{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey administrator (1914–1994)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Use Canadian English|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Gordon Juckes<br /><small>{{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=CAN|size=100%|CM|MBE|CD}}}}</small> | image = Gordon Juckes photo.JPG | alt = Three quarters profile photo of Gordon Juckes in a suit and tie | birth_date = June 20, or {{Birth date|1914|06|30}} | birth_place = Watrous, Saskatchewan, Canada | death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|10|04|1914|06|20}} | death_place = London, Ontario, Canada | occupation = {{hlist|Ice hockey administrator|Newspaper publisher}} | known_for = {{hlist|CAHA executive director|IIHF council member}} | awards = {{hlist|Order of Canada|Canada's Sports Hall of Fame|Hockey Hall of Fame|IIHF Hall of Fame}} | module = {{infobox military person | embed = yes | allegiance = {{flag|Canada|1921}} | branch = Royal Canadian Artillery | service_years = 1940–1945 | rank = Major | battles = World War II | awards = {{hlist|Order of the British Empire|Canadian Forces' Decoration}} }} }}
'''Gordon Wainwright Juckes''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|CM|MBE|CD}} ({{IPAc-en|dʒ|uː|k|s}}; June 20 or 30, 1914 – October 4, 1994) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He served as the president and later the executive director of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), and as a council member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Juckes became involved in hockey as newspaper publisher and team president, then served as president of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association. During World War II he was a Major in the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was honoured with the Order of the British Empire.
Juckes was the first full-time employee of the CAHA, and a key proponent for the early development of the Canada men's national ice hockey team and the 1972 Summit Series. He worked to promote minor ice hockey and player safety in Canada, and his efforts with the IIHF established the IIHF World U20 Championship. After 31 years as a hockey administrator, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, and the IIHF Hall of Fame.
==Early life and military service== Gordon Wainwright Juckes was born in Watrous, Saskatchewan, on either June 20, or June 30, 1914, depending on the source.<ref name="SSLPP">''Saskatchewan Sports''. p. 69</ref><ref name="sportshall">{{cite web|url=http://www.sportshall.ca/stories.html?proID=133&catID=all|title=Honoured Member: Gordon Juckes|website=Canada's Sports Hall of Fame|access-date=2018-05-27|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143748/http://www.sportshall.ca/stories.html?proID=133&catID=all|url-status=dead}}</ref> He played hockey in Melville, Saskatchewan as a youth.<ref name="SSLPP" /><ref name="Legends">{{cite web|url=https://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=b197901&type=Builder&page=bio&list=ByName|title=Juckes, Gordon -- Biography -- Honoured Builder|website=Legends of Hockey|access-date=2018-05-27}}</ref> He quit hockey at age 18 when he did not make the local junior team as a right-winger.<ref name="Smith">{{cite news|title=Juckes will ease work load|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=November 8, 1975|last=Smith|first=Maurice|author-link=Maurice Smith (journalist)|page=65|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-08-1975-700913/}}</ref> He worked for the local ''Melville Advance'' newspaper as a printer, reporter, advertising salesman, and collections agent, and later became its publisher and owner.<ref name="Legends" />
Juckes enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery as a gunner in 1940, and was later promoted to the rank of major.<ref name="SSLPP" /><ref name="sportshall" /><ref name="Legends" /><ref name="Smith" /><ref name="pp142-142">McKinley, Michael (2014), pp. 142–143</ref> For his service during World War II, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on December 15, 1945.<ref name="blatherwick">{{Citation|last=Blatherwick|first=John|title=Member–Order of the British Empire (MBE)|publisher=Surgeon Captain John Blatherwick, CM, CStJ, OBC, CD, MD, FRCP(C), LLD (Hon)|date=2017-08-04|location=Canada|page=25 |url=http://blatherwick.net/documents/British%20Orders%20to%20Canadians/08%20-%20MBE%20Member%20Order%20of%20the%20British%20Empire.pdf}}</ref> He was also honoured with a Canadian Forces' Decoration.<ref name="GGOC">{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/honour.aspx?id=13851&t=12&ln=Juckes|title=Gordon Juckes|website=The Governor General of Canada|access-date=2018-05-27}}</ref>
