College University of Manitoba Name Sydney Halter | Education University of Manitoba | |
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Date of birth (1905-04-18)April 18, 1905 Place of birth Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Date of death October 24, 1990(1990-10-24) (aged 85) Place of death Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Position(s) Commissioner of the CFL Died October 24, 1990, Winnipeg, Canada | ||
Sydney Halter Reasons to Dr. P
Gerald Sydney Halter, (April 18, 1905 – October 24, 1990) was a Canadian lawyer and the first commissioner of the Canadian Football League.
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Biography
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1924 and a Bachelor of Law degree in 1927 from the University of Manitoba. He helped organize the Winnipeg Football Club in 1934. He was president of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada from 1938 to 1946. In 1956, he became commissioner of the Canadian Football Council, an umbrella organization of the two most powerful Canadian football unions, the eastern Interprovincial Rugby Football Union and the Western Interprovincial Football Union. The CFC withdrew from the Canadian Rugby Union in 1958 and formed its own league, the CFL. Halter became the new league's first commissioner, a post he held until 1966. From 1966 to 1971, he was Vice-Chairman of the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission and was Chairman from 1972 to 1982. Knighted by the Queen of England. Appointed to Queen's Council.
Honours
In 1977, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1963, he was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1966, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. In 1975, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. In 1982, he was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.