Veteran, volleyball coach and referee.
Born at Winnipeg on 29 July 1926, to parents William John Bridle and Sarah Jane Park, he served in the navy during the Second World War as a signalman on the Cowichan and St. Laurent. Upon his return, he resumed his position as a carman with the Canadian National Railway, for whom he worked for 42 years.
Discovering a passion for volleyball at the YMCA in the 1950s, he is credited with developing the high school volleyball system in Winnipeg, as well as being instrumental in the formation of the Winnipeg Men’s Volleyball League, Manitoba Volleyball Association, and Manitoba Volleyball Officials Association. He coached at the University of Manitoba, Red River College and led the University of Winnipeg’s volleyball team to two national championships. He is recognized as Canada’s first international referee and one of Canada’s top officials, refereeing at the 1968 and 1976 Olympic games, 1967 Pan Am Games, and many other international events and matches. For his achievements he was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1988), Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame (1999), and Volleyball Canada Hall of Fame (2000). In recognition of his contributions to the community he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977.
He died at Winnipeg on 9 January 2015.
Obituary [Charles Bridle], Winnipeg Free Press, 19 October 1999.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 12 January 2015.
“Volleyball Manitoba mourns the passing of Wezer Bridle,” Volleyball Manitoba, 12 January 2015.
Wezer Bridle, Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.
This page was prepared by Mallory Light.
Page revised: 13 January 2017
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