NAME: James Daly
UNIVERSITY: Manitoba
CATEGORY: Builder
SPORT: Track and Field
HIGHLIGHTS:
Coached for more than 65 years
Founded the U of M track and field club
Executive Director of Pan American Games
Order of Manitoba (2000)
Order of Canada (2001)
BIOGRAPHY:
James Daly’s legacy lives through every athlete who walks through doors into Manitoba’s indoor field house. The man the complex is named after was a remarkable coach, builder, fundraiser and advocate for athletes in the province.
Daly was a well-known coach, who devoted more than 65 years of his life to his athletes. He founded the track and field club at the University of Manitoba, and coached there until 1996.
Daly’s commitment to athletics ventured far outside the track – he led a group that brought the 1967 Pan Am Games to Winnipeg before becoming the games’ executive director. He also managed the Canadian Olympic team in 1964, served on the board for Tennis Canada, advised the 2002 North American Indigenous Games, and acted as the chef de mission for two Commonwealth Games.
He valued all aspects of the athletics, working hard to help plan the University of Manitoba’s Frank Kennedy Centre and indoor complex, which made way for the world-class Active Living Centre.
Daly became a member of the Order of Manitoba in 2000 before being appointed the Order of Canada the following year.
The man affectionately known as “Mr. Track and Field” has already been inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.