Roger Levert
Born in Cornwall in 1947, Roger Levert came to Alexandria with his family when they opened a convenience store and restaurant on the present Alexandria Pizzeria site. Roger’s favourite sports were football, lacrosse and hockey. During his days at Glengarry District High School in the early 60s, Roger was an instrumental figure for the Gaels on the football field. He played junior ball in 1962 and was part of the senior teams that were undefeated in the years 1963-64-65. Roger played different positions but led the team as quarterback his final year. The same year he was co-captain of the team with Burns McPherson (an inductee himself in 2002).
In the early sixties as well, he played soccer in the Glengarry Soccer League for one season. In lacrosse Roger was a tough capable player for the Junior Glens in the years 1963 to 1965. In 1965, he played senior lacrosse for Hawkesbury in the Quebec League, one of only four players chosen from the Alexandria area but played only one season because of the travelling involved.
In 1966 The Cornwall Chargers football team, created and coached by Ed Lumley, joined the Interprovincial Junior Football League playing against such teams as the Ottawa Sooners, and other teams from Montreal. Roger won and held onto the starting quarterback position for the year. A fellow teammate comments on his year:”Playing behind an inexperienced offensive line, Roger proved himself one of the toughest players on the team as he was hit hard and often while in a defenseless position passing. Even when he ran, he got hit by two or three defenders; Roger was fearless and respected by his fellow players.” He played his best game of the year when the Chargers upset the heavily favoured Sooners, tossing two touchdown passes in the process.
In 1967, after missing training camp with an ankle injury suffered playing lacrosse, Roger returned to the newly renamed Mustangs for game three and played well in a close loss to the Sooners. The next game against the NDG Maple Leafs he passed for two touchdowns, including a spectacular 73 yard pass and run play. Levert had a very tough task guiding the team in their first two years of competition in a tough junior league. It was rare to have a full team at practice making the creation of a solid offense nearly impossible. Injuries compounded the problem. Despite these handicaps, Roger was a “tower of strength amid chaos” and his teammates had great respect for his strength, integrity and courage.
As well as playing lacrosse and football, Roger also played Junior A hockey with the Cornwall Royals from 1964-1966, a team made up largely of local Cornwall area boys, a team that came within one minute of making it to the Memorial Cup in a playoff game in Halifax in 1966. A solid forward with a gritty style, he was regarded as the toughest player on the team and was one of the team policemen, a role he later was to turn into a profession. Roger also played in a record breaking game, scoring 5 goals and assisting on 5 others in a lopsided 43-0 win against Hawkesbury that year.
In the early 70s, Roger was President of the local Intermediate Hockey League as well as a player. Through the years he played hockey in the local Border League and then the local Industrial league as well. At 30 he joined the GTL Old Timers and was a player on the team that toured Scotland and England playing against local teams there. He was on the GTL team that toured and played in Holland and Belgium a few years later. In the mid-1980s Roger coached the Alexandria Bantam hockey teams and was also a member of the Alexandria District Minor Hockey Association at this time as well.
Roger hasn’t played hockey for the last ten years because of his health. After spending 29 years on various local police forces, Roger is retired as well. Married for the second time and with two sons and a daughter, he spends his time these days “puttering around” his property. For his contributions to the sports of hockey, lacrosse and football, we welcome Roger into the Glengarry Sports Hall of Fame.
