The Vancouver Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League brought back a jersey honouring a national hero this week to mark both Canada Day and a new partnership.
On Tuesday, July 1, the Bandits wore special jerseys honouring Terry Fox for their home game against the Scarborough Shooting Stars at the Langley Events Centre. The jerseys were first worn in 2024 and are part of a new multi-year partnership between the Bandits and the Terry Fox Foundation, which funds cancer research across Canada.
The jerseys have a black base, with “TERRY FOX” written across the chest in white and a photo of Fox on the front, with a white number off to the side. Above that on the shoulders are the names of all the cities, towns and parks between St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Thunder Bay, Ontario, where Fox started and ended running each day during his Marathon of Hope in 1980.
The V-neck collar of the jersey is red, and the sides feature red and white stripes in the style of those worn by the basketball team at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., in the late 1970s. Fox played on SFU’s junior varsity team in 1977.
The pattern of city names continues on the back of the jersey, with names and numbers in white with black outlines. Running over the city names and numbers is a red line that represents the route Fox ran through Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario.
The shorts that go with the jersey are black with red stripes down the sides. The waistband is red with a white panel at the front, mimicking the Canadian flag.
“Terry Fox is a national hero whose legacy continues to inspire generations. As a team rooted in community, we are honoured to partner with the Terry Fox Foundation over the next three years to carry forward Terry’s message of courage, hope, and determination. The special edition jersey pays tribute to Terry’s vision and a symbol of the strength we all strive to embody, on and off the court.”
— Dylan Kular, team president, Vancouver Bandits
Proceeds from the sale of replica jerseys will be donated to the Terry Fox Foundation. Each replica jersey comes with the number 4, which Fox wore at SFU.
After his leg was amputated because of cancer three years earlier, Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope on April 12, 1980, in St. John’s. His aim was to run across Canada, covering the equivalent of a full marathon each day, to raise money and awareness for cancer research. He had hoped to raise one dollar from each of Canada’s 24 million residents at the time.
Fox ran for 143 days and covered 5,373 kilometres before being forced to end his journey prematurely in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The cancer that had taken his leg had returned and spread to his lungs. By that time, he had raised $1.7 million. When he passed away on June 28, 1981, the Canadian government ordered flags to be flown at half-mast — an honour usually reserved for statesmen.
Fox’s legacy has lived on in the years since his death through the Terry Fox Foundation and through the Terry Fox Run, which takes place every year in communities across Canada. Since 1981, Terry Fox Runs have raised more than $850 million for cancer research in his name.
