THE Goldfields Giants will tonight unveil their 300 club to honour retired players who have reached the magical milestone.

Banners for club games record-holder Leon Williamson, 2007 championship winner Wayne Creek and former import and coach Calvin (Doc) Earl will be raised during tonight’s game against Willetton at Kalgoorlie’s Niels Hansen Basketball Stadium.

“The Skilled Goldfields Giants are extremely proud to honour these great servants of the club, between them they have amassed some 951 games played and 35 coached,” Giants chairman Graham Crew said.

Creek is the most recent of the trio to retire after the 204cm forward/centre suited up for his 312th and final game in the 2007 grand final triumph over Lakeside.

“Wayne graduated through the local junior ranks to be one of the all-time leading shot blockers in the SBL,” Crew said.

“The fact they he was able to play an important role in the 2007 championship is a highlight of his career and of the history of the club.”

Earl hails from the US State of Oregon and the two-time Giants’ Most Valuable Player is remembered for thrilling slam dunks over 273 games between 1990 and 2004.

Earl replaced sacked coach Tom McClain just two games before the 1996 play-offs and continued for the 1997 season to finish with a coaching record of 23-12.

“The excitement he has brought this club is phenomenal and the fact Doc is still around today as the first import this club ever signed is testament to the great family spirit of the Giants over 20 seasons,” Crew said.

Williamson debuted with the Giants as a 17-year-old on May 1, 1993 and went on to play a record 274 consecutive SBL games before losing two fingers on his right shooting hand in a work accident in late 2002.

Months of rehabilitation followed before Williamson returned to the court in front of a parochial home crowd against the Wanneroo Wolves on June 7, 2003.

Williamson averaged above 10 points per game in his final 92 appearances before retiring after the Giants’ 2006 grand final loss to Lakeside.

“Leon is an absolute legend of the club and the league,” Crew said.

“There are very few players who could have made it back to the SBL after the injuries he received to his hand in a work accident, let alone to return as the formidable player he did.”

Current Giants vice captain Ryan Hulme became the 21st player in SBL history to play 300 games against Geraldton earlier this month and the 27-year-old guard is tipped to smash Williamson’s mark of 366 games. There are some pundits who believe Cockburn guard Troy Clarke’s SBL record of 511 games is also under threat.

“We might have to make it a 500 club by the time he retires,” Giants deputy chairman Scott Manners said.

Article by Jarrod Lucas (Kalgoorlie Miner)
Photo - “Goldfields Giants chairman Graham Crew holds up the banner belonging to club game record holder Leon Williamson as past players Wayne Creek and Calvin 'Doc' Earl hold up their respective banners that commemorate their history with the club.”