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Saint John Speed Skating Heritage 1890-1929 |
He
was another in a long line of hardy country men who grew up on farms along the
Saint John and Kennebecasis rivers. He was tough, strong and had incredible
endurance. William proved this fact in a marathon skate at the Victoria Skating
Rink. This was the first Marathon race in the World in 1884 in Saint John, New
Brunswick. The winner was William Whepley who skated 117 miles,12 laps in 10
hours. The confident William Whepley offered to race any man in the world over
a distance of 50 miles, provided the challenger would stake $500. and guarantee
expenses. In 1885 he traveled to Newburg, New York and was signed to meet
Joseph Walsh. Walsh claimed the championship of the Hudson , if not America.
Whepley defeated Walsh by half a mile over a five mile course, and as virtue of
this victory, Whepley was regarded as the Canadian Amateur Open Champion. The
Whepleys gave their name to a famous skate "Reachers" and learned the
art near their home at Long Reach in Saint John.
Doris Calder, All our Born Days. (Percheron Press,
Sackville, N.B. c.1984).
In 1883 Hugh McCormick
lived on the Kennebecasis River , Saint John, N.B. He was twenty-nine when he
raced for the first time professionally, an age when many skaters end their
active careers. One challenger to McCormick was Axel Paulsen - a World
Professional Champion Speed Skater from Norway. He visited Saint John in
February 1883 skating exhibition races. A match race between Paulsen and the
Canadian Champion Robert Elliot was scheduled. Ice conditions forced the race
to be rescheduled and a local match was scheduled in its place with six New
Brunswick contestants entering the race. There was a one mile qualifier in
three heats with the three winners advancing to the finals. In the two mile
final Hugh McCormick, defeated Frederick Jones and G.W. Campbell in a time of
seven minutes and thirty five seconds. (The rink record for the distance was 7
min. 8 /12 sec. set by Axel Paulsen). Having defeated Campbell and Jones,
McCormick was considered The Professional Champion of New Brunswick for 1883.
This was the beginning for McCormick, and he went on to defeat Paulsen in 1885
in New York and many others, gaining Titles of North American Professional and
Maritime Champion in 1885. McCormick set World Records in 1886, 1887, and
gained World Professional Champion Title in 1890. 
As a person Hugh McCormick could not be better
characterized than by an article in the Evening Star in 1926...
"Reference to the old time skaters who made the name of Saint John
known the world over in ice sports could not better be started than with
something about Hugh J. McCormick. There probably has never been a more popular
Saint John athlete than he. His accent to the pinnacle of Champion Skater of
the World in 1890 made no difference in his amiable relations with the great
number, rich and otherwise, who were glad to be among his friends.
" He was always the same Hugh - pleasant and friendly, of outstanding
honesty in professional sport, one whose work was his bond and one who could be
depended on to do and give the best that was in him when the contest demanded
it. Hugh McCormick died August 28th ,1910.
He was an exceptional skater from Moss Glen (Kingston Peninsula) near Saint John. He was born and raised in a family that loved to skate. Fred had two brothers , Hudson and Wilson, who were champion skaters in their own right, but it was Fred who proved the fastest of the lot. He skated at the Victoria Rink before 4,000 spectators with the winner to get 60 per cent of the gate receipts. Breen won the race. March 18th they met again with the same outcome. Breen was an outstanding skater and agreed to a race in Saint John with Harold Hagen from Minneapolis. It was held at the Shamrock Grounds with a side-bet of $1000. Breen won. Fred was signed to race a series of three races to contest the professional championship of North America who was held by Hugh McCormick of Saint John. He was a rival of Hugh McCormick - world professional speed skater of . On March 15th, 1892 they raced In 1892 Breen won and was North American Speed Skating Champion in 1892.
He started skating in an oval-shaped indoor rink at the age
of 10. There was a band playing at the rink, as was the fashion in Victorian
days. When Fred started racing, the band started to play. As the temp increased
, Fred skated faster. He won his first race, got hooked on the sport, and gave
Canada one of the top skating families in our history. Fred was one exceptional
figure among the great skaters from the early 1900's. He was skating at his
peak in Saint John in 1907 and was Canadian Champion in 1907,1908, and 1909. He
earned the title of International Champion in 1907. Fred Logan was elected to
the CASSA Hall of Fame in 1978 and the New Brunswick Hall of Fame in 1980.
Charles I. Gorman was born on July 6, 1897 and lived in North
End Saint John. In his day and in his community the sport of speed skating was
a craze. The movement began around 1850 and swept to a climax in the 1920's. At
its peak speed skating even went so far as to include world championship
matches in skating backward. He was the son of William John Gorman and Mary Ann
(Inagram) Gorman. Charles was a twin - the brother Frank died in infancy. A
brother Alfred G. Gorman and sister Mrs. H.S. Drinan lived in Saint John. The
family ancestry was Scottish and Irish.
The family later moved to Lombard St. and later to Main Street. The school
records show the address as 204 Main Street. Later the Gormans lived at 292
Main Street and went to Winter St. School. The North End was a hot-bed of speed
skating - Some skaters of outstanding record were Ned Dalton, Hope Dingee, Same
Semple and Mike Walen. It was natural then, that not long after he could toddle
he was on skaters. One of the many ponds in Saint John was off paradise Row -
or rather a depression that filled with water and froze in the winter. Charles
Gorman took part in his first race in 1907 at the Victoria Rink at the age of
10. While in his teens he won the Maritime Senior Speed Skating Championship at
the Vic Rink.
