MONTREAL - Bob Pugh has been selected in the
builder category and is among a half-dozen new 2010 inductees to
the McGill Sports Hall of Fame.
Born Robert W. Pugh in Verdun, Que., on Oct. 29, 1928, he went
on to Springfield College, graduating with a science degree in
1950.
From 1955 to 1969, he served as the tireless director of
athletics at McGill's Macdonald campus in Ste. Anne de Bellevue,
Que. During his tenure, he also coached the Macdonald football and
hockey teams for nine and 14 seasons, respectively.
A former director of Hockey Canada, he served as co-chair on the
Canadian Olympic Hockey Committee and sat for six years as
president of the Ottawa - St. Lawrence Athletics Association.
In 1971, Pugh became the first executive director of the
Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (now know as the CIS), an
organization he helped create and served there for 20 years until
his retirement in 1991. He was a member of the organizing committee
that established the Vanier Cup, now the most prestigious event in
Canadian intercollegiate football.
In 1972, he was appointed chef-de-mission at the FISU world
university games in Moscow. A decade later, he was a member of the
board of directors for the 1983 FISU Games in Edmonton.
"I was coached in football and hockey, in the early sixties, by
Bob Pugh," said Bryan Murray, a McGill grad who is
the general manager of the NHL's Ottawa Senators. "I also had the
opportunity to work with him, as an assistant athletics director
and hockey coach, on the Macdonald campus. I remember the
discipline, behavior, work ethic and respect that all of his
student-athletes were expected to show and in return were
shown.
"Bob was a classy, respectful man who expected each of us to
conduct ourselves as good representatives of the school and team. I
remember the effort he put into his responsibility as the coach and
athletics director. I know that exposure to Bob had a huge
influence on my career. The treatment and respect I received
allowed me to better understand how athletes should be treated. I
have tried to follow that code with my teams. I wish him good luck
for this much deserved recognition."
Pugh also served for 20 years on the Lanark County Board of
Education and 12 years on the Almonte Hospital Board, serving terms
as chair of both boards. He received the J.P. Loosemoore Award in
1992, presented to an administrator for contribution to sport in
addition to reflecting the best of university sport in terms of
ethics, integrity and honesty. The R.W. Pugh Award is presented
annually in his honour to the most sportsmanlike player in CIS
men's hockey. In 2008, an annual Bob Pugh Golf Classic was founded
by the Macdonald campus to create proceeds for a scholarship fund
named in his honour.
The induction luncheon, scheduled for Thursday, Sept.
30, 2010, officially kicks off the McGill Homecoming Week
celebrations. Tickets for the event are $65 and can be reserved by
contacting Kathryn Weaver at kathryn.weaver@mcgill.ca or
514-398-7002.
Next profile: the 1919 McGill football
team.
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.athletics.mcgill.ca
