Barbara Howard (May 8, 1920 – January 26, 2017) was a Canadian sprinter and educator. Growing up in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Howard gained national media attention as a sprinter in high school when she completed a time trial that broke the standing British Empire Games record for the

100-yard dash The 100-yard dash is a track and field sprint event of . It was part of the Commonwealth Games until 1970, and was included in the triathlon of the Olympics in 1904. It is not generally used in international events, replaced by the 100- ...

. She was selected as a member of the Canadian

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

team for the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games were the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 yea ...

, becoming the first Black woman to represent Canada in international athletic competition. Although she did not place in the 100-yard dash, she helped her team win silver and bronze in the 440-yard and 660-yard

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

events. The outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

meant that most international sporting events over the next decade were cancelled, and Howard's window of opportunity as a sprinter ended before she could compete again. After high school, Howard completed Normal School training and a Bachelor of Education degree, teaching at elementary schools for more than 40 years. She was the first member of a visible minority to be hired by the Vancouver School Board. Howard is an inductee of the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame (2011), the

BC Sports Hall of Fame The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in the BC Place stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia' ...

(2012), and the

Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and muse ...

(2015).

Early life

Barbara Howard was born on May 8, 1920, in

. She had four older siblings – a brother and three sisters – and her parents were dressmaker Catherine "Cassie" Scurry and American-born stationary engineer Samuel Howard. According to family lore, Scurry's father had owned one of the earliest

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a barbershop or the barber's. Barbershops have been noted places of social interaction and public discourse ...

shops in the City of Vancouver, the Abbott Street Shaving Parlour and Baths, and during the

Great Vancouver Fire The Great Vancouver Fire destroyed most of the newly incorporated city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on June 13, 1886. It started as two land-clearing fires to the west of the city. The first fire was farther away from the city and wa ...

of 1886 he had escaped the flames by taking his barber chair and running to the nearby harbour waters. The family lived in

East Vancouver East Vancouver (also called East Van or the East Side) is a region within the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Geographically, East Vancouver is bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, to the south by the Fraser River, and to the ea ...

's Grandview neighbourhood. When Howard was eight years old, her father died, and her maternal uncle stepped in to support the family.

Sprinting

Canadian sprinter Barbara Howard running in 1937

Howard's sprinting abilities were first noticed during her

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

years, when she often ran the final blocks between her house and the school to reach the classroom in time. She became the school running champion for Laura Secord Elementary, and at Britannia High she was known as one of the fastest sprinters in Vancouver. In September 1937, she gained national media attention when she completed a time trial and achieved a running time of 100 yards in only 11.2 seconds – exceeding the standing British Empire Games' record by one tenth of a second. Howard, only 17 years old, subsequently received a spot on the Canadian women's track and field team for the

. She is believed to be the first Black woman to represent Canada in international athletic competition. Travelling to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia for the Games, Howard and her teammates completed a 28-day journey aboard the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

''Aorangi''. It was the first time Howard had left Vancouver. They arrived at Sydney in mid-January 1938, and over the next few weeks Howard found herself showered with attention from Australian media and sports fans, who were both taken by her personality and fascinated by the "novelty" of meeting a Black athlete. The '' Australian Women's Weekly'' called her the "most popular girl in the Canadian team". Howard enjoyed her time there and was the recipient of many gifts, including a koala bear toy. However, the immense pressure of the Games, combined with a diet of unfamiliar Australian foods, meant that Howard struggled to perform her best during the

, and she finished in sixth place behind Australian sprinter Decima Norman. Howard was disappointed with her result, but she helped Canada's 440-yard and 660-yard relay teams win silver and bronze medals respectively, running with teammates Jeanette Dolson, Aileen Meagher and Violet Montgomery. Although Howard intended to continue in her international track career, the outbreak of the

meant that the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

in both 1940 and 1944 were cancelled, and her window of opportunity as a sprinter passed.

Teaching career

After high school, Howard completed training as a teacher at Normal School, and was hired for her first teaching position at

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. Port Alberni currently has a total popu ...

soon after graduation. Returning to Vancouver in 1941, she became the first member of a visible minority to be hired by the Vancouver School Board, where she went on to teach for 43 years across multiple elementary schools. She was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma sorority and volunteered with Canadian Girls in Training. In 1959, Howard graduated from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

with a Bachelor of Education degree. According to the later recollections of Howard's former students, her dedication and inventive curriculum made a lasting impression. When asked to teach a class of "brilliant, but underperforming kids," she devised lessons that included having students plan field trips, shadow working professionals, and create their own films. She didn't often speak about her past as a sprinter, but her students from the early 1970s recalled one memorable occasion:

Physical fitness was a priority and softball was our daily game. We hadn't known her impressive sports background, until the day she suggested boys versus girls, with her as captain and she ran round the bases in skirt and heels, laughing her head off as she hit the winning home run for the girls team!

Howard retired from teaching in 1984, but remained active as a volunteer through the

United Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestantism, Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinc ...

. At her local community centre, she led exercise classes and peer counselling courses. In 2010, the Vancouver Park Board gave Howard a Remarkable Woman Award in recognition of "her passionate dedication to inspire others to make a positive difference in their community."

Death and legacy

In the last decade of Howard's life, research into Canadian sports history had triggered new public interest in her story, and her athletic achievements were recognized by an induction into the Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame (2011), the

(2012), and the

(2015). In 2018, the City of Vancouver announced that it would rename a park near the Cambie Street Bridge as Barbara Howard Plaza. Howard died on January 26, 2017.

References

External links

* *
Seniors' Stories: Sprinter Barbara Howard on Life as an East Van P.E. Teacher
published by the Vancouver Community Network {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Barbara Canadian female sprinters Track and field athletes from Vancouver 1920 births 2017 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Black Canadian female track and field athletes Canadian people of American descent Canadian schoolteachers Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada History of Black people in British Columbia University of British Columbia Faculty of Education alumni Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games 20th-century Canadian sportswomen Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics