Ron Perowne was inducted into the McGill Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Born on Jan. 15, 1918 in Westmount, Que., he later enrolled at McGill in 1935 and graduated with a bachelor of commerce in 1939.
While red-shirted as a freshman, he played varsity football and hockey over his last three years despite never having played organized football prior to enrolling at McGill. He helped the hockey Redmen win three Queen’s Cup championships in the Canadian intercollegiate league and three Alexis Thompson Trophy titles as champions of the International Intercollegiate League, a 10-team conference that included the USA-based Ivy League schools.
He played on the last McGill hockey team to go undefeated in intercollegiate play (10-0 in 1936-37). In his senior year, he finished second in the IIIHL scoring race with 13-19-32 in 10 games.
A star in hockey circles, Perowne made an even bigger name for himself in football, where he began as a running back in 1936 before switching to quarterback the next season and became a two-time all-star at that position. He had a career year in 1938, leading McGill to an unexpected Yates Cup championship and was voted by the press as an Eastern Canadian all-star. The local sportswriters also selected him as "Sportsman of the Year" in Montreal.
Perhaps The McGill Daily captured it best in 1938 when they published the following statement: "Last year saw the culmination of his apprenticeship as he ruled the gridirons with his heads-up masterful guidance. Universal acclaim came modest to Ronnie when he was selected not only on the all-star college squad but on the eastern all-stars as well. But fame didn't go to his head and he stepped from the gridiron to the ice to aid Coach Hugh Farquharson annex another hockey crown. Perowne stands alongside (Andy) Anton as having a definite place in McGill's hall of fame by virtue of his spark-plug position in helping both rugby and hockey teams to college championships."
Perowne was a member of McGill's Phi Kappa Pi Alumni Society and after graduation, played for the Montreal Royals. He also played with the Black Watch army hockey team prior to a naval posting in World War II as a submarine lieutenant.
M.T. McNeil, a local reporter wrote: "You've got to know Ronnie to appreciate him fully. I'm one who knows how good he is, and I guess (McGill football coach) Doug Kerr would be another. I've always heard tell that Perowne was one of the best quarterbacks McGill ever had; for my money, now that I really have come to understand what a great competitor he is, I'd say Ronnie must have been the best of all McGill quarterbacks. We're going to miss him plenty."
Perowne later served in World War II as a sub-lieutenant. After the war, Perowne declined pro football offers from Hamilton, Regina and Montreal to become director of athletics at Lower Canada College. He also was the chairman of Dominion Textiles, served as a governor with the McGill Martlet Foundation and helped establish the 1938 McGill Champions leadership awards in honour of his football teammates lost in the war.
Player-related articles
Leaving on a lighter note
Jul 28, 08
By ANNE SUTHERLAND
(reprinted from The Gazette)
MONTREAL -- Textile magnate and former McGill University sports star Ron Perowne had a badly misshapen pinky, the result of a foul tip in a baseball game in his youth.
OBIT: PEROWNE, ATHLETE, SAILOR AND CEO 1918-2006
Jul 31, 06 Football (M)
by TOM HAWTHORN
(reprinted from The Globe & Mail)
MONTREAL -- Born on the kitchen table of a flat in a working-class neighbourhood of Montreal, Ron Perowne would more than fulfill the ambitions his immigrant parents held for their only son.
At the hockey rink and on the football field, he was a star; he earned a commerce degree from McGill University, but delayed his career by volunteering for wartime service, during which he became a respected naval officer. Finally, he rose to become head of Dominion Textiles at age 51.
Perowne starred in two sports
Jun 01, 06 Football (M)
By Ian Macdonald
(reprinted from The Gazette)
MONTREAL -- Ron Perowne, who died Monday after a long illness, was one of McGill University's most celebrated athletes. He was 88.
OBIT: Ron Perowne, McGill Hall of Famer was 88
Jun 01, 06 Ice Hockey (M)
(VERSION FRANCAISE CI-DESSOUS)
MONTREAL -- Ron Perowne, one of the few remaining legends from the golden era of sports at McGill University in the 1930s, died on May 29. He was 88 and the second oldest surviving member of the Redmen hockey team.
