Mary Dunn ( Armitage; February 7, 1903January 10, 1965) was a Canadian sports executive. She played on the

Manitoba Bisons women's ice hockey The Manitoba Bisons are an ice hockey team that represents the University of Manitoba. They compete in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport athletic program. Home games are contested at the Wayne ...

team while in university, then became an executive with the Winnipeg Women's Senior Hockey League and the Manitoba Ladies' Hockey Association. She later served as vice-president, and then president of the

Dominion Women's Amateur Hockey Association The first instances of organized women's ice hockey in Canada date back to the 1890s when it was played at the university level. The Women's Hockey Association claims that the city of Ottawa, Ontario hosted the first game in 1891. In 1920, Lad ...

, where she arranged playoffs for the Canadian women's hockey championship. She was married to fellow sports executive Jimmy Dunn, and co-ordinated amateur sports for ladies as the vice-president then president of the Manitoba branch of the

Women's Amateur Athletic Federation of Canada The history of Canadian sports falls into five stages of development: early recreational activities before 1840; the start of organized competition, 1840–1880; the emergence of national organizations, 1882–1914; the rapid growth of both amateur ...

. She later served as president of the Winnipeg Community Chest, the Central Volunteer Bureau of Manitoba, and the Oriole Community Club in Winnipeg.

Early life and education

Mary Armitage was born on February 7, 1903, in the

Rural Municipality of Roland Roland is a rural municipality located in the Pembina Valley Region of Manitoba, Canada. According to the Canada 2016 Census, it has a population of 1,129. Communities *Graham *Jordan *Kronsgart *Myrtle *Roland Demographics In the 2021 Census ...

, Manitoba. She grew up on the family farm southeast of the village of Roland as the youngest of two daughters to Robert and Annie Armitage who had English heritage. Armitage moved to Winnipeg in 1921, attended the Manitoba Agricultural College at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. and was elected president of student athletics in 1924. She played as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

on the

team, and scored the winning goal in a 1926 Banff Winter Carnival semi-final game versus the

Vancouver Amazons The Vancouver Amazons were a women's ice hockey team from the 1920s. They were the first women's hockey team from Vancouver to participate in the invitational women's hockey tournament sponsored by the Banff Winter Carnival. The Amazons competed i ...

. Her team practiced with Andy Blair and other members of the Bison men's hockey team. She recalled in a 1938 interview that if a girl got in their way, the men "would just lift her up and dump her elsewhere". Journalist Jimmy Coo quipped that as a result, Armitage "got many a free ride". Armitage graduated from the University of Manitoba with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and later married Jimmy Dunn, a sports executive from Winnipeg.

Sports and athletics executive

During the mid-1930s, Dunn was vice-president of the Manitoba branch of the

(WAAF of C), which oversaw all amateur sport for ladies in the province, and sought to organize a women's

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

organization for Manitoba. She helped plan the Manitoba Girls' Track and Field Championships and implemented the same events as the

Canadian Track and Field Championships The Canadian Track and Field Championships is an annual outdoor track and field competition organized by Athletics Canada, which serves as the Canadian national championships for the sport. The most recent edition of the event took place in Montrea ...

. The Manitoba championships were realized as a two-person effort co-ordinated by Dunn and Edith McKenzie at

Sargent Park Sargent or Sargents may refer to: People * Sargent (name), includes a list of people with the name Places *Sargent, California *Sargents, Colorado *Sargent, Georgia *Sargent, Scott County, Missouri *Sargent, Texas County, Missouri *Sargent, Nebr ...

in Winnipeg. Dunn also served as an on-field timing and scoring official for

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

events at municipal and provincial competitions. Dunn co-ordinated fundraising efforts to send Manitoba's best track and field athletes to

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, for the Canadian national team trials in advance of the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

. By May 1935, the Manitoba branch of WAAF of C was operated solely by Dunn and McKenzie after all of the remaining executive officers had retired. In 1936, Dunn was awarded the first honorary life membership in the Manitoba branch of the WAAF of C, for contributions to women's sport in Manitoba. She later served as president of the Winnipeg Branch of the WAAF of C for one season, and focused her efforts on basketball, softball, and track and field. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and

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 ...

led to the end of the WAAF of C, but

Vince Leah Vincent Leah (November 29, 1913August 9, 1993) was a Canadian journalist, writer and sports administrator. He wrote for ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' from 1930 to 1980, and was credited with giving the Winnipeg Blue Bombers their team's name. He es ...

wrote in ''

The Winnipeg Tribune ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890 to August 27, 1980. The paper was founded by R.L. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who acquired the press and premises of the old '' ...

'' that Dunn was one of the association's more aggressive officials and was not to blame for its demise.

Ice hockey executive

Dunn was secretary of the Manitoba Ladies' Hockey Association formed in 1933, which sought to organize provincial playoffs and enter a Manitoba team into the

(DWAHA) championship. She also served as the secretary-treasurer and

timekeeper A timekeeper is an instrument or person that measures the passage of time. Person A timekeeper is a person who measures time with the assistance of a clock or a stopwatch. In addition, a timekeeper records time, time taken, or time remaining duri ...

of the Winnipeg Women's Senior Hockey League, and regularly attended games at the

Olympic Rink Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

where her husband was a timekeeper and

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

convenor. At the 1935 DWAHA annual meeting in Winnipeg, Dunn was elected one of three vice-presidents. The DWAHA sought to grow its membership across Canada, expected Saskatchewan to join the six provinces already represented, and to use the national playoffs for the Lady Bessborough Trophy to raise funds and increase the profile of women's hockey in Canada. The DWAHA wanted to showcase its talents by sending an all-star team to Europe to play against teams in France and England; and to petition the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ...

and the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

for women's hockey to be a demonstration sport at the

1940 Winter Olympics The 1940 Winter Olympics, which would have been officially known as the and as Sapporo 1940 (札幌1940), were to have been celebrated from 3 to 12 February 1940 in Sapporo, Japan, but the games were eventually cancelled due to the onset of Wo ...

