John Hampson Wells (May 13, 1911 in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

– May 26, 1999), also known as Cactus Jack, was a Winnipeg-based radio and television broadcaster specializing in sports.

Biography

Wells's career began in 1936. While listening to a hockey broadcast on CFQC, Wells boasted he could do a better job than the guy on the mike. Dared by a chum to prove his claim, Jack applied for a job at the station, and was hired. In 1939, Wells joined CJAT-FM in

Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the West Kootenay region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Landing, and the name was shorten ...

as an all-round announcer and play-by-play man for the

Trail Smoke Eaters The Trail Smoke Eaters are a junior A ice hockey team from Trail, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League. History The Smoke Eaters (aka ''Smokies'') have existed as both junior and senior teams since th ...

. In 1941, Wells got a job as a sports announcer at CJRW in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. CJRC provided Wells with his first experience in football broadcasting, and he began calling games for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

. Jack became a free-lance broadcaster after gaining the exclusive rights to broadcast from

Shea's Amphitheatre Shea's Amphitheatre, also known as the Winnipeg Amphitheatre, was an indoor arena located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It seated 6,000 spectators. Constructed between 1908-1909 for horse shows, the Amphitheatre was also used as an indoor ice ...

and

Osborne Stadium Osborne Stadium was a multi-sport outdoor stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It operated from 1932 until 1956, and hosted Canadian football home games for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and baseball games in the Mandak League. The stadium was al ...

which, in turn gave him the right to sell time to any one of the Winnipeg stations. It was during an announcing stint on

CKY CKY may refer to: * CKY (band), American rock band, formerly "Camp Kill Yourself" ** ''CKY'' (video series), named after the band **CKY crew, people involved in the video series and related projects *CKY-DT, a television station in Winnipeg, Manito ...

that Jack acquired his illustrious nickname. When Jack filled in for Porky Charbonneau on his western show, it occurred to Wells that he should have a moniker and adopted "Cactus" and it became one of the most famous in Canadian broadcasting. Jack was famous for reporting the weather with the phrase, "Well, it turned out nice again." even when calling in from his winter location of Phoenix, Arizona. During his career, Jack Wells broadcast on four Winnipeg stations - CKRC, CKY,

CJOB CJOB (680 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned and operated by Corus Radio and airs a news/talk format with news and sports programs. CJOB and its sister stations, CFPG-FM, CJKR-FM, and CKND-DT, have ...

and

CFRW CFRW (1290 AM) is a radio station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Owned by Bell Media, it is co-located with its sister stations CKMM-FM and CFWM-FM on 1445 Pembina Highway. Its transmitter is located near Oak Bluff along Road 54 off McGillivra ...

. In the early 1950s, he became the first television voice of Western Conference Football for the

CFL on CBC ''CFL on CBC'' was a presentation of Canadian Football League football aired on CBC Television. CBC held broadcast rights for the CFL from 1952 to 2007. The exclusive broadcasting rights for the league moved to TSN starting from the 2008 CFL se ...

. In 1952, Wells turned down the play by play job on

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

to remain in Winnipeg. The job eventually went to the

Danny Gallivan Daniel Leo Gallivan (April 11, 1917 February 24, 1993) was a Canadian radio and television broadcaster and sportscaster. Early life Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Gallivan was an avid athlete and was a baseball pitcher on the St. Theresa's parish ...

. Wells was closely associated with the national curling scene, beginning in 1952 when he covered his first

Macdonald Brier The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...

. In the following years, Wells reported on provincial events in Manitoba, the Brier, the women's Macdonald Lassie and the

World Curling Championships The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...

. Wells was appointed head of public relations in Western Canada for

Macdonald Tobacco The Macdonald Tobacco Company (initially called McDonald Brothers and Co.), founded in 1858 by William Christopher Macdonald and his brother Augustine, converted tobacco leaf from southern U.S. suppliers to pipe and chewing tobacco in Montreal. A ...

in 1970. Wells was inducted to the CAB Hall of Fame in 1988. In recognition of his broadcasting career the City of Winnipeg named a street linking

Canad Inns Stadium Canad Inns Stadium (also known as Winnipeg Stadium) was a multipurpose stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The stadium was located at the corner of St. James Street and Maroons Road, immediately north of the Polo Park Shopping Centre and the ...

and the former site of

Winnipeg Arena Winnipeg Arena was an indoor arena located in the Polo Park district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The arena was the city's premier ice hockey venue from 1955 to 2004 and is best remembered as the home of the first Winnipeg Jets franchise, whic ...

after him. He is an "Honoured Member" of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named an ...

. He was inducted into 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 ...

in 1981. Wells son, John Wells, worked with him at CKY and later became the first football play-by-play man at

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

References

External links

Broadcasting history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Jack 1911 births 1999 deaths Canadian radio sportscasters Canadian television sportscasters People from Moose Jaw Canadian Football League announcers Curling broadcasters Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees