Jack Gatecliff (April 20, 1926 – September 5, 2000) was a Canadian sports journalist, ice hockey and lacrosse player. He was awarded the

Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is an accolade presented annually to a print newspaper columnist or reporter in recognition of their achievements covering the game of ice hockey. The award is "to recognize distinguished members of the newspaper ...

by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995. He is also an inducted member of the St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame,

Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame The Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame is a Canadian lacrosse hall of fame, located in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. The Hall was chartered in 1965 by the Canadian Lacrosse Association, and inducted its first class of hall of famers in ...

, and Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. In 1996, the Garden City Arena was renamed to honour him.

Early life

Gatecliff was born in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

on April 20, 1926. He attended Queen Alexandra Middle School growing up.

Career

Gatecliff played lacrosse and hockey growing up. He was a member of the St. Catharines Falcons Junior A hockey team as a youth and of the St. Catharines Athletics at the age of 18. As a member of the team, Gatecliff won the 1944

Mann Cup The Mann Cup is the trophy awarded to the senior men's box lacrosse champions of Canada. The championship is a best-of-seven, East vs West series played between the league champions of Major Series Lacrosse, the East, and Western Lacrosse Associa ...

Championship. In 1947, Gatecliff moved to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

to play hockey for the Paisley Pirates. While in Scotland, Gatecliff decided to pursue a career in journalism and returned to Canada with a job at the St. Catharines Standard. In 1950, Gatecliff began a sports column titled "Through the Sports Gate" which focused on local sports. He was shortlythereafter promoted to executive sports editor, a position he stayed in until his retirement. Beginning in the 1970s, Gatecliff focused sportswriting on the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...

organization. In 1972, Gatecliff was inducted into the

. After the 1983–84 American Hockey League season, Gatecliff was awarded the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding media coverage of the American Hockey League. Following this, he received the Bob Reinhart Memorial Award from the St. Catharines Chamber of Commerce for community service. Gatecliff was also a track announcer at the Merrittville Speedway after broadcaster Rex Stimers retired. In 1990, Gatecliff helped found the St. Catharines Sports Hall of Fame along with Joe McCaffrey, Ellard O'Brien, Archie Katzman and Bill Stevenson. At the time of his retirement in 1991, the St. Catharines Standard sports department unveiled the Jack Gatecliff Award which is presented to the area person judged to have demonstrated an especially high level of dedication to sports. He was awarded the

by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995. The following year, the

Garden City Arena The Garden City Arena Complex (formerly the "Gatorade Garden City Complex") is a sports complex in St. Catharines, Ontario. It was the main arena facility in that city from its construction in 1938 until the opening of the Meridian Centre in 201 ...

was renamed Jack Gatecliff Arena. However, in 2007, the arena was renamed the Gatorade Garden City Complex. Prior to the opening of the

Meridian Centre The Meridian Centre is a 5,300 seat arena in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, located at 1 David S. Howes Way. The arena is the home of the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League and the Niagara River Lions of the Canadian Elite Ba ...

in 2014, the city of St. Catharines dedicated a chair in his honour. Later, in 1998, Gatecliff was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. He continued to write for the St. Catharines Standard until his death on September 5, 2000 from cancer.

Personal life

Gatecliff met his wife Alice McDonald Noble while in Scotland and the two married on September 18, 1948. Alice worked for the St. Catharines Standard as a proof reader before retiring following the birth of their son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gatecliff, Jack 1926 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian ice hockey players Canadian sports journalists Canadian sportswriters Elmer Ferguson Award winners Ice hockey people from Ontario Lacrosse people from Ontario Sportspeople from St. Catharines Writers from Ontario