John Fitzpatrick (athlete)
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John Richardson Fitzpatrick (March 21, 1907 – July 9, 1989) was a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
who competed in the
1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...
.


Background

Fitzpatrick was born on March 21, 1907, in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada to John Duncan Fitzpatrick and Agnes Elizabeth Willson. While enrolled at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, he was a member of the intercollegiate championship team in 1927. He completed a degree in engineering at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1933. In 1934, he married Grace Cowan, the daughter of Hugh Cowan and the sister of James Alexander Cowan, in Toronto. They had two sons, John McGillivray Fitzpatrick and Murray Alan Stuart Fitzpatrick.


Career

After serving briefly with the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
, he went on to work at
Shell Canada Shell Canada Limited () is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a major part of its business, as ...
researching
diesel engines The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the die ...
and
fuels A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...
. A career in sales followed with construction companies in Toronto and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
. In the early 1960s, Fitzpatrick worked for the Ontario's Ministry of Highways, rising to the position of deputy chief of the equipment section.


Athlete

Fitzpatrick raced out of the Hamilton Olympic Club. He played with the
Hamilton Tigers The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were formed by the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton interest ...
as a senior member in 1926 and 1928, wherein they won the
Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...
. In the same year, he was able to become part of
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
's Olympic track and field team. He competed in the 100 meters where he finished fifth place and in the 200 meter race where he finished as a semifinalist. He was also a member of the Canadian relay team where they competed in the 4 x 100 meter relay; they were disqualified. In 1930, he won Canada's first medal at the inaugural
1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, and was held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The event was organized by '' Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...
held in Hamilton. When he entered the university, he was considered an important member of the
University of Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues are the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues trace their foundin ...
from 1929 to 1932. During his last year with the Varsity Blues, they were able to win the
Yates Cup The Yates Cup () is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back to 1898 and surpassi ...
. He was also a leading member of intercollegiate track championship teams from 1927 to 1930. Within those three years, he won 10 medals wherein 7 of which are gold. In 1932 to 1933, he served in the University of Toronto Men's Athletic Directorate.


Competition record


Inventor

John Fitzpatrick invented a structure known as the Fitzpatrick Dome to store large quantities of road sand/salt mixtures used to treat roads in winter when ice and snow make driving hazardous. The igloo type design was helpful in areas where snowfall would otherwise accumulate on a flat-roof structure. The dome is a 20-sided conical shell 100 feet in diameter and 50 feet in height. As it is prefabricated, larger or smaller domes can be erected simply by adding or deleting rings. The first test structure was built in 1968 at a cost of C$17,000. The result was so successful that between 1968 and 1978, approximately 200 structures were erected in Ontario. John Fitzpatrick was granted a patent in 1972 for the invention. These structures continue to be used in Canada and internationally. While serving at the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario in the 1970s, John Fitzpatrick devised a bubbling system used in the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
to prevent ice from forming in the winter. The formation of ice had hindered ferries from connecting the people of the
Frontenac Islands Frontenac Islands is a township (Canada), township located in Frontenac County, Ontario, Canada, that encompasses a number of islands at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River near the outlet of Lake Ontario, including Arabella Island (Lake Onta ...
to the mainland. The invention pumps compressed air through a network of perforated pipes at the river bottom that run between the docks and along the routes of the ferries. The bubbles hinder ice from forming which allows the ferries to function regularly in the winter.


Death

Fitzpatrick died on July 9, 1989, in Toronto at the age of 82. His resting place is at the Sanctuary Park Cemetery in Toronto.


References


Further reading

* Hawley, Samuel (2002). ''I Just Ran: Percy Williams, The World's Fastest Human''. Vancouver: Ronsdale Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, John 1907 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Canadian inventors 20th-century Canadian engineers Canadian male sprinters Olympic track and field athletes for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1930 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Canada Players of Canadian football from Ontario Hamilton Tigers football players Track and field athletes from Toronto Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games silver medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics