Fred Marples | |
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| Born | January 27, 1885 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Died | January 17, 1945 (aged 59) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, businessman |
| Known for | |
| Family | Stan Marples (brother) |
| Awards | Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame |
Frederick Paul Henry Marples (January 27, 1885 – January 17, 1945) was a Canadian sports executive in ice hockey and athletics. He was president of the Winnipeg Monarchs team which won Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League championships in 1914 and 1915, and the Allan Cup as senior ice hockey champions of Canada. His operation of a reserve team to support the Monarchs led to debates on player eligibility for the Allan Cup and calls for a national governing body of hockey. As the secretary-treasurer of the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League, he helped establish both the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) in 1914; then served as secretary-treasurer of the MAHA from 1914 to until 1934, and as secretary of the CAHA from 1926 to 1945. He sought to grow the game in rural regions of Manitoba, promote minor ice hockey as a source of future senior players, to keep players in junior ice hockey until age 21, and was against the exodus of amateur players to professional teams.
Marples was an athlete in his younger days and won the relay event at the 1909 Canadian Track and Field Championships with a team from the Winnipeg North End Amateur Athletic Club. He later served as secretary-treasurer of the club, then as a track and field official for the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada, the 1928 Summer Olympics, and the 1930 British Empire Games. As the secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Olympic Committee from 1922 to 1936, he urged Canadians and provincial governments to support fundraising efforts for athletes at international competitions, and led efforts to establish the Manitoba Citizens' Olympic Committee in 1932. He served as the head of mission for the Canadian delegation at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Germany, which saw the Canada men's national ice hockey team fail to win the gold medal amid disagreements on the eligibility of players and how the medals were determined. He was posthumously inducted as an individual into the builder category of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame, and was inducted into both the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the Winnipeg Monarchs.