John Howard Crocker (1870-1959)

"Honour the game thou playest
For he that playeth the game hard and fair wins even when he loses."

So spoke J. Howard Crocker, one of the founding fathers of the Canadian Olympic Movement, pioneer of professional physical education at Western, and more than half a century contributor to sport in Canada and abroad.

Crocker was born in 1870 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. As an undergraduate student, he attended Dalhousie University in Halifax. Later he achieved a master's degree from the noted YMCA Physical Education Training College at Springfield, Massachusetts.

After experience in several YMCAs across Canada, he became National YMCA Physical Director. In 1911 Crocker accepted a YMCA position in China, serving first in Shanghai, later as National Physical Director.

While in China Crocker was appointed manager of the 1915 Chinese team which participated in the third Far Eastern Athletic Games, precursors to today's Olympic-like festival called the Asian Games.

During this long and storied affiliation with the YMCA, Crocker was among the first to introduce the sport of basketball to Canada, originally at the YMCA in Amherst, Nova Scotia, in 1894, later at YMCAs in other major Canadian communities.

During his career with the YMCA Crocker also had a major impact on other sporting activities.

Early in the 20th Century he "invented" the Hexathlon event, modelling the competition after the pentathlon, an exercise in which he was the National Canadian champion in both 1896 and 1897.

Crocker was also one of the major players in developing the Royal Life Saving Society.

Crocker and Physical Education at Western

In 1930 John Howard Crocker was invited to join the Faculty of The University of Western Ontario as Director of Physical Education.

Since that time thousands of physical education graduates from Western have taken places as teachers and coaches in the public schools of Ontario and other provinces.

Emanating from that embryo program were initiatives leading to heavy emphasis on research related to sport and exercise, a character of Western's Faculty of Kinesiology which has projected it towards being recognized as one of the best anywhere in the world.

In 1949 Crocker retired from active service at Western, but not before he had witnessed the completion of his last great physical education project, the building of Thames Hall, an edifice, he argued, that was absolutely necessary as "universities have learned to their cost that unless they make provision for the health of their students, the students fall far short of doing their best academic work."

One year later, in 1950, a grateful University of Western Ontario conferred its highest honour on Crocker, a Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa.

Crocker and the Modern Olympic Games

In 1908 the newly formed Central Olympic Committee of Canada reached the decision to send a team of athletes to the Games of the 4th Olympiad in London, England.

John Howard Crocker was appointed manager of this first-ever Canadian Olympic Team.

In succeeding Olympic Games celebrated between 1912 and 1956, Crocker was named honorary manager of Canada's team.

From 1922 until 1947 he was secretary of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Long involved in the administration of amateur athletics, Crocker was also active in the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada, serving as president at one point.

Crocker was one of several individuals who appreciated the wisdom of the Canadian Olympic Association becoming an independent entity, away from the controlling influence of the AAU of C.

Crocker lived to witness the independence of the COA occur, a deed that became a matter of record in 1948.

The concluding message on a certificate of appreciation presented to Crocker by Canada's Olympic athletes of 1908 is perhaps a fitting finality to this all too brief Crocker testimony.

Though the message was expressed by the 1908 Olympic athletes, it might just as well have come from every Canadian athlete whose life Crocker touched:

"Every athlete on the Olympic team of 1908 joins in wishing you Godspeed and every success in life and though our pathways may diverge and we forget much along the journey of it, one spot will always remain green in our memories, that is, our association with you on this most important event in Canadian Olympic history."

Dr. Crocker would undoubtedly smile when told about the J. Howard Crocker Olympic Studies Lecture held in his honour.

We will not forget this man, ever. Honour to his name.