Title and statement of responsibility area
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Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1917-1960 (Creation)
- Creator
- Crocker, John Howard
Physical description area
Physical description
10 cm of textual records
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
John Howard Crocker was born in St. Stephen, N.B. on April 19, 1870. After attending Halifax’s Dalhousie University as an undergraduate, Crocker earned a master’s degree at the Y.M.C.A. Physical Education Training College in Springfield, Massachusetts. A noted athlete, Crocker won the National Pentathlon Championship in 1896 and 1897.
In 1894, Crocker was named the general secretary of the Amherst, Nova Scotia Y.M.C.A. After gaining experience at several Canadian Y.M.C.A. branches, holding positions of ever-increasing responsibility, Crocker was named Canada’s national Y.M.C.A. physical director. In 1908, he was one of the inaugural officers in the Ontario branch of the Royal Life Saving Society. In 1911, Crocker accepted a YMCA position in Shanghai, China. In 1915, he was chosen to manage the Chinese team at the Far Eastern Athletic Games. After 36 years of employment with the Y.M.C.A., Crocker retired as National Director of Physical Education in 1930, at the age of 60.
Upon his retirement from the Y.M.C.A., Crocker immediately took on the position of physical education director at the University of Western Ontario; he continued serving Western in this capacity until his retirement in 1948. A well-known philatelist, Crocker remained at U.W.O. after his retirement in order to serve as an advisor and to organize the A.O. Jeffery Stamp Collection. In
recognition of his years of service to Western and to promoting athletic excellence, the University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1950.
Crocker was associated with the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada from 1896 until his death in 1959. In 1908, Crocker managed Canada’s first official Olympic team in London, England; he was
named honorary manager for every subsequent Canadian Olympic team until 1956. He was the named secretary of the Canadian Olympic Committee in 1922, a position he would hold for 25 years. J. Howard Crocker died on Nov. 27, 1959 in Victoria, British Columbia.
Crocker was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in the Builder category in 2023.
Custodial history
Scope and content
This series contains records relating to John Howard Crocker’s life apart from the Canadian Olympic Committee. General information on physical education, Y.M.C.A. documents, newspaper clippings, and records relating to stamp collecting and the London Philatelic Society are included.