Juckes returned to Saskatchewan after the war, serving as president of the Melville Millionaires hockey team from 1946 until 1948. He was then elected president of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League, and joined the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association (SAHA) executive committee.<ref name="SSLPP" /><ref name="sasksports">{{cite web|url=http://sasksportshalloffame.com/inductees/gordon-juckes/|title=Gordon Juckes|website=Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame|access-date=2018-05-27}}</ref> Juckes continued his work with the ''Melville Advance'', and in 1951 was appointed Melville's civil defence officer.<ref>{{cite news|title=Editor Gets Post|newspaper=Corner Brook Western Star|location=Corner Brook, Newfoundland|date=March 23, 1951|page=19|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-23-1951-700808/}}</ref> Later in 1951, he became vice-president of the SAHA, and coordinated coaches' and referees's training programs.<ref>{{cite news|title=Refs, Coaches, Teach, Learn|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=December 10, 1951|page=19|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-10-1951-700811/}}</ref> He was elected president of the SAHA in 1953, and served until 1955.<ref name="sasksports" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Juckes Elected Puck President|newspaper=Lethbridge Herald|location=Lethbridge, Alberta|date=September 29, 1953|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-sep-29-1953-695716/}}</ref>
==Canadian national hockey== Juckes joined the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) executive in 1955, serving as second vice-president until 1957.<ref name="p129">Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. p. 129</ref> In this role, he was also the chairman of minor ice hockey in Canada, and organized the first "Young Canada Hockey Week" held from February 4 to 11, 1957.<ref name="minorhockeyweek">{{cite news|title=Hockey Week Takes Hold|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=January 26, 1957|page=41|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-26-1957-701406/}}</ref> The event was supported by the CAHA and its affiliate branches, and served to promote participation in minor ice hockey with expanded newspaper, radio, television coverage. The event gained recognition for Juckes' efforts in a letter from prime minister Louis St. Laurent.<ref name="minorhockeyweek" />
Juckes served as first vice-president of the CAHA from 1957 to 1959.<ref name="p129" /> During this time, he spoke before the American Hockey Coaches Association in an attempt to stop the unregulated recruitment of Canadian hockey players to American schools on scholarships, which prevented Canadians from keeping amateur status for international competitions, and depleted the rosters of Canadian teams during the season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Govern Flow Of Junior Puck Talent To States?|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=March 14, 1958|page=27|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-14-1958-701454/}}</ref> Juckes served as president of the CAHA for one year from 1959 to 1960, succeeding Robert Lebel.<ref name="p129" /> He held talks with the Western Intercollegiate Hockey Association to curb further player recruitment, this time supported by Clarence Campbell of the National Hockey League.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hockey Moguls Ponder U.S. Raiding|newspaper=Brandon Sun|location=Brandon, Manitoba|date=August 2, 1960|page=7|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-aug-02-1960-708356/}}</ref>
Juckes was named secretary-manager of CAHA on May 24, 1960, after the death of George Dudley, becoming the first western Canadian to hold the post.<ref name="CAHA-Post">{{cite news|title=Juckes Named to CAHA Post|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=May 25, 1960|page=26|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-25-1960-708382/}}</ref><ref name="Harkness">{{cite news|title=Five Candidates Seek Vacant CAHA Position|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|last=Harkness|first=Doug|date=May 24, 1960|page=39|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-24-1960-708383/}}</ref> Changes were proposed to the constitution at the same time to give broader powers to the secretary-manager position, which was already considered the most powerful position within the CAHA.<ref name="CAHA-Post" /><ref name="Harkness" /> The position was combined into a dual role with the registrar-treasurer position when W. A. Hewitt announced his planned retirement, and Juckes' expected salary was raised to $6,500 per year plus expenses.<ref name="CAHA-Post" /><ref name="Harkness" /> Juckes became the CAHA's first full-time employee with the appointment.<ref name="p112">Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. p. 112</ref><ref name="hockeycanada">{{cite web|url=https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/corporate/awards/hc-awards/awards/gordon-juckes|title=Gordon Juckes Award|website=Hockey Canada|access-date=2018-05-27}}</ref> Jack Roxburgh was named the new president of the CAHA on May 27 to fill the vacant position.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jack Roxburgh New President|newspaper=Brandon Sun|location=Brandon, Manitoba|date=May 28, 1960|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-28-1960-708371/}}</ref> Juckes worked mostly by himself doing CAHA administration, with only a part-time secretary assisting with correspondence.<ref name="reflects">{{cite news|title=Juckes reflects on years in amateur hockey|newspaper=Lethbridge Herald|location=Lethbridge, Alberta|date=May 27, 1981|page=32|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-27-1981-700929/}}</ref> The dual roles of registrar-treasurer, and secretary-manager were formally combined into the title of executive director in 1968, which he held until 1977.<ref>Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. pp. 129–130</ref><ref>Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. pp. 130–132</ref> He was the CAHA delegate to the International Ice Hockey Federation from 1960 to 1977, and was an IIHF director