W. A. Fry | |
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| Born | William Alexander Fry September 7, 1872 Dunnville, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | April 21, 1944 (aged 71) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Newspaper publisher |
| Years active | 1896–1944 |
| Known for | |
William Alexander Fry (September 7, 1872 – April 21, 1944) was a Canadian sports administrator and newspaper publisher. Fry founded the Dunnville Chronicle in 1896, managed local hockey and baseball teams in the 1910s, then served as president of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1922 to 1924. At the national level, he was president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from 1928 to 1930, was a Canadian Olympic Committee member and British Empire Games committee member from 1927 to 1938, and served as president of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAU of C) from 1934 to 1936.
He sought better working relationships with the National Hockey League and the American Amateur Athletic Union, to compensate Canadian teams for developing senior ice hockey players. He aimed to implement standardized ice hockey rules for all leagues under CAHA jurisdiction. He recommended control of the Allan Cup be transferred from its trustees to the CAHA, who then reinvested profits into minor ice hockey in Canada. This coincided with growing interest in the playoffs for the Allan Cup and Memorial Cup.
He presided over the AAU of C when it was losing direct control of amateur sport in Canada, and had recently split ways with the Canadian Track and Field Association. The CAHA, the Canadian Lacrosse Association and the Canadian Amateur Basketball Association were each challenging the definition of what was an amateur athlete. He was against profiting from sports, believed in maintaining the ideals of amateur sport and wanted the younger generation "to play the game for the game's sake".[1] When it became apparent the CAHA was close to breaking away from the AAU of C in 1936, he said the decision was "the most important matter ever to come before an amateur body in Canada".[2][3] In defending the old definition of amateur, journalist Ralph Allen compared Fry to a captain sinking with his ship; whereas journalist and former Olympian Bobbie Rosenfeld remembered Fry as a man who fought for true amateurism in sport, in the face of growing professionalism.
He retired from sports in 1938, and his career was recognized with life membership in the CAHA and the OHA, and an appointment to Ontario Athletic Commission.
- ^ "Sport Problem is Shelved for Another Year". Medicine Hat News. Medicine Hat, Alberta. December 12, 1932. p. 6.
- ^ "Sweeping Proposals Would End Alliance". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. April 11, 1936. p. 29.
- ^ Merkel, Arthur (November 22, 1935). "Delegates at Annual Meeting Unanimously Defeat Proposal". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. p. 17.