In the world of sports, there was almost nothing in which Doug Peden did not excel. His first success came in 1929 in tennis, when he was the British Columbia provincial under-15 doubles champion. In rugby he faced the dominating New Zealand All Blacks as they toured Canada in 1936 and became the first Canadian to score against them. In cycling he was successful in the six-day races alongside his brother Torchy, won the provincial one mile title in 1934, and later turned professional, winning the national sprint title in 1939. He took up baseball in 1940 and quickly became a professional in that sport as well, being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1941 and playing in the minor leagues throughout the 1940s. He even managed the Rehoboth Beach Pirates of the Eastern Shore League for two seasons in 1947 and 1948. It was in basketball, however, that he found his greatest success. A member of the national championship-winning Victoria Blue Ribbons in 1935, he attempted to defend the crown the following year, when the team was renamed the Victoria Dominoes. Although he failed, his prowess was such that he was one of three members of his team (the others being brothers Chuck and Art Chapman) that were selected to join the victorious Windsor V-8s to compete in the inaugural Olympic basketball tournament at the 1936 Summer Games. There he played in five games, missing only Canada’s opening round victory against Brazil, scored 42 points, and took home a silver medal after his country lost the final 19-8 against the United States. He remained a member of the Dominoes for many years, winning a second national championship with them in 1946.
Peden had a brief stint in professional basketball with the Vancouver Hornets of the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League, from the league’s opening season in 1946 to its collapse in 1948. His athletic career came to an end in the 1950s, but he came second in the voting for Canada’s athlete of the half-century, losing narrowly to Lionel Conacher. After his retirement from active competition, he settled into a 26 year-career as a sports writer with the Victoria Times Colonist. He also served for three years, from 1942 through 1945, as a Lieutenant with the Canadian Army during World War II. Among others, he has been inducted into the British Columbia (1967), Canada’s (1979), and Greater Victoria (1991) Sports Halls of Fame.
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