's when she found out. And I couldn't even tell her. I couldn't tell anybody. So just for our immediate family knew. Interviewer: Did you get the phone call? Ivan: I got an email. Interviewer: Got an email? Ivan: Yeah. Yes. Interviewer: What is that moment like? Ivan: It was great. It was something I would say is a long time coming. She was nominated for an award earlier on. But somehow that fell through, and it didn't materialize when she was still with us even. But she got it now. So that's good. Interviewer: You talk about Phyllis and the sense I'm getting is she was very humble. Like you said, she probably deflected any praise. She didn't want the compliments. But she probably wanted to inspire people too at the same time through her actions. Ivan: Yes, she did. Interviewer: How would she balance that? How do you think she would- Ivan: After she got injured in 1976 from a knee injury, she couldn't play anymore. So she started to coach a native women's team in Toronto. And she coached a bunch of ladies over there. And she helped teach all the things that she learned throughout her career. And the girls, they were really thankful that she was their coach and they really liked her. Interviewer: Sport can be a very powerful thing. What has sport meant to your family? I hear you talk about lacrosse and what that would have meant to you and Phyllis being such a leader in the lesson she would have learned in life. How important has sport meant to your family? Ivan: Sports has been really, really good to us. I was lucky enough to play until I was 35. And I'm not sure how long Phyllis was playing her sport. A couple of decades anyway. And so, she was-- it's really important to us. All while we were growing up, my brothers and I played lacrosse. She played baseball and basketball and hockey. And she played a number of sports growing up. And she was, according to my sister, Betty, she was a really good basketball player as well in high school. So, she had that to fall back onto. And yeah, it's been a really great road coming through sports. Interviewer: What does your daughter, Dawn Lynn, and other grandchildren and maybe great grandchildren, and what does the rest of the family think of all of this? Ivan: I don't know. I guess they're pretty proud of her too. You'd have to ask. Interviewer: You mentioned Tom Longboat Award. She was the first female ever to win that award. That was, I think, in the late 60s, I believe. Ivan: Yes. Interviewer: Do you recall that time and what that award meant to her and the family? Ivan: She was really, again, humbled by-- she didn't expect it. And all of a sudden, she's getting nominated. She's winning this award and not only winning the award, but also being the first female to get the award. And so, she was pretty proud of that. And at that moment, it was really something to win that for her. Interviewer: A couple last questions and thank you so much for all of this. This is a chance to honour your sister. Canadians, some made who have never heard of your sister for the first time are going to get to know Phyllis. What would you want them to know about your sister? Ivan: I would say if you're starting out in a sport to look to the people that have experience, look to your coach, and listen to him or her. And I would say, like Phyllis, do your best at what you're trying to do. And take your criticism like you're supposed to because they're just trying to help you. And I think that Phyllis would say the same thing. Interviewer: What are you most proud of as the brother to Phyllis? What are you most proud of at all? Oh, I guess I'd have to say all of the awards and this particular Canada's Sports Hall of Fame induction, we finally made it. We finally made it. |
Date |
2023/10/18 |
People |
Bomberry, Ivan Bomberry, Phyllis |
Search Terms |
Athlete Cayuga Indigenous Leadership Racism Awareness Softball Sport |