Athlete.
Born at Winnipeg on 19 February 1916, to Chester Abner McCance (?-1932) and Jemima Hannah Manson (?-1953), he grew up in the city's north end and graduated from its junior football program. He was a machinist for the Canadian Pacific Railway, worked for Rolands Press while living in Montreal, and was a representative for Brights Wines at the time of his death.
He played in the Canadian Football League for 13 seasons, joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a wide receiver, later teaching himself to be a place-kicker and then played with the Montreal Alouettes from 1946 to 1949. He played in eight Grey Cups, winning with Winnipeg in 1939 and 1941 and Montreal in 1949. He was a western all-star in 1940 and 1941. He played basketball for the local St. Andrews team from 1935 to 1946. An active member of the Granite Curling Club, in 1952 and 1953 he played third on a Quebec team at the Canadian Men's Curling Championships.
On 2 March 1940, he married Frances Elizabeth Carson (?-?) at Winnipeg. They had two children, a son and a daughter.
He died in his sleep at his Winnipeg home, 126 Lyndale Drive, on 8 May 1956 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery. He was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1976), Winnipeg Blue Bombers Hall of Fame (1984), Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame (1985), and Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (2004).
Marriage registration [Chester Abnet McCance, Myrna Hanna Manson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registration [Chester William McCance], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [Chester William McCance, Frances Elizabeth Carson], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Ches McCance, Blue Bomber great of yore, dies suddenly,” Winnipeg Tribune, 8 May 1956, page 20.
Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 8 May 1956, page 34.
“Spotlight on sport with Jack Wells,” Winnipeg Tribune, 9 May 1956, page 33.
“Colorful Ches McCance dies at 40,” Montreal Gazette, 9 May 1956, page 26.
“Ches McCance, a special breed” by Jim Coleman, Ottawa Citizen, 15 November 1974, page 23.
This page was prepared by Rick Mutton and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 22 December 2022
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