Making his name in Canada's official national sport, Gary Gait's play drew the inevitable comparisons to hockey's Wayne Gretzky or basketball's Michael Jordan. A natural scorer who developed a knack for pulling off feats of athleticism not seen by most lacrosse watchers, Gary became the gold - or was that goal? - standard for attackers in the sport.

Whether it was shattering scoring records as a member of the Esquimalt Legion junior box team, scoring an NCAA-record 70 times in leading the Syracuse Orangemen to the 1988 national field lacrosse crown, or being the offensive sparkplug on title-winning Victoria Shamrocks and pro teams, Gary Gait set himself apart from the crowd.

Supported and complemented on the floor by twin brother Paul, he was an oft-unstoppable force from minor lacrosse through junior and at the college level, where the brothers led the Orange to three NCAA crowns. Back home the boys used their prowess on the field to help the Victoria Seasprays win two national championships, but went separate ways upon joining the senior box ranks.

Gary was already well into a successful professional career in the National Lacrosse League (three league titles, multiple league MVP awards) and had won two Mann Cup championships (1991, '97) and two Cup MVP awards (1990, '97) by the time he rejoined Paul for the Shamrocks' 50th anniversary season in 1999. The dynamic duo led the team that year and shared the Mann Cup MVP award as the 'Rocks won Gary's third and last senior box title at Memorial Arena.