THE CROWSNEST ARCHIVES
RCN Sports history: Unlikely athlete wins Admiral Jones Shield in 1963
By Ryan Melanson,
Trident Staff
LS Ronald Parker wasn’t someone expected to excel in sports. After a bout with rheumatic fever in the third grade that led to a lengthy hospitalization, he was advised by doctors to wear boots instead of shoes, to keep away from sports, and to avoid strenuous physical activity in general.
The warning didn’t stick, however, and by the age of 19, the Ontario-born Parker (son of CPO (Ret’d) Harry Parker) was leading an active lifestyle with a passion for ice hockey. That passion stayed with him after joining the Royal Canadian Navy in 1954 – he was a standout player during stints with a number of military teams, including the HMCS Cornwallis Cougars, the Stadacona Sailors, the Albro Lake station team, and a short time with the Shearwater Flyers. He also found success on the football field, as a member of the champion 1957 Shearwater Flyers team, and later as the Stadacona Sailors football club.
The accomplishments and others led to LS Parker being awarded the Admiral Jones Shield in 1963, while serving as a watchkeeping radioman at Albro Station. The presentation was made on January 11 during Stadacona ceremonial divisions.
This month in RCN sports history:
- 1944 – The Stadacona Sailors, captained and coached by SLt Ron Rutherford, kick off the basketball season by eking out a 44-43 win over the highly-regarded RCAF Dartmouth team, establishing themselves as the team to beat for the 1944 Maritime Basketball League season.
- 1954 – Royal Military College cadets win the tri-service cup for the second year in a row at the annual interuniversity rifle shoot in Kingston, Ontario. RMC teams took first and second place, while the University of Toronto Naval Training Division came in third.
- 1982 – HMCS Margaree wins the Atlantic Fleet Volleyball Championship, held from January 6-8 at the Stadplex gym. Margaree went through the 10-team tournament without a single loss.
- 2002 – MWO Mike MacKinnon is named Canadian Forces Male Coach of the Year, primarily for leading the CFB Halifax Mariners men’s team to two consecutive gold medals at Regional Championships and two consecutive silver medals at CF Nationals.
