Sports executive.
Born at Winnipeg on 24 March 1898, son of John Mitchell Dunn and Christine Catherine Rodger, in 1916 he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. In 1920, after his military discharge, he became employed as a paymaster with the Canadian National Railway and worked until retirement in 1963.
He served as the chief secretary and convener of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association, from 1927 to 1941. He was also the organization's Vice President from 1942-1945 and in 1945 was elected President, a position he held through to 1950. In 1950 and 1951, he was Second Vice President of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), followed by three years as First Vice President. He was elected President of the CAHA in 1955 and again in 1956. He became the second individual from Manitoba to serve as President of the CAHA. He served as the CAHA representative on the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee in 1961 through 1976. He also served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Manitoba Hockey Players Foundation, Inc. and was the convener of the Centennial World tournament in 1967.
For his contributions to amateur hockey in Canada, in 1968 he was inducted as a Builder into the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame. He was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame (1985). He received a City of Winnipeg Community Service Award (1966).
He also held positions with a number of other sports. He was a timekeeper at Winnipeg Blue Bombers football games since the first season in 1933, was President of the Greater Winnipeg Men's and Girls' Senior Baseball Leagues, and Vice-President of the Western Canada Baseball Association. He served on the executive of the Thistle Curling Club, including a term as club President (1962-1963).
On 19 October 1931, he married Annie Mary Armitage (1903-1965) at Regina, Saskatchewan and they had a son Gary Dunn. He was a member of the Masons (Fidelity Lodge) and had a summer cottage at Sandy Hook.
He died at the Health Sciences Centre on 7 January 1979 and was buried in Thomson “In The Park” Cemetery.
Birth registration [James Archibald Dunn], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Attestation papers, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.
“Dunn - Armitage,” Manitoba Free Press, 27 October 1931, page 9.
“Jimmy Dunn is Jack of all sports,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 March 1941.
“Thistle Curling Club history in the flesh,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 November 1962.
“Honor Jim Dunn on retirement,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 February 1963.
“Jimmy Dunn enters hall,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 June 1968.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 January 1979.
Jimmy “Mr. Hockey” Dunn, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Rick Mutton and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 August 2024
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