Jake Gaudaur
Encyclopedia
For the former world champion sculler see Jake Gaudaur Snr.
Jacob Gill "Jake" Gaudaur, Jr., OC
(October 5, 1920 – December 4, 2007) was a Canadian
Football League
(CFL) player, executive, and commissioner. His 45-year career in Canadian football
, including 16 years as Commissioner, oversaw the start of the modern era of professional Canadian football.
October 5, 1920, was an all-around athlete at Orillia Collegiate Institute. Like his father, Jake Gaudaur Snr.
, he was a national rowing
champion as well as an excellent lacrosse
player.
. The following year
he played for the Toronto Argonauts
. Gaudaur served as a pilot in the Second World War and won the 30th Grey Cup
with the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes in the 1942 season
.
Following the war, Gaudaur played for, and was part owner of, the Toronto Indians
of the Ontario Rugby Football Union
(1945
-1946
) and then played for the Montreal Alouettes
during the 1947 season
.
Gaudaur returned to Hamilton to stay in 1948. When the Tigers merged with the Hamilton Flying Wildcats in 1950
, Gaudaur became team captain of the resulting Hamilton Tiger-Cats
and played through the 1951 season
. In 1952, he left the playing field to became director of the team but returned to play a final year in the 1953 season
winning the Tiger-Cats first Grey Cup
playing centre.
From 1954, Gaudaur was President of the Tiger-Cats and was President & General Manager from the 1956 season
to 1967
. The Ti-Cats appeared in 9 Grey Cups over his term as general manager and won in 1957
, 1963
, 1965
, and 1967
.
He died at the age of 87 in 2007 following a long battle with prostate cancer
.
Jake Gaudaur Snr.
For the Canadian Footballer and Commissioner, see Jake Gaudaur.----Jacob Gill “Jake” Gaudaur, Sr. was one of two native Canadians to win the Professional World Sculling Championship. Gaudaur was born in Orillia, Ontario, on 3 April 1858. His first race was when he was aged 17 years and over his...
Jacob Gill "Jake" Gaudaur, Jr., OC
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(October 5, 1920 – December 4, 2007) was a Canadian
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...
Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
(CFL) player, executive, and commissioner. His 45-year career in Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, including 16 years as Commissioner, oversaw the start of the modern era of professional Canadian football.
Early life
Jake Gaudaur, Jr., born in Orillia, OntarioOrillia, Ontario
Orillia, pronounced ōrĭl'ēə, is a city located in Simcoe County in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe, 135 kilometres north of Toronto.Originally incorporated as a village in 1867, the history of...
October 5, 1920, was an all-around athlete at Orillia Collegiate Institute. Like his father, Jake Gaudaur Snr.
Jake Gaudaur Snr.
For the Canadian Footballer and Commissioner, see Jake Gaudaur.----Jacob Gill “Jake” Gaudaur, Sr. was one of two native Canadians to win the Professional World Sculling Championship. Gaudaur was born in Orillia, Ontario, on 3 April 1858. His first race was when he was aged 17 years and over his...
, he was a national rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
champion as well as an excellent lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
player.
Football career
In 1940, aged 19, he began playing football and joined the Hamilton TigersHamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
. The following year
1941 in Canadian football
-Canadian Football News in 1941:The Calgary Bronks left the WIFU and the Vancouver Grizzlies joined.The IRFU was renamed to Eastern Canada Union for one season. The Hamilton Tigers did not participate in the Eastern Canada Union, due to World War II and the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers of the ORFU...
he played for the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
. Gaudaur served as a pilot in the Second World War and won the 30th Grey Cup
30th Grey Cup
The 30th Grey Cup was played on December 5, 1942, before 12,455 fans at Varsity Stadium at Toronto.The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeated the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8 to 5....
with the Toronto RCAF Hurricanes in the 1942 season
1942 in Canadian football
-Canadian Football News in 1942:The WIFU and the IRFU suspended operations for the duration of World War II.-Final regular season standings:Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points...
.
Following the war, Gaudaur played for, and was part owner of, the Toronto Indians
Toronto Indians
The Toronto Indians were a football team from Toronto, Ontario and a member of the Ontario Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League. After the Toronto Balmy Beach Beachers moved to the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union in 1941, the Indians began play in the ORFU...
of the Ontario Rugby Football Union
Ontario Rugby Football Union
The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...
