Sam Jacks

Samuel Perry Jacks
Born
Samuel Perry Jacks

(1915-04-23)April 23, 1915.
Glasgow, Scotland
DiedMay 14, 1975(1975-05-14) (aged 60)
Glasgow, Scotland
NationalityCanadian
Known forInventing floor hockey and ringette

Samuel Perry Jacks (April 23, 1915 – May 14, 1975) more commonly known as, "Sam Jacks," was a Canadian soldier in World War II, inventor, military and civic recreation director, sports coach, creator of the Canadian sport of ringette for girls[1][2] and the creator and codifier of the first set of rules for floor hockey in 1936.[3][4] He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1915 and became a Canadian citizen after his parents had immigrated to Canada in 1920. Jacks died from cancer in 1975, at the age of 60.[5]

Among his many achievements and honours was his posthumous induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.[3] He was also posthumously inducted into the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame on February 27, 1982.[6] He was inducted into the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame in 1998 during the 10th annual Canadian Ringette Championships.[4]

Jacks is best known for inventing the sport of ringette, although he died before it gained popularity. For the World Ringette Championships, the Sam Jacks Trophy, which is given to the winning team in the senior division of what is customarily a three-game series between Team Canada and Team Finland known as the "Sam Jacks Series," is the highest international trophy in the sport and is named in his honour. In a similar fashion, Ringette Canada honoured Jacks by naming its "Belle" division championship trophy for the Canadian Ringette Championships in his honour, the "Sam Jacks Memorial Trophy."[7] Today the "Belle" division is known as the Under-19 (U19) division. The Sam Jacks Trophy for the Under-14 AA (U14AA) winners of the Eastern Canadian Ringette Championships is named after him as well, a trophy that was donated by his wife, Agnes Jacks CM.

At the time of his death in 1975, Jacks had reportedly been working on another game for girls during his spare time, which he called "Net Ball."[8] It is possible that the game was related to or actually was the organized sport of netball, which had been introduced to Canada during the early 1960s.[9]

  1. ^ "Ringette HALL OF FAME | Sam Jacks". www.ringette.ca. Ringette Canada. 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Ringette (A Game on Skates for Girls) Rules 1965-66". Ringette Calgary. Society of Directors of Municipal Recreation of Ontario/Ringette Canada.
  3. ^ a b "Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, Sam Jacks". Canada's Sports HoF. Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
  4. ^ a b "Archived copy: Ringette Canada Hall of Fame, Samual (sic) Perry Jacks, 1915-1975, Founder". Ringette Canada. Ringette Canada. Archived from the original on 2010-03-14. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  5. ^ Allison Lawlor (19 April 2005). "Obituaries, AGNES JACKS, RINGETTE PROMOTER 1923-2005". ringettemanitoba.ca. The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  6. ^ "North Bay Sports Hall of Fame, Samuel Perry 'Sam' Jacks". northbaysportshalloffame.ca. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Trophy". flickr.com. Ringette Canada. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  8. ^ "SAMUEL P. JACKS, FOUNDER OF THE GAME OF RINGETTE, 1915 - 1975" (PDF). Ringette Manitoba.ca. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  9. ^ Barbara Schrodt (25 July 2014). "Netball". thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 27 December 2021.