Percival Molson, MC

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 (August 14, 1880 – July 5, 1917) was a Canadian star athlete and soldier. After an outstanding sports career with McGill University, Molson joined its administration. Molson died fighting in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. In his will, he donated funds for McGill to build its football stadium, named Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in his honour.

Biography

An Anglo-Quebecer, Molson was born in the resort community of Cacouna, Québec, on the St. Lawrence River. He was the son of John Thomas Molson (1837–1910) and Jane (Jennie) Baker Butler (1850–1926). A gifted athlete, at the age of sixteen Percival Molson participated in several sports and as an ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player he was a member of the Montreal Victorias

Montreal Victorias

The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating...

 that won the 1897 Stanley Cup championship.

While studying at McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

, Percival Molson captained the hockey team, starred in track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 competitions, played racquet sports, and made the football team. He was named McGill University's best "all-round athlete" three years in a row, a feat unmatched in the university's history. Throughout competitions in which he participated, he was acclaimed for his sense of fair play and achieved the remarkable distinction of never having been penalized for misconduct in any sport. In track and field he competed in several events including the Long Jump in which he set a world record at the American Athletics Meet in 1900. In 1903, he won the United States Outdoor Track and Field Long Jump championship. After Molson easily beat American Harry Hillman

Harry Hillman

Harry Livingston Hillman Jr. was an American athlete and winner of three gold medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics....

 at the 1903 Canadian Championships in the 400 meter race, it was thought he had a chance in that event at the 1904 Summer Olympics

1904 Summer Olympics

The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...

 in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. However, he finished well back in the field.

After graduation in 1901, Percival Molson was appointed to his University's Board of Governors, the youngest person ever named to that position. While a McGill University Board member he served as the chair of its Finance and Stadium committees. The university authorised construction of a new stadium to be built in Macdonald Park at the corner of University and Pine Avenues. However, with the onset of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, matters had to be delayed. Percival Molson along with George McDonald were instrumental in establishing the University Companies at McGill and other Canadian campuses to reinforce Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Over a thousand men joined the Regiment through six University Companies. Many were subsequently commissioned from the ranks and went on to serve as officers in other Canadian and British units.

Captain Molson joined the Patricia's in the field with the 2nd University Company in October 1915. In June 1916, he was badly wounded in the Battle of Mount Sorrel at Sanctuary Wood near Hoge, West Flanders in Belgium. During horrific encounters with the German Army

German Army

The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...

, where members of the 1st

1st Canadian Division

Formed in August 1914, the 1st Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The division was initially made up from provisional battalions that were named after their province of origin but these titles were dropped before the division arrived in Britain on October 14,...

, 2nd

2nd Canadian Division

The 2nd Canadian Division was an infantry formation that saw service in the First World War. A 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was raised for the Second World War.-History:...

 and 3rd Canadian Division

3rd Canadian Division

The 3rd Canadian Division was a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War.The 3rd Canadian Division was formed in France in December 1915 under the command of Major-General M.S. Mercer. Its members served in both France and Flanders until Armistice Day...

s suffered 8,430 casualties, Percival Molson received the Military Cross

Military Cross

The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....

 for his valour. After recovering from his wounds, he returned to the front lines with his Regiment (PPCLI) and on July 5, 1917, at the outskirts of Avion

Avion, Pas-de-Calais

Avion is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:An ex-coalmining industrial town, with a little farming, situated just south of Lens at the junction of the N17, D40 and D55 roads.-Population:...

, Pas-de-Calais near Vimy Ridge in France, Captain Percival Molson was killed by a direct hit from a German howitzer

Howitzer

A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...

. Captain Molson is interred in the Villers Station Cemetery in Villers-au-Bois

Villers-au-Bois

Villers-au-Bois is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Villers-au-bois is surrounded by woodland and situated some northwest of Arras, at the junction of the D65 and D58 roads.-Population:...

 in Pas-de-Calais.

In Percival Molson's will he left $75,000 to McGill University to help pay most of the costs for the construction of the stadium. Although it was officially dedicated as McGill Graduates' Stadium at an intercollegiate track meet on October 22, 1915, the Board of Governors of the university renamed the facility Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on October 25, 1919, in honour of this fallen hero.

In 1996, Captain Percival Molson was an inaugural inductee to the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame.