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![\"Jon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/4561081_web1_1625208_ANDERS-HEDBERG-ULF-NILSSON.JPG\")
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Jon Thordarson \/ TRIBUNE FILES<\/p>\n
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Jon Thordarson snapped the iconic photo of Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson raising the Avco Cup back in 1978 at the Winnipeg Arena.<\/p>\n
And while they say every picture tells a story, there\u2019s also a darn good story about what happened after Thordarson hit the shutter button.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the picture, and Jon knew it,\u201d said retired Free Press humour columnist Doug Speirs, and also a very close friend of the photojournalist. \u201cAnd then he basically ripped the cup out of their hands and gave it to somebody else. And he did that so no one else was gonna get that photo of the two best hockey players (who were playing their final game with the Jets) holding the trophy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a fiercely competitive guy and he always wanted to get the picture \u2014 and he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upon entering the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame\u2019s museum and event space, the first thing visitors see is the Avco Cup encased with a framed copy of that picture behind it.<\/p>\n
\u201cJon captured the essence of those teams,\u201d said Geoff Kirbyson, an author of several Jets books and a former Free Press reporter.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t WINNIPEG SUN FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jon Thordarson\u2019s staff photo for the Winnipeg Sun in 1981. The photojournalist\u2019s storied career included 37 years in newsprint.<\/p>\n \u201cHe talked about how tough all those players were, and a lot of the pictures that I would look at would be of Ulf Nilsson with a black eye, or Veli-Pekka Ketola with a black eye, and he\u2019d be able to tell me the story behind those pictures. Jon saw the craziest era, in the 1970s when everyone beat the crap out of each other. There are a bunch of his photos in my book on The Hot Line because he was the photographer of record.\u201d<\/p>\n Thordarson is just the second photographer to be enshrined into the Media Roll of Honour, with the first being Winnipeg Tribune photojournalist Hugh Allan in 1989.<\/p>\n Thordarson died March 13, 2010, at the age of 59 after an eight-year battle with cancer.<\/p>\n He is survived by his wife Janice and their five children \u2014 Erik, Lara, Elin, Karl and Kryn.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to beat that (picture),\u201d said Karl. \u201cBut that\u2019s actually not the one that was framed in our basement forever. There\u2019s another one that\u2019s like a split second earlier or later, and you can see his reflection very clearly in the centre of the Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Jon Thordarson \/ Winnipeg Sun Photo<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Thordarson with his children taking a Father’s Day portrait that was used in the Winnipeg Sun in 1983.<\/p>\n Thordarson enjoyed a 37-year career in newspapers, working for the Winnipeg Tribune (1973-80), Hamilton Spectator (1980-81) and Winnipeg Sun (1981-89) before leading the photo department at the Free Press (1989-2010).<\/p>\n \u201cI took a whole bunch of his prints and created a huge mural out of them to decorate the living room in my first apartment. They were so interesting to look at,\u201d said Lara.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he went from darkrooms to digital like flawlessly. Like when he was a kid, you couldn\u2019t take a shower in their house on a Saturday because he always had the warm water running over his photos in his darkroom.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to his photography skills, Thordarson was well known for his contagious positivity.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my dad\u2019s trademark sayings was, \u2018There\u2019s only good days and great days!\u2019 And that was always so special,\u201d said Lara.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jon Thordarson\u2019s daughter Lara, who spoke at the induction ceremony on Tuesday, said her father went from darkrooms to digital flawlessly.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when it was raining, if you were complaining, he\u2019d always say, \u2018What are you, made of sugar?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Early on in his cancer diagnosis, Thordarson was told he\u2019d only have three months to live. He not only proved the doctors wrong, but went on to work and inspire others for another five years. He also continued with another one of his passions: cycling.<\/p>\n In 2013, he was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt.<\/p>\n \u201cHe lost a number of internal organs and was left with only half a lung, but he was still doing these races and a couple days later I\u2019d hear from a friend and they\u2019d go, \u2018There was this guy that finished the race on half a lung, it was incredible and we were all there at the finish line,\u2019 and I\u2019d be able to tell them, \u2018Yeah, that was my dad,\u2019\u201d said Karl.<\/p>\n Thordarson\u2019s influence is still being felt in newsrooms today as he helped many find their footing in the industry.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Jon Thordarson was posthumously inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour on Tuesday and is only the second photojournalist inducted. From left: Thordarson\u2019s sons Erik, Kryn and Karl, Thordarson\u2019s wife Janice, Thordarson\u2019s daughter Lara, Thordarson\u2019s friend Doug Speirs, and the photojournalist\u2019s brother Karl Thordarson. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople revered Jon,\u201d said Speirs.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was so kind and he was literally a mentor to every news photographer and sports photographer in the western part of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n The MSSA also inducted Russ Hobson, Curt Keilback, Rita Mingo and Kelly Moore on Tuesday. Ernie Nairn, who recently turned 87, was honoured with a Lifetime Membership.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really special. Every once in a while, we kind of get this wave of people honouring him, recognizing him, or recognizing us because of our last name, and everyone always has such a lovely story about him,\u201d said Lara.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just so nice to know that his legacy is still continuing on.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets sportscaster Curt Keilback and his son Luke at the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association\u2019s Media Roll of Honour induction ceremony. Keilback was also inducted on Tuesday. <\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n CJOB sportscaster Kelly Moore speaks during the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association\u2019s Media Roll of Honour induction ceremony. Moore was also inducted on Tuesday. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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