Ian Allison
Encyclopedia
Ian Alistar Allison (July 26, 1909 – August 4, 1990) was a Canadian
basketball
player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics
. His is the only Canadian basketball team to date to win a medal at the Olympics, a silver and also the last to win a team medal. He played all six matches including the final.
, Scotland
and, while still young, migrated to Canada with his family. They lived across from Walkerville Collegiate Institute
, the school he attended for high school. He then attended Assumption College
and finally University of Toronto
. After graduation, he went back to Walkerville to work as a teacher. A year later he married one of the secretaries of the school, and eventually the couple had two daughters. Allison retired from teaching in 1973.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
. His is the only Canadian basketball team to date to win a medal at the Olympics, a silver and also the last to win a team medal. He played all six matches including the final.
Early life and working life
Allison was born in GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and, while still young, migrated to Canada with his family. They lived across from Walkerville Collegiate Institute
Walkerville Collegiate Institute
Walkerville Collegiate Institute is a secondary school located in the olde Walkerville area of Windsor, Ontario, and managed by the Greater Essex County District School Board. It is the home of the Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts, which has arts programs in Drama, Dance, Visual Arts,...
, the school he attended for high school. He then attended Assumption College
Assumption College
Assumption College is a private, Roman Catholic, liberal arts college located on 185 acres in Worcester, Massachusetts. Assumption has an enrollment of about 2,117 undergraduates...
and finally University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. After graduation, he went back to Walkerville to work as a teacher. A year later he married one of the secretaries of the school, and eventually the couple had two daughters. Allison retired from teaching in 1973.