 | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Commissioner of theCFL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1905-04-18)April 18, 1905 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Died | October 24, 1990(1990-10-24) (aged 85) Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Career information | |
| College | University of Manitoba |
| Career history | |
| 1958–1966 | CFL |
Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Class of 1966) | |
Gerald Sydney Halter,OC (April 18, 1905 – October 24, 1990) was a Canadian sports executive and lawyer. He served as the first commissioner of theCanadian Football League from 1958 to 1966, and was president of theAmateur Athletic Union of Canada from 1938 to 1946.
Born inWinnipeg, Manitoba, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1924 and a Bachelor of Law degree in 1927 from theUniversity of Manitoba. He helped organize the Winnipeg Football Club, now theWinnipeg Blue Bombers, in 1934.[citation needed] He was president of theAmateur Athletic Union of Canada from 1938 to 1946, succeedingJack Hamilton.[1]
In 1956, Halter became commissioner of the Canadian Football Council (CFC), an umbrella organization of the two most powerful Canadian football unions, the easternInterprovincial Rugby Football Union and theWestern Interprovincial Football Union. The CFC withdrew from theCanadian Rugby Union in 1958 and formed its own league, theCanadian Football League (CFL). Halter became the CFL's first commissioner, a post he held until 1966. From 1966 to 1971, he was vice-chairman of the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission, and was chairman from 1972 to 1982.[citation needed]
In 1977, he was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada. In 1963, he was inducted into theCanadian Olympic Hall of Fame. In 1966, he was inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame. In 1975, he was inducted intoCanada's Sports Hall of Fame. In 1982, he was inducted into theManitoba Sports Hall of Fame.[2] In 1988, he was inducted into theCanadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was inducted into theInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[citation needed]