(1945
1945 in Canadian football
-Canadian Football News in 1945:On Friday, September 28, the Calgary Bronks changed their name to the Calgary Stampeders and rejoin the WIFU with blue and gold colours.The IRFU would resume play, but the WIFU still suspended operations....
-1946
1946 in Canadian football
-Canadian Football News in 1946:The WIFU resumed play for the first time since 1942. The IRFU increased their season play from 6 games to 12 games, per team....
) and then played for the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
during the 1947 season
1947 in Canadian football
-Final regular season standings:Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points*Bold text means that they have clinched the playoffs.-SEMI-FINALS:*Hamilton advances to the ORFU Final....
.
Gaudaur returned to Hamilton to stay in 1948. When the Tigers merged with the Hamilton Flying Wildcats in 1950
1950 in Canadian football
-Canadian Football News in 1950:The Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats merged to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Regina franchise officially changed their name to become the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, April 1....
, Gaudaur became team captain of the resulting Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
and played through the 1951 season
1951 in Canadian football
-Canadian football news in 1951:The BC Lions were formed in January at the Arctic Club in Vancouver; however, the franchise would begin play at the start of the 1954 season.E. Kent Philips of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was appointed WIFU Commissioner...
. In 1952, he left the playing field to became director of the team but returned to play a final year in the 1953 season
1953 in Canadian football
-Canadian Football News in 1953:The Canadian Rugby Union was paid in total of $20,500 by three television stations for the rights to show the Grey Cup game live....
winning the Tiger-Cats first Grey Cup
41st Grey Cup
The 41st Grey Cup game was the Canadian Football Championship in 1953. Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12-6 at Toronto's Varsity Stadium in a game which ended on a controversial pass incompletion.-Pre-game background:...
playing centre.
From 1954, Gaudaur was President of the Tiger-Cats and was President & General Manager from the 1956 season
1956 in Canadian football
-Canadian Football News in 1956:On Sunday, January 22, the Canadian Football Council was formed in Winnipeg and the national negotiation list was introduced. G. Sydney Halter, QC was named as the Canadian Football Council Commissioner....
to 1967
1967 CFL season
The 1967 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 14th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 10th Canadian Football League season.-CFL news in 1967:...
. The Ti-Cats appeared in 9 Grey Cups over his term as general manager and won in 1957
45th Grey Cup
The 45th Grey Cup was the Canadian Football Council's championship game of the 1957 season, which was played on November 30, 1957. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 32–7 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto....
, 1963
51st Grey Cup
The 51st Grey Cup took place on November 30, 1963, at Empire Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, and decided the Canadian Football League champion for the 1963 season. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the BC Lions 21-10, in front of 36,545 spectators....
, 1965
53rd Grey Cup
The 53rd Grey Cup, also known as the Wind Bowl, was hosted at CNE Stadium in Toronto, Ontario on November 27, 1965. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 22-16.-Weather conditions and change in punting rule:...
, and 1967
55th Grey Cup
The 55th Grey Cup was played between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Saskatchewan Roughriders on December 2, 1967, at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, before 31,358 fans and was won by the Tiger-Cats by a score of 24 to 1.- Box Score :First Quarter...
.
He died at the age of 87 in 2007 following a long battle with prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
.
Honours
- He was inducted as a builder into the Toronto Argonauts Hall of Fame in 1984.
- He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of FameCanadian Football Hall of FameThe Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
as a Builder in 1984. - In 1985, he was made an Officer of the Order of CanadaOrder of CanadaThe Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. - He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of FameCanada's Sports Hall of FameCanada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
(1990). - The Jake Gaudaur Veterans' TrophyJake Gaudaur Veterans' TrophyThe Jake Gaudaur Veterans' Trophy is presented annually to the Canadian Football League player "who best demonstrates the attributes of Canada's veterans in times of war, peace and military conflict." The award was first presented in 2010, and the first recipient was Mike McCullough of the...
, presented annually to the CFL player "who best demonstrates the attributes of Canada's veterans in times of war, peace and military conflict", was awarded for the first time in 2010.