Athlete, lawyer.
Born at Winnipeg on 12 July 1893, he was educated at St. Mary’s School and Fordham Prep School (New York) before graduating in 1916 from Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he played baseball. He served in the American army in the First World War, then attended the College of Law at the University of Manitoba. He was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1926 an practiced law for a few years, later entering the insurance business with the Excelsior Life Insurance Company.
He played for a number of Manitoba baseball teams, usually as a first baseman, and also coached. In 1931 he helped start the Winnipeg High School Football League, and he was instrumental in the formation of an annual Catholic field day. He was involved in community affairs throughout his life, serving as Executive Director of the United Way until 1964. He then joined the C.A.M.R. (Manitoba Division) where he established and ran a canoe-a-thon until the late 1970s. He served on the Board of Misericordia Hospital, St. Boniface Hospital, St. Amant Centre, and St. Joseph’s Vocational School, and a member of the athletic committee of the Manitoba Centennial Corporation. He was a founding member and President of the Sierra Club of Winnipeg. He is a member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.
He received numerous honours, including the Centennial Medal of Honour from the Manitoba Historical Society (1970), the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg (1974), the Golden Boy Award from the Conference of Christians and Jews (1964), a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1965), and induction into the Order of the Buffalo Hunt by the Province of Manitoba (1980).
He died at Winnipeg on 23 May 1985 and was buried in the St. Mary’s Cemetery.
“Vince’s philosophy stressed fun for all,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 September 1982, page 84.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 May 1985.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 August 2024
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