Rex Hillier – Athlete

Inducted April 5, 2008

Rex Hillier demonstrated great versatility by excelling in five different sports but without a doubt, Hillier’s international volleyball achievements rank at the top of his athletic career. Hillier was a team leader both in terms of his playing ability and his positive let’s go attitude. He was a phenomenal volleyball player who put everything on the line. Hillier started his volleyball career in 1967-1968 when he played for St. Matthew’s School in Manuels. From 1969-1972, when he played volleyball at Queen Elizabeth High School, his team captured the provincial high school championship in 1971 and the provincial juvenile championship in 1972. At MUN, he played volleyball at the AUAA level and was named MVP for 1973-1974 and 1974-1975. His MUN team won three provincial junior championships and two provincial senior championships. Hillier was captain of the provincial volleyball team that competed in Lethbridge, Alberta at the 1975 Canada Winter Games. In 1975, he became a member of the Canadian Junior Volleyball Team, the first Newfoundlander to reach the national level in volleyball. In 1976, the national junior team represented Canada at the North American Volleyball Championships in Mexico and qualified for the 1977 World Volleyball Championships in Brazil. At the local level, Hillier was instrumental in forming the Venice Pizzeria Volleyball Club which he played on for six years. The team won several St. John’s and provincial senior championships and went on to compete at the Atlantic level as one of the top teams in Atlantic Canada from 1978-1984. Hillier then played with the Guards Athletic Association for six years winning five St. John’s League Championships and five consecutive Provincial Senior A Championships from 1994-1998. In 1994 and 1995, at the Eastern National A Championships, his team won Bronze and Silver Medals, respectively; Hillier was named an All-Star in 1995. In 1994-95, volleyball selected him as their Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Player of the Year, and in 1996, at the age of 40, he was named Guards MVP and the Newfoundland and Labrador Senior A MVP. In 1999, Hillier was a member of the Onca Volleyball Club which won the Newfoundland and Labrador Senior A Championship and he was named a Newfoundland and Labrador Senior A All-Star. Hillier is a member of the Memorial University Athletic Honour Society, the Conception Bay South Hall of Fame, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Hall of Fame. He was the first male recipient of the CBS Athlete of the Year Award and in 1998-1999 he received the Reg Soper Memorial Award for Contribution to Volleyball.