William George Hardy (February 3, 1895 – August 28, 1979) was a Canadian professor, writer, and ice hockey administrator. He lectured on the Classics at the University of Alberta from 1922 to 1964, and served as president of the Canadian Authors Association. He was an administrator of Canadian and international ice hockey, and served as president of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), the International Ice Hockey Association, and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Hardy was self-taught in Greek and Latin. He paid his way through university by earning scholarships, and won the Governor General's Academic Medal in Classics and English. He earned a Master of Arts at the University of Toronto, and then a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. He educated about the Classics and world events by radio, and gave 250 talks on CBC Radio. He was critical of progressive education in Alberta, arguing it did not prepare students for university and lacked emphasis on the three Rs. He authored eight novels, six other books, and over 200 short stories published in Maclean's and The Saturday Evening Post. His books told the history of Canada and the Greco-Roman world, and his novels included the fictionalized life and times of Julius Caesar and Ancient Rome. He wrote four plays produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, was a judge in literary contests, and taught at creative writing workshops.
Hardy coached the Alberta Golden Bears men's ice hockey team, then became president of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association and established a new playoffs system for senior ice hockey in Western Canada. He was elected to the CAHA executive in 1934, then became its president in 1938. Hardy and George Dudley recommended updates to the definition of an amateur ice hockey player in 1936, to reflect the financial challenges during the Great Depression to have national playoffs and send the Canada men's national ice hockey team to the Ice Hockey World Championships or ice hockey at the Olympic Games. Hardy campaigned to the Canadian public who accepted the changes, despite opposition by the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada. As president of the CAHA, he revised playoffs formats for the Allan Cup and Memorial Cup to become more profitable, and reinvested the money into minor ice hockey in Canada. He negotiated an affiliation agreement with the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States in 1938, which led to the formation of the International Ice Hockey Association in 1940, to oversee hockey in North America and Great Britain. He improved professional–amateur relations with the National Hockey League, and negotiated to reimburse the amateur associations for developing professional players. Hardy founded the Western Canada Senior Hockey League in 1945, which later merged with the Pacific Coast Hockey League. He agreed to a merger of the International Ice Hockey Association with the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace in 1947, which was renamed to the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1948. He was the first North American to be elected its president, and sought for the International Olympic Committee to recognize the Canadian definition of amateur, and for inclusion of the Soviet Union national ice hockey team at the Winter Olympic Games.
Hardy was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in 1974 for contributions to education, literature and amateur sports in Canada. He was posthumously inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, and is the namesake of the Dr. W. G. Hardy Trophy for university hockey, and the Hardy Cup for senior hockey.
Early life and family William George Hardy was born on February 3, 1895, on the family farm in Peniel, Ontario, to parents George William Hardy and Anne Hardy (née White).William H. New, ed. (2002), p. 474 His parents were of English ancestry, and owned a plot in Mariposa Township at intersection of Ontario Highway 46 and Peniel Road. He grew up as one of seven children, and completed public school at age 10. Hardy stated, "they just let me go at my own speed". He wrote epic poetry by age 12, and taught himself Greek after he had learned Latin. He later attended continuation school in Cannington, Ontario, and then Lindsay Collegiate and Vocational Institute until 1913.
Education and military service
Hardy obtained normal school entrance for teaching, then enrolled in Victoria College at the University of Toronto to study mathematics. He switched his studies to the Classics to get a scholarship. In June 1914, he was given a scholarship for passing first year examinations in Classics with honours. He paid his way through university by earning scholarships, and won the Governor General's Academic Medal in Classics and English. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in 1917. He resided at Burwash Hall during his undergraduate years, and described himself as an excellent athlete who won college medals in hockey, soccer and tennis.
Hardy enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on April 30, 1917, during World War I. He had previously served two years as a Private in the Canadian Officers' Training Corps, but was rejected to serve in the 109th Battalion due to a heart condition. He subsequently became a Sergeant in the University of Toronto Officer's Company. He was given a medical discharge prior to active service. In a 1979 interview, Hardy stated the preexisting heart condition arose from a college track and field meet.
Hardy was a class lecturer at the University of Toronto from 1918 to 1920. He became the business manager in 1918, of a publication known as The Rebel. He married Llewella May Sonley on September 9, 1919. In 1920, he earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Toronto, then joined the Classics department at the University of Alberta as a lecturer. He completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Chicago in 1922, studying Latin and Greek literature and archeology. Hardy completed his dissertation in 1922 entitled Greek Epigrammatists at Rome in the First Century B.C., which was printed in the Journal of the Graduate School of Arts and Literature in 1923.
