Tom Hawke

2026 Inductee – Athlete, Lacrosse

Tom Hawke played minor lacrosse with the Brantford Warriors (1977-1987) under the coaching of lacrosse greats like Gaylord Powless.  During this time, Tom also played field lacrosse with the St. Catharines Athletics (1986-87), capturing the 1986 Canadian Jr. A Field Lacrosse Championship.

In 1988, Tom joined the Hamilton Bengals of the Ontario Jr. A Lacrosse League where he played 2 seasons (77 points in 42 games). From 1990-92, Tom played for the St. Catharines Athletics where he won 2 National Championships (Minto Cup 1990 & 91), was named the Minto Cup MVP in 1991, and a league All-star in 1992.   Tom then played 6 years in the Major A Lacrosse Series (Six Nations Chiefs, Fergus Thistles and Brooklin Redmen).  He was a member of the 1994 Six Nations Chiefs National Championship (Mann Cup) team. Tom also played for the 1995 Rochester Knighthawks in their inaugural season within the National Lacrosse League (NLL) where they were finalists for the NLL Championship.

Tom attended the University of Guelph (1989-2000), where he completed his PhD.  During those years, he was active with the Gryphons Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse teams. He captained the 1995 Canadian University Field Lacrosse Championship team and, as a PhD student, was the founding coach of the University of Guelph Women’s Lacrosse team (1996).  Tom coached the Gryphon Women’s team to Ontario University Bronze and Silver medals (1998, 1999) and was named the 1998 OUA Coach of the Year.

Tom is a member of the 1995 Class in the Brantford Sports Hall of Recognition (Six Nations Chiefs 1994), the 2008 (Six Nations Chiefs 1994-96 teams) and 2020 Class (St. Catharines Athletics 1990-91 teams) in the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and the 2022 Class in the University of Guelph Gryphons Hall of Fame (Men’s Lacrosse 1995 team).