George Seymour Lyon (July 27, 1858 – May 11, 1938) was a Canadian

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

er, an Olympic gold medalist in golf, an eight-time

Canadian Amateur Championship The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by Golf Canada. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in 1 ...

winner, and a member of

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

. He worked in the insurance industry.

Early life, cricket

Lyon was born in

Richmond, Ontario Richmond is a suburban community, part of the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1818, it spans the Jock River, a tributary of the Rideau River. A part of the National Capital Region, Richmond is located 10kms southwest of ...

, near

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. His early sporting career was in

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, where, as a batsman he represented

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 ...

eight times, averaging 14.07, and scoring 238

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

in a club game, at that time the highest score ever made in Canada. LyonsThomsonHarvey1909

Golf career

Although he only began playing golf at the age of 38, due to lack of available golf courses in most areas of Canada before that date, he won the gold medal in

in the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, at age 46, only eight years after beginning the sport. He won the

a record eight times between 1898 and 1914, the last time in his 56th year. He was also runner-up in that event on two further occasions. He won the Canadian Seniors' Golf Association Championship ten times between 1918 and 1930, the final time in his 72nd year; these events were staged before the inauguration of the Canadian Senior Golf Championship by

Golf Canada The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA), branded as Golf Canada, is the governing body of golf in Canada. Beginnings Golf Canada was founded on June 6, 1895, as the ''Canadian Golf Association'' at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club. The Royal prefix ...

. Lyon lost in the finals of the 1906

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

, in his 48th year, and in the round of 32 of the 1908

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

, when in his 50th year. He was a lifelong amateur golfer, never turning professional. He traveled to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1908 to defend his Olympic title, but plans to stage a golf tournament there were cancelled at the last minute, since representatives from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

were unable to agree on the format. Offered the gold medal by default, Lyon refused to accept it. Golf did not return to the Olympics until 2016. Lyon was also a founding member, with Albert Austin, of the Lambton Golf and Country Club in Toronto. It was officially opened on June 13, 1903. Lyon often partnered with the future Canadian golf hall of fame member, professional George Cumming; as a pair they were a difficult team to beat in 4-ball matches.

Death and legacy

Lyon died in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, in 1938 and was buried in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery. In 1955, Lyon was inducted into

. In 1971, he was inducted into the

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame covering the history of the game of golf in Canada, and celebrating the careers and accomplishments of the most significant contributors to the game in that country. Operated by ...

. A fictionalized version of Lyon, portrayed by

Kevin Jubinville Kevin Jubinville (born April 28, 1967) is a Canadian actor known for playing The Shep in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Bob Venton in '' Rabbit Fall''. Filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jubinville, Kevin 1967 births ...

, is a supporting character in "A Case of the Yips", a 2016 episode of the Canadian series ''

Murdoch Mysteries ''Murdoch Mysteries'' is a Canadian television drama series that premiered on Citytv on January 20, 2008, and currently airs on CBC. The series is based on characters from the ''Detective Murdoch'' novels by Maureen Jennings and stars Yannick B ...

''. The episode is set in 1903 -- Lyon mentions his planned upcoming trip to the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. A running gag through the episode is that as Lyon advises Detective Murdoch about golf, he is also a pushy insurance salesman, trying to talk Murdoch into buying a policy. The Golf Association of Ontario annually runs the George S. Lyon team championship for its men's club teams. His life and achievement as an Olympic Gold medalist are described in the 2016 book "Olympic Lyon" by Michael G. Cochrane. Lyon reigned as the Olympic champion for 112 years, until golf returned to the program at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, the gold medal being won by Englishman

Justin Rose Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour, while keeping his membership on the European Tour. He won his first major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open (golf), 2013 U.S. O ...

Tournament wins

*1898

Canadian Amateur The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by Golf Canada. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in 1 ...

*1900 Canadian Amateur *1903 Canadian Amateur *1905 Canadian Amateur *1906 Canadian Amateur *1907 Canadian Amateur *1912 Canadian Amateur *1914 Canadian Amateur

Results in major championships

Note: Lyon only played in the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, and the

. NT = No tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play Sources: U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, 1905 Open, 1905 Amateur, 1908 Amateur.

References

Sources

*Cochrane, Michael G. (2016) ''Olympic Lyon'', georgelyon.ca.

External links

George Seymour Lyon
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Profile at Canadian Golf Hall of FameOlympic Lyon - The Story of George Lyon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, George Canadian male golfers Amateur golfers Olympic golfers of Canada Golfers at the 1904 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in golf Olympic gold medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Golfing people from Ontario Cricketers from Ontario Sportspeople from Ottawa 1858 births 1938 deaths