Ballantyne remembered as a man’s man
It would be difficult to find a more deserving member of the Welland Sports Wall of Fame than Jack Ballantyne.
Ballantyne, who died in 1995 and was inducted this year as a builder, was elected for his significant contributions to youth sports in Welland over several decades.
Ballantyne is best known for chairing a citizen’s committee to build a second arena in Welland and was a driving force in the building of the Welland Youth Arena, which now bears his name.
Ballantyne also introduced the idea of a swimming pool at Chippawa Park in 1965, was the Chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on Youth and represented Welland on the Ontario Legislative Assembly’s Selection Committee on Youth.
The Scotland native was president of the Welland Minor Hockey Association for three years, president of the Niagara District OMHA (Ontario Minor Hockey Association) and a convenor for the OMHA.
An impressive resume to be sure, but Ballantyne’s granddaughter, Allison Morehead, said he would have been uncomfortable accepting any accolades for his efforts.
“My grandfather would be the first person to congratulate all the inductees today,” Morehead said. “He would have given you a really massive slap on the back and he would have shaken your hand incredibly firmly.
“He was kind of a tough guy, a man’s man, but he would have also found this sort of strange. I’m sure he would have just wanted to cheer everyone else who was receiving this honour.”
Morehead, who accepted the induction on behalf of the family, including Ballantyne’s widow Karen, said her grandfather loved his family.
“My mom was an only child and I was only child as well and you might have gotten the impression Jack Ballantyne was kind of a man’s man and he really was publicly. But personally, he loved his girls, including my mom and me and his nieces and all of their friends and family members,” she said.
Ballantyne loved hockey, but Morehead remembered her grandfather for another sport as well.
“His first sporting love was tennis. He donated a lot of hockey in this community but he was an incredible tennis player. He came from Scotland in 1920 and everybody said he could have been a professional player. He was just amazing. He was an amazing tactician, he was so strategic.”
This year’s induction ceremony will be broadcast on YourTV Niagara Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 11 at 9 a.m. and Sunday, May 12 at 1 p.m.
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