James Dunn

James Archibald Dunn (March 24, 1898January 7, 1979) was a Canadian sports executive involved in ice hockey, baseball, fastpitch softball, athletics, football and curling. He was president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from 1955 to 1957, after he served five years as a vice-president. He assumed control of the CAHA when it had lost the confidence of the people to produce a Canada men's national team which would win the Ice Hockey World Championships, and recommended forming a national all-star team based on the nucleus of the reigning Allan Cup champion. He wanted to create more goodwill towards Canada in international hockey, accompanied the Kenora Thistles on an exhibition tour of Japan, then arranged for the Japan men's national team to tour Canada. In junior ice hockey, he was opposed to the mass transfers of players to the stronger teams sponsored by the National Hockey League, and supported weaker provincial champions to have additional players during the Memorial Cup playoffs. After his presidency, he represented the CAHA as a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee for 15 years. Dunn began his hockey career as secretary of the Winnipeg Junior and Juvenile Hockey League in 1926, followed by 17 years as secretary, convenor and timekeeper at the Olympic Rink after joining the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL). He was a member of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) executive from 1929 to 1954, served three years as a vice-president, and was president from 1945 to 1950. He was committed to discussing issues openly with the press invited and dealt with ongoing disagreements between the MJHL divisions. He encouraged rural Manitoba communities to develop hockey programs and rearranged playoffs to give them a better chance against urban teams. His presidency coincided with the MAHA's biggest growth, best financial situation, and annually increased grants to develop minor ice hockey. He later served as commissioner of the MJHL from 1964 to 1966, agreed to televise games, and experimented with Sunday evening games to increase attendance. He co-founded an annual golf tournament in 1937 to benefit retired hockey players, which led to the establishment of the Manitoba Hockey Players' Foundation in 1968, where he served eight years as its secretary-treasurer. In 1928, Dunn became president of the Uneeda Club in Winnipeg which began his career as a baseball and softball executive.