Sports & Athleticism
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A St. Christopher House Century
Chapter 5 - Sports and Athleticism
From Sandlot Leagues to Hammerin’ Howard & Night Gym
St Christopher House and its century long support of sport & athleticism
In a gymnasium full of unruly boys, during a forbidding New England cold snap in 1891, James Naismith, employed at a social services organization not unlike St. Christopher House, introduced basketball to the world. Among the boys in the gym that day, initially, acceptance was tepid. Naismith persevered. Believing they would benefit from the physical activity basketball would offer, Naismith worked with the youth, teaching them the rules of play, even tweaking the game slightly. Eventually, they came around and basketball proved to be an ideal outlet for youth kept indoors by the miserable cold.
Like James Naismith, upon its opening in 1912, St. Chris too was a proponent of physical activity amongst youth. One of the first self-governed clubs founded at the House was the Patriot’s Athletic Club.
In the early twentieth century, public schools, particularly those serving inner-city neighbourhoods, did not provide much in the way of extracurricular activities. Athletic clubs, like the exclusive Boulevard and Granite Clubs, were private venues. Residents of Kensington Market lacked the financial and social standing required to join such organizations. According to Head Worker Ethel Parker, left to their own devices, “the chief sport [among local adolescence] was breaking the law.”
As an alternative, St. Christopher House provided opportunities for youth to engage in organized sport. They were not the only agency in the community to do so. The West End YMCA, as well as several Jewish organizations including the YMHA and the Hebrew Literary and Athletic Club also organized various sport initiatives.
Sir James Woods was a booster of St. Chris’s fledgling athletics program. Athleticism was bred into the Woods family. Two of Sir James’ sons would prove themselves on the playing fields of Toronto. Both John Robinson Woods and James Douglas Woods were recipients of the Herbert Mason Medal. Since 1888, the medal recognized scholastic, athletic and leadership skills.
In 1917, after John Robinson Woods was killed in World War I, Sir James memorialized his son by financing the construction of a gymnasium at 67 Wales Avenue. The design required the closure of the laneway behind 67 Wales. The City’s planning department balked at Sir James’ plan. They informed him that without permission from the property owner on the opposite side of the laneway, such an undertaking was impossible. Undeterred, Sir James purchased the property in question, granted permission (ostensively to himself); the gym was constructed and the property resold.
The 1919 St. Christopher House summer programme lists a number of league sports available to House participants. These included sandlot baseball, basketball and volleyball. At this time in Toronto’s history, there were many more sports leagues in existence as compared to today. In the West Toronto Baseball League, St. Christopher House, represented in the boy’s juvenile division, played to the finals. On August 30, 1922 Moss Park challenged the House in a winner take all matchup. Competitive play was also seen in the Ladies Inter-Church Softball League. According to the sports pages of the Daily Star, the 1924 ladies team fielded by the House performed admirably.
St. Christopher House also supported participants in individual competition. These included sports such as fencing, tennis, boxing and track and field. When it came to the sweet science, the man in St. Chris’s corner was a young pugilist named Howard Carr. Fighting in the weight class known as paperweight(under 75lbs), in 1938, a fifty-five pound Carr was crowned city champ. The following year he lost a title bout to Joe Ferrier (75lbs). One year after that (and ten pounds heavier), Carr regained the title in 1940.
From city champ to world champion, St. Christopher House’s trophy case is filled with distinctions. In 1934, a fifteen year old House athlete named Samuel “Sam” Richardson competed in a track and field medley at the British Empire Games in London, England. Besides winning a silver medal in the triple jump, Richardson captured gold in the long jump, leaping an astounding 23 feet, 6¼ inches. Two years later, Richardson again represented Canada, this time at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Competing against a swift American track team led by Jesse Owens, Richardson’s 4x400 relay team lost to Owens’ by only 2.009th of a second.
Beginning in the 1940s, for nearly three decades, basketball and lacrosse became the dominant sports at St. Christopher House. Since the early 1920s, St. Chris had competed in several basketball leagues. In 1946, a group of Japanese-Canadian youth approached the House seeking permission to use the gymnasium’s basketball court. Over time, the Yamada Mustangs were formed. During their off season, several members of the Toronto Argonauts football team, including quarterback Jerry Doucette played for the Mustangs. In 1957, The Mustangs made it to the championship round only to lose by seven points to the Sudbury Garagemen.
Bob Opperman introduced box lacrosse (the indoor version of Canada’s official summer sport) to the House in the 1960s. With a respectable background in minor league lacrosse, Opperman (with the assistance of others) organized and coached St. Chris youth. Home games were played on the outdoor concrete rink surface at Alexandra Park. Besides capturing the imagination of local youth, lacrosse also tapped into their competitive spirit. The team quickly became league contenders, facing off against other Toronto based teams. They also travelled the province participating in various tourneys. In a short time, the House’s lacrosse team had earned their competitors’ respect.
As for the sport itself, lacrosse was new to the St. Chris community. The majority of youth had never played. Still, all were welcome. If a youth did not possess the skill required to make the official team, they were encouraged to play on teams competing against one another within the House.
Although the team had official sponsors, players did their share of fundraising. As Athletic Director at St. Chris in the early 1970s, among other things, Bob Ellis coached the lacrosse team. Resources were so limited Ellis recalls asking his sister to volunteer her skills with needle and thread in order to sew together much needed kidney pads.
As a teenager, James Malott played lacrosse at St. Christopher House. Today, Malott continues to value his time playing lacrosse at St. Chris, calling it, “a life learning experience.” Besides providing a sound base for learning team play, lacrosse also offered Malott the opportunity to travel beyond the city limits and visit the northern regions of Ontario.
It was through the athletic program offered at the House that Malott first played basketball, as well. Honing his skills on the court at St. Chris, he saw court action in high school and later, university. In 1983, he was asked to try out for Canada’s national team. Today Malott, who has spent twenty-two years working with children and youth at the school board level, as well as in the mental health system, says, “I am forever grateful for the opportunity St. Chris provided for me; I’m not sure where I’d be [otherwise].”
Though St. Christopher House has historically been a proponent of competitive sport amongst youth, they also have a history of facilitating games and sports education simply for enjoyment. Three decades ago there was Night Gym at Ryerson Public School where youngsters played games of cosmo hockey, basketball and floor hockey. Today, the children and youth afterschool program offers Sports Club were games of indoor soccer are played, along with yoga, swimming and skating. During the summer, the Parkdale youth program participates in a soccer league.
Today, physical activities at St. Christopher House are not limited to the young. The seniors’ program operates many well attended fitness classes. House seniors also enjoy active time with the Wii console.
For a variety of reason, the kinds of activities and levels of involvement may have changed over the course of last the century, but St. Christopher House continues its commitment to providing athletic opportunities to all participants.
The author would like to acknowledge the use of The Story of St. Christopher House by Patricia J. O’Connor, as well as the assistance of Bob Ellis and James Malott in the writing of this article. An organizing committee consisting of volunteers, staff and board members has been formed to plan St. Chris’s centenary. The Century Committee meets every second month. Those interested in participating, passing along their ideas or sharing a memory, may contact Lidia Monaco at 416 532-4828 (234) or lidiamo@stchrishouse.org.
Edward Brown may be contacted at stchriscentury@hotmail.com
St. Christopher House would like to thank the author, Edward Brown, who is a Toronto-based writer and a volunteer member on St. Christopher House's Century Committee. He is also the author of Playing Basra.
