Michael Burns, one of North America's finest sports photographers, has made a significant donation of over 30,000 negatives to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. Capturing over 30 different sports from the late 1940's to the early 1990's, these photos will soon be available for viewing on a newly designed section of the Hall's website - The Michael Burns Photography Collection.

Michael Burns first became known for his thoroughbred racing photos and soon after for world class curling photography. His tireless work ethic and ability to ‘get the picture' led to a lifetime of assignments covering sports action and major events including two Olympics, Pan Am Games and Commonwealth Games.

Michael is 82 now, and although he has proudly passed the baton to his son Michael Jr. and daughter Patricia, both award-winning photographers, you will regularly find him at Woodbine searching for a unique angle. Michaels's association with thoroughbred racing is legendary having missed only one Queen's Plate since 1943-a heart attack kept him away in 1981.

With contagious enthusiasm for his craft Michael recalls with deft detail those special moments that a life of pictures has produced, for instance...at Maple Leaf Gardens in the 50's, wrestler Whipper Billy Watson tossed Nanjo Singh "Beast from the East" out of the ring and Burns snapped a close-up just before he landed. Singh sneered, "Listen you creep, take one more picture and I'll ram your camera down your throat." "What else could I do?" says Burns. "I took another picture. Then I took off with the Beast from the East right behind me. He chased me out of the rink."

He fondly credits Helen, his wife since 1950, for her lifelong partnership. Long before the ‘digital age' they would ship truck loads of dark room equipment to significant international events so that Helen could set up and operate the darkroom enabling them to rush prints to media outlets.

Michael Burns has been inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame, The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame.

It was Michael's friend, the late George Gross, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Honoured Member, that proposed our ‘Hall' as the perfect home for his collection to live in perpetuity.