Gordon Ion

Gordon Ion... speaks English... soccer family (son Greg)... his son Greg Ion represented Canada at the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico...

honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player... honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia...

represented Canada in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1957, of note the first-ever Canadian team to feature in the competition... made two international “A” appearances in 1957 with Canada Soccer's Men’s National Team…

after scoring the winning goal in a 1953 all-stars match against Northern Ireland, he was given the match ball...

a one-time Pacific Coast League winner (1961-62)... a North American Championship winner for the Jack Diamond Trophy (1953)... a Pacific Coast International Championship winner for the J.F. Kennedy Trophy (1962)... a five-time all-star selection in a five-year span from 1953 to 1957 (including an All Canada selection in 1957 for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers)... over the course of one decade, he was the Pacific Coast League’s 12th-highest scorer in the 1950s with 40 goals scored...

noted as as “playmaker”... said Belfast editor Mike Brodie during a 1953 all-star game, Ion “is the best football player in Canada”... as noted in a 1953 all-star program, “has making of an outstanding inside forward”... said Ion in 1953 after scoring the penalty winner against Northern Ireland, “I knew the spot I wanted to place it. I looked to the opposite side as I came towards the goal and then let drive with an ordinary shot to the right side”... said Ion in 2010, “I was primarily a ball control man, but I could score goals, too”... said Ion in 2010 of playing away in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1957, “that was the biggest experience of my life to walk out onto the field that day against Mexico”...