In 1914, the first two World Wars broke out and Charles enlisted in the army.
He was a machine gunner at Vimy Ridge and was wounded by shrapnel on September
9th 1918. After a period in hospital in France he returned to Canada for
discharge on May 2nd 1919.
Gorman returned to competitive skating
in 1920 and represented Canada twice in the Olympics. In Saint John he won the
world championship at Lily lake in 1926 from Clas Thunberg from Finland with a
driving finish. Estimates of the number of people on hand that day run up to
20,000. Seldom, before or since, has a single event so thoroughly encompassed
every citizen of the community. The pictures taken at the time show streets
jammed with spectators. In January and February of 1927 - the peak of his
career- Gorman took part in five major competitions - two of them at
international level. He skated in 23 races and won 16. He set seven world
records which were officially recognized. Gorman is a member of the Canadian
Amateur Athletic Union Hall of Fame. He is also in the Canadian Sports Hall of
Fame and has been described as the "most colorful skater in history"
and the world's fastest human. His speed was rated at 25.3 miles and hour. At
the peak of Charles Gorman's skating career in 1927 he won four titles and tied
a fifth, broke two world records and equaled a third.
In the mid 1930's Gorman became ill and
his health failed, he entered a private nursing home at St. Martins. He died
February 11, 1940 at the young age of 43. A bronze memorial was erected in
King's Square as a fitting tribute to an outstanding athlete who, against great
odds, fought his way up to become a world champion and in doing so brought
great honour to the city of Saint John. We still hope for the day when nature
will blend the speed of the greyhound with the grit of a bull terrier in one
individual. Then we will have another Charlie Gorman.
He was born in 1907 in
Saint John, N.B. Like his father, Fred, Willie was Canadian and International
Champion in his age class several times. In 1928 , he made the Canadian team
for the Olympics in St. Mortiz, Switzerland. He was the Canadian team captain.
At the 1932 Olympics at Lake Placid, U.S.A. Willie was the greatest point
earner for Canada as well achieving two Bronze Medals - in the 500 m and 5000 m
distance . He earned the title of Senior Maritime Champion from 1925- 1936 and
National Indoor Champion in 1934.
He was the younger brother of Willie . He was born in 1913. At
the age of 12 he became the Canadian and International champion in his age
class. He was called the " boy wonder" and had a much faster start
than his big brother. He competed only until the age of 16 and went on to
donate his time in speed skating as meet coordinator.
It all started
around 1925 with a young girl named Margaret Whipple. We remember the 20's as
the Gorman years. His success inspired many children to lace on the long blades
and whip around the ice as fast as they could. Margaret was one of theses
youngsters. She loved to skate and flashed her blades to numerous victories.
Twenty-some years later Margaret's love of skating was passed on to her
daughter, Marlene Mason (now Vaughan).
Marlene practiced in the Old Forum in Saint John as a member of the Four Leaf
Club. She had several successful years as a speed skater winning Provincial
& Maritime titles. Marlene went on to play & coach in various sports.
She played softball at the National Level and competed in the Summer Games in
Halifax. She played basketball at the National Level and was the High
Individual Scorer at the '69 Nationals. She also played in the Winter Games in
Saskatoon. She bowled on 3 N.B. Ladies Bowling Championship teams and 1 Mixed
N.B. Bowling Championship team. She curled in 3 National Bonspiels; Scott
Tournament of Hearts in Winnepeg and 2 Canadian Senior's Championships in
Victoria and Medicine Hat. Marlene along with husband Bill were named
Sportspersons of the Year for the City of Saint John. Marlene was inducted in
the Saint John Sports Hall of Fame.
The skating tradition continued when Marlene & Bill's four children were
old enough to join the Saint John Speed Skating Club. Billy, Pat, Susan &
Shelley won a number of Provincial and Maritime Championship titles. All four
have won medals at the National Level. In 1975 Billy and Shelley both won the
Canadian Championships in Victoria, B.C. Shelley went on to win the the North
American Title one week later with 2 Golds and and 1 Silver in Lake Placid, New
York. Susan was runner-up for the Canadian Championship in outdoor in 1976 and
third overall in the Canadian indoor the same year. Pat's best overall ranking
was 4th at the Kitchener-Waterloo Canadian Championships.
All four Vaughan children have gone on to excel in a number of sports. Billy
& Pat played together in Hockey at the Winter Games in Quebec. Billy also
played hockey at Saint Mary's University. Susan has competed Nationally in
Volleyball. Shelley attended 2 Canada Winter Games (Quebec & Nova Scotia)
in Speed Skating. She also competed Nationally in Softball and Volleyball and
played Basketball at Dalhousie and UNBSJ Universities.
These Other Pages Also Available... |
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| Saint John Speed Skating Heritage 1930-Present | A Brief History of Indoor Short Track | History of the North American Short Track Championships |
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All pages © Heritage Resources and New
Brunswick Community College - Saint John.
