Ontario-born Alexander Turnbull was one of Canada’s most outstanding lacrosse players and was a key member of the New Westminster Salmonbellies’ squad from 1897 through 1909. Along the way he won six national championships (1897-1900, 1908, and 1909) and was selected to help represent Canada at the 1908 Summer Olympics. There he earned a gold medal with his team, after it won its only match against Great Britain 14-10, and was noted as the top scorer of the tournament. Broken ribs led to his official retirement in 1909, but he remained active sporadically with the club through 1918, when he was 46. His longevity in the sport earned him a number of nicknames, including “Dad”, “Father”, and “Old Man”, and for many years he was reported as being much older, with 1863 often being suggested as his year of birth. Outside of lacrosse he was also athletically active in basketball, football, and sport shooting, and later volunteered as a coach. By career he was a warden at the provincial jail and was accidentally shot in the leg in April 1911 while on duty. He has been inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse (1966) and British Columbia Sports (1967) and Halls of Fame.
Canada