University professor career
Hardy received his professorship in 1922, then served as head of the Department of Classics at the University of Alberta from 1938 to 1964. He used the airwaves to educate about the Classics and world events, and gave 250 radio talks on CBC Radio. He lectured on the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and its background in 1935, and followed up later with a lecture on the challenges of fascism. Other topics included the Greco-Roman world, and a series of talks about the world's first democracy.
Education system criticism In April 1950, Hardy stated that compulsory education in North America has resulted in "a sort of lowest common denominator of dull mediocrity", and "an under-educated and over-opinionated mass of people". He felt university students had weak English language skills, and had not been allowed to study what interested them. He stressed that educated needs to build an understanding of human relationships, instead of being technically trained persons.
In February 1954, Hardy wrote a series of six articles on education in Alberta, where he critiqued the value of education in the current Government of Alberta system. He questioned whether progressive education prepared young people for life, and argued it did not provide the basics such as mathematics, spelling, grammar, writing skills, general knowledge of history and geography. He specifically noted the lack of emphasis on the three Rs.
Hardy felt that the increase in class sizes and the "watered-down lessons" led to students being less interested in their studies. He criticized the system for being designed to make it easier to pass, as a result of parents not wanting to see their child fail when others succeeded. He was critical of group projects geared towards the lowest common denominator, students developing poor thinking and working habits, and teachers being overwhelmed by the number of students. He felt that learning how to get along with other people was best achieved interacting with peers on the playground rather than in the classroom. He stated that children needed to learn facts and history about the world, to be able to interpret those facts as they grow in mental capacity. He stressed that proper learning was hard work, and the need for memorization skills in children when the ability for memory power was greatest. He noted that the progressive system admitted to not providing for the child with intellectual giftedness, and was critical of the reduced requirements for entry into teacher's college in Alberta.
The series of articles titled Education in Alberta, were later printed in a booklet and made available by newspaper publishers in Alberta.
Hockey career Early hockey career in Alberta Hardy coached the Alberta Golden Bears men's ice hockey team from 1922 to 1926. He played a leading role in getting the first ice hockey rink built at the University of Alberta campus in 1927. He served as president of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) from 1931 to 1933, and was appointed to the board of governors for the Alberta branch of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAU of C). During his tenure as president, the AAHA began hockey schools for its coaches and referees. He supported expanding the playoffs for the intermediate division in senior ice hockey, even though Canada did not yet have national playoffs for that division. At the AAU of C meeting in April 1933, he submitted a motion to allow the reinstatement of former professionals as amateurs, after a period of not playing professionally. The AAHA meeting in November 1933, reported the largest bank balance at end of year since the founding of the AAHA 26 years prior. Hardy submitted a resolution to have the AAU of C request to the 1936 Summer Olympics be taken away from Berlin, due to Germany banning Jewish athletes. He was succeeded as president by Lance Morgan, and remained on the AAHA executive as past-president, representing the provincial body at national meetings.
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association Second vice-president
Hardy was elected second vice-president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) on April 4, 1934. He was re-elected by acclamation on April 13, 1935, and served as chairman of the resolutions committee. He also continued to serve on the AAHA executive, being re-elected in 1934, and 1935.
The CAHA decided in 1935 to appoint a special committee to study the definition of amateur and look into updating its wording to suit hockey in Canada. The special committee included Hardy, Cecil Duncan, George Dudley and Clarence Campbell. The committee studied the issues encountered when the Halifax Wolverines team which won the 1935 Allan Cup, was unable to represent the Canada men's national ice hockey team in ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics due to financial issues related to amateur eligibility for the games.Young, Scott (1989), p. 190
Hardy was in charge of CAHA playoffs for Western Canada, which included the Allan Cup for the senior ice hockey divisions, and the Memorial Cup for the junior ice hockey divisions. In the 1936 Allan Cup playoffs, he ruled against including the Port Arthur Bearcats. He stated it was too late to redraft the schedules, since the team had been overseas representing the Canada at the 1936 Winter Olympics instead of the Halifax Wolverines.
Hardy and Dudley presented the special committee's report on amateur status at the CAHA general meeting in April 1936, which came in the wake of Canada being beaten by the Great Britain men's national ice hockey team for the gold medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics. They proposed four points to change the existing AAU of C definition.
The "four points" were:Young, Scott (1989), pp. 189–190