This builder enjoyed success in the sports of skiing and auto racing. Growing up in Fort William, he represented the Lake Superior Ski Division at three Canadian Championships during the late 1950s and early 60s. Completing his Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance course, he started to coach at the Divisional level in 1965, with many of his local students enjoying success, including Dave Irwin and John Ritchie.
A founding member of the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation, he served as the Head Coach of the Canadian Women's Can-Am team from 1969-72, establishing a strong foundation in women's skiing. As the Assistant Program Director for the Canadian Ski Team in 1972-73, he planned and coordinated training camps, race schedules and team selections, helping to develop the program that led to the 'Crazy Canucks'.
Serving as Head Coach of the Canadian Women's Ski Team from 1973-76, his skiers claimed a number of top five finishes in World Cup races. In 1974 Betsy Clifford won a silver medal in the Downhill at the World Championships and in 1976 Kathy Kreiner earned a gold medal for Canada in the Giant Slalom at the Olympic Games in Innsbruck. Returning to Thunder Bay he took over the operation of the Loch Lomond ski shop and ski school and served as a Technical Delegate for the International Ski Federation (FIS), overseeing races in Europe and the US until the early 1980s.
A successful car racer, he competed in stock, sprint and dirt class divisions for over half a century. Named the 1961 Rookie of the Year for the Lakehead Stock Car Club, he moved into the sprint car division in 1966, going on to become a dominate force in Thunder Bay and on the highly competitive US Midwest circuit. Behind the wheel of the Thunder Bay Invader he claimed a number of races and was the 1978 Midwest Sprint Association points champion. His all out aggressive style earned him many victories, and some spectacular crashes, and garnered him the respect of his fellow drivers and many fans. Making the move to Indiana in 1983, he continued to race sprint cars before purchasing a McPherson Dirt Champ car. Racing until 1990 he retired as a driver but remained active in auto racing for many more years off the track, marking a career in the sport of auto racing spanning five decades.
Developing world class skiers and driving to victory on the track, this outstanding athlete and builder has truly left his mark in the history books of skiing and auto racing in northwestern Ontario.
Inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, September 24, 2011