J. Howard Crocker | |
|---|---|
 Crocker, c. 1908 | |
| Born | John Howard Crocker April 19, 1870 St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | November 27, 1959 (aged 89) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | |
| Honours | LL.D. (Hon), M.P.Ed (Hon), Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame |
John Howard Crocker (April 19, 1870 – November 27, 1959) was a Canadian educator and sports executive. He began teaching physical education at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in his hometown of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, then graduated from the International YMCA Training School, and introduced basketball to Nova Scotia at Amherst. He won the 1896 and 1897 Canadian pentathlon championships, then graduated from University of New Brunswick. After serving in Halifax, he was the physical education director for the Toronto Central YMCA, where he established the YMCA Athletic League. He introduced lifesaving courses to the curriculum by 1903, and was a charter member of the Ontario branch of the Royal Life Saving Society Canada in 1908. As the general secretary of the Brantford YMCA, he helped design and raise funds for a larger building to meet growing membership. He served the YMCA in China from 1911 to 1917, oversaw construction of a new building in Shanghai, and the city's first major sports stadium. He introduced volleyball to China in 1912, then helped establish the Far Eastern Championship Games in 1913. He later served as secretary of the Chinese Olympic Committee, and led a national physical education program with support of the Chinese government. Based in Winnipeg, he implemented YMCA programs despite World War I austerity measures. As secretary for physical education in Canada from 1921 to 1930, his physical education programs sought to produce a whole man, rather than an athlete. He retired from the YMCA after serving as president of the North American Physical Education Society from 1928 to 1930, remaining a lifetime advisor to the YMCA.
Crocker became involved in the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAU of C) via his YMCA work, and was the Canadian representative on the International Basketball Rules Commission from 1905 to 1947. He was the manager of Canada at the 1908 Summer Olympics, the first organized national team for the Olympics. During his AAU of C tenure, he stood for amateur ideals, sought for youth to be educated to play sport for fun, and for athletes to represent Canada without financial gain. He updated the AAU of C constitution by replacing the board of governors with an elected executive committee, then served as president from 1932 to 1934. He led committees which evolved the definition of an amateur over time, allowing paid recreational sports directors and physical education directors. He also helped establish the Southwestern Ontario branch of the AAU of C, to give more cities a voice in organizing amateur sports. Crocker served as secretary of the Canadian Olympic Committee for 21 years, was chairman of selecting track and field athletes for Canada at the 1924 Summer Olympics, and was a boxing judge at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He sought for Canada to host international sporting events, and collaborated with Melville Marks Robinson to establish the British Empire Games in 1930. Crocker served on the British Empire Games Association of Canada for life, and managed Canada's track and field team at the 1938 British Empire Games. When the Canadian Olympic Association replaced the Canadian Olympic Committee by 1952, Crocker assisted in the transition and served as a lifetime advisor.
At the University of Western Ontario, Crocker was director of the physical education department from 1930 to 1947, where he established a Bachelor of Arts degree program in physical education, to produce teachers at secondary schools and instructors at recreational institutes. He was involved in student affairs and intramural sports, where he helped design a campus field house and raised funds for its construction. During his tenure, he kept the Western Mustangs football team operational during World War II with exhibition games versus the Ontario Rugby Football Union, and the university sponsored its first Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union ice hockey team. In retirement, Crocker served as president of the Philatelic Society of London, Ontario, and was curator of the university's A. O. Jeffery Stamp Collection. For Crocker's work in China, he received an honorary Master of Physical Education degree from the International YMCA College in 1916. For his work in physical education, he received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1950. Other honours include becoming a lifetime governor of the Royal Life Saving Society Canada in 1938, and lifetime memberships from the YMCA and the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada in 1951. He was posthumously inducted into the builder categories of the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1960, and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.