John "Jack" Kerr was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player and athlete. He was one of the founders of the

Ottawa Hockey Club 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 of ...

for which he played from 1883 onwards. He was a member of the Ontario championship team in 1891, 1892, 1893 and the Canadian championship team of 1892. He played the forward position.

Hockey career

Along with

Halder Kirby Halder Smith Kirby (October 3, 1863 – July 12, 1924) was a Canadian ice hockey player, doctor and druggist. He was a co-founder of the Ottawa Hockey Club, later to become the Ottawa Senators. He played with the team from 1883 until 1894. His bro ...

, Kerr was visiting Montreal during the 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival where he witnessed games of the outdoor hockey tournament. According to the ''Ottawa Citizen'', one said to the other "that we could beat those fellows" and the other agreed. The two, upon their return to Ottawa, organized the Ottawa Hockey Club along with Frank Jenkins. Kerr would play with Ottawa until the 1893 season, winning several Ottawa and Ontario championships and winning the Canadian championship in 1892. Kerr is also credited with manufacturing the first rubber hockey puck in Ottawa. He died in 1933 in Ottawa and was interred at

Beechwood Cemetery Beechwood Cemetery, located in the former city of Vanier in Ottawa, Ontario, is the National Cemetery of Canada. It is the final resting place for over 82,000 Canadians from all walks of life, such as important politicians like Governor Genera ...

.Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947

References

Sportspeople from Ottawa Ice hockey people from Ontario Ottawa Senators (original) players 1863 births 1933 deaths Canadian ice hockey forwards {{canada-icehockey-player-stub

Hockey career

See also

References