Rita Mingo
Inducted 2026
Primary Outlet
Postmedia
Rita Mingo
Inducted 2026
Primary Outlet
Postmedia
Rita Mingo grew up a sports fan, watching all kinds of games on TV with her dad.
While working on her English degree at the University of Manitoba, she began her sportswriting career in 1979 as a summer student at the Winnipeg Tribune, under the tutelage of the legendary Jack Matheson.
"The Winnipeg Tribune was a great training ground for a young reporter," Mingo said. "The sports staff was second to none - people like Eddie Dearden, Pat Doyle, Murray Rauw, Gord Sinclair. You couldn't help but learn from them."
She later worked for The Canadian Press in Winnipeg and eventually at the fledgling Winnipeg Sun. She covered diverse sports, including the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets, the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the world junior hockey championship.
Needless to say, when Mingo first began her career, women in the field were few and far between in Canada. She gamely withstood - albeit with some frustration - the double standards at the time, such as waiting in corridors for players and coaches.
Upon relocation to Calgary with husband George Johnson, also a sportswriter, she was part of the Calgary Sun sports staff for several years. During her tenure there, she covered the Triple A baseball Calgary Cannons, the junior hockey Calgary Wranglers, show jumping at Spruce Meadows and figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games - one of the "definite highlights" of her career.
Mingo took a short break from writing to look after her two young daughters, Michela and Sabrina. She resumed her career as a freelancer, working for various Canadian and American publications. She eventually joined the Calgary Herald as a 'permanent' freelancer, covering the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, the National Lacrosse League's Calgary Roughnecks, among numerous and varied sports.
From the beginning of her career, one of her favourite things to cover was university sports. She did it so well that she was presented in 2016 with the national Fred Sgambati Award, which recognizes a member of the media who has made a major contribution to the development and growth of Canadian university sport.
"The stories that came out of the university level were always interesting, often inspiring and such great fun to write," Mingo said.
Her freelancing opportunities included writing for amateur sports websites such as Swim Canada and Nordiq Canada.
In 2025, she co-authored the Epic Legacies 50th anniversary Spruce Meadows coffee table book with her husband.
Johnson was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Media Roll of Honour in 2007, making them the only husband-wife duo to receive the honour.
Rita Mingo was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour in 2026.
Inducted 2026
Primary Outlet
Postmedia
Rita Mingo grew up a sports fan, watching all kinds of games on TV with her dad.
While working on her English degree at the University of Manitoba, she began her sportswriting career in 1979 as a summer student at the Winnipeg Tribune, under the tutelage of the legendary Jack Matheson.
"The Winnipeg Tribune was a great training ground for a young reporter," Mingo said. "The sports staff was second to none - people like Eddie Dearden, Pat Doyle, Murray Rauw, Gord Sinclair. You couldn't help but learn from them."
She later worked for The Canadian Press in Winnipeg and eventually at the fledgling Winnipeg Sun. She covered diverse sports, including the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets, the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the world junior hockey championship.
Needless to say, when Mingo first began her career, women in the field were few and far between in Canada. She gamely withstood - albeit with some frustration - the double standards at the time, such as waiting in corridors for players and coaches.
Upon relocation to Calgary with husband George Johnson, also a sportswriter, she was part of the Calgary Sun sports staff for several years. During her tenure there, she covered the Triple A baseball Calgary Cannons, the junior hockey Calgary Wranglers, show jumping at Spruce Meadows and figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games - one of the "definite highlights" of her career.
Mingo took a short break from writing to look after her two young daughters, Michela and Sabrina. She resumed her career as a freelancer, working for various Canadian and American publications. She eventually joined the Calgary Herald as a 'permanent' freelancer, covering the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, the National Lacrosse League's Calgary Roughnecks, among numerous and varied sports.
From the beginning of her career, one of her favourite things to cover was university sports. She did it so well that she was presented in 2016 with the national Fred Sgambati Award, which recognizes a member of the media who has made a major contribution to the development and growth of Canadian university sport.
"The stories that came out of the university level were always interesting, often inspiring and such great fun to write," Mingo said.
Her freelancing opportunities included writing for amateur sports websites such as Swim Canada and Nordiq Canada.
In 2025, she co-authored the Epic Legacies 50th anniversary Spruce Meadows coffee table book with her husband.
Johnson was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Media Roll of Honour in 2007, making them the only husband-wife duo to receive the honour.
Rita Mingo was inducted into the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour in 2026.