Dunn attended the WAAF of C general meeting in November 1938, and her application for the DWAHA to affiliate was approved after two seasons without such an agreement. The renewed affiliation then allowed the DWAHA to partake in internationally sanctioned hockey. At the same meeting, she supported the

Ladies Ontario Hockey Association The Ladies Ontario Hockey Association (LOHA) was a women's ice hockey association in Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1922, but faded during the Great Depression, as ice time for women's teams became rare and the number of member teams significa ...

who threatened to withdraw if not given an increased number of votes based on proportional representation of registered members. When the issue was suggested to be resolved by a mail-in vote, Dunn did not understand why the men should get one month to decide the matter, as she had mistakenly interpreted the proposal to be a "male" vote. Dunn oversaw the playoffs in Western Canada as the vice-president of the DWAHA, and according to the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'', "did everything in her power" to assist the Winnipeg Olympics in going to Ontario to play the

Preston Rivulettes The Preston Rivulettes were a Canadian women's ice hockey team. They were inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame on May 2, 1998, as members of the inaugural class of 1997. The Preston Rivulettes won four Dominion Championships and ten ...

for the Lady Bessborough Trophy. After she succeeded

Bobbie Rosenfeld Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld (December 28, 1904 – November 14, 1969) was a Canadian athlete, who won a gold medal for the 100-metre relay and a silver medal for the 100-metre at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. She was a star at basketba ...

as the DWAHA president for the 1940 season, Dunn was unable to organize a national championship when the Winnipeg Olympics and the Preston Rivulettes were unable to reach an agreement to guarantee travel expenses. When the Winnipeg Olympics declined to accept the Lady Bessborough Trophy by default of the Rivulettes not travelling west, Dunn declared the title undecided and no team was awarded the trophy. The DWAHA ceased operations after the 1940 season. After the war, Dunn was the hockey representative to the

Canadian Federation of University Women The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) (French: ''Fédération canadienne des femmes diplômées des universités CFDU') is a non-partisan, voluntary, self-funded organization with nearly 100 CFUW Clubs, located in every province acr ...

, and presented the Lady Bessborough Trophy to the Winnipeg All-stars who won the senior women's championship in 1950. ''Winnipeg Free Press'' sports editor Maurice Smith summarized Dunn's career as a lifetime contributor to sports, and that she was "one of the boys". Dunn and her husband were both credited by ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' for their tremendous contributions to sport in Winnipeg.

Community service

Oriole Community Club in Winnipeg circa 1948

Dunn was one of the founding officers of the Oriole Community Club in Winnipeg in 1948. She was president of its women's auxiliary in 1953, and oversaw the club's annual

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

tea social. She served as a vice-president of the club from 1959 to 1961, and as president from 1961 to 1964. Under her leadership, the club operated a youth sports program and had seven

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

teams as of 1961. Vince Leah of ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' praised Dunn's volunteer work, and wrote that her efforts had made the Oriole Community Club "one of the city's better community centres". She received a citation from the National Recreation Association of America in July 1959, in recognition of her career of contributions to athletics and recreation in Winnipeg. Dunn also served as a president of the Winnipeg Community Chest and the Central Volunteer Bureau of Manitoba. The bureau maintained a pool of volunteers to provide help to 94 health and welfare organizations in Winnipeg including the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society () The Dunns had one son named Gary, born in Winnipeg on July 8, 1936. Her father died in Roland during the morning on July 19, 1936, and her mother died 13 hours later at the hospital in

Carman, Manitoba Carman is a small agricultural town of about 3,000 people in the Pembina Valley Region of southern Manitoba, Canada. Carman is at the junction of Highways 3 and 13, 40 minutes southwest of Winnipeg. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of ...

. The Dunns participated in

five-pin bowling Five-pin bowling is a bowling variant which is played in Canada, where many bowling alleys offer it, either alone or in combination with ten-pin bowling. It was devised around 1909 by Thomas F. Ryan in Toronto, Ontario, at his Toronto Bowling Cl ...

with the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

mixed league. She later played in a five-pin bowling league with an Orioles CC ladies team. They had a summer cottage in Sandy Hook, Manitoba, and were members of the Sandy Hook Community Club and the Harstone United Church in Winnipeg. She died on January 10, 1965, at the

Winnipeg General Hospital Winnipeg General Hospital is a hospital that was founded in 1872 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was built on the estate of Andrew McDermot. The driving force behind the hospital was McDermott's son-in-law Andrew Bannatyne Andrew Graham Ballenden Banna ...

at age 61, and was interred in Garry Memorial Park in Winnipeg – later known as Thomson in the Park Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Mary 1903 births 1965 deaths 20th-century Canadian women Athletics (track and field) officials Canadian people of English descent Canadian sports builders Canadian sports executives and administrators Canadian women's ice hockey centres Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Manitoba Bisons ice hockey players People from Pembina Valley Region, Manitoba University of Manitoba alumni