Clair Joseph Warner (March 30, 1903 – November 18, 1970) was an American-born

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

player and executive. He played seven seasons with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

, before starting an executive career that spanned 37 seasons until his death in 1970. He was a 1965 inductee to the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

Early life

Warner was born on March 30, 1903, in

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ; lkt, Čhúŋkaške, lit=fort) is the capital city of South Dakota, United States, and the seat of Hughes County. The population was 14,091 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populous US state capital after Montpelier, ...

. His family moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1917, when Warner was 14. He moved to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, two years later, and played juvenile football that year.

Playing career

From 1920 to 1924, Warner played junior football in Regina, before joining the

in late 1924. He played the

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

position, and spent 1924 to 1928, then again from 1931 to 1932 with the team, before retiring in 1933. He appeared in four

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) 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 be ...

games with Saskatchewan, but did not win any.

Executive career

After retiring, Warner accepted a position as a

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the West Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagu ...

(WIFU) executive. He re-joined the Roughriders one year later as general manager, while keeping the other position. In 1941, Warner became the president of the Roughrider organization. He gave his general manager position to

Greg Grassick Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people * Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canad ...

, a former teammate of his, in 1950, but regained the role in 1951. From 1961 until his death in 1970, he served on the Roughrider management committee. Warner also served for five years on the rules committee of the Canadian Rugby Union, and was WIFU president in 1948. In 1956, he was awarded the Canadian Rugby Union Plaque for his "outstanding contributions to football." In 1965, he was inducted into the

. In 1966, Warner was the first recipient of the Regina Sportsman of the Year award.

Personal life and death

From 1920 to 1921, Warner worked for the Union Bank, and afterwards was employed at Robert Simpson Western Ltd. In 1926, he joined Northwestern Electric Company, where he was employed until his retirement in 1962. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Warner served in the reserve army with the

Regina Rifle Regiment Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * R ...

. Warner was also active in several different organizations, with the Canadian Club, Regina Chamber of Commerce, Electric Service League, and Cathedral Men's Club of Holy Rosary Church. He also spent time with the Wascana Golf and Country Club, Assiniboia Club, the Saskatchewan chapter of the Telephone Pioneers of America, the Wascana Winter Club, and was in the Regina United Appeal. With his wife, Nellie, Warner had one child. He died on November 18, 1970, at the age of 67, in Regina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Clair 1903 births 1970 deaths Canadian football ends Saskatchewan Roughriders players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees American emigrants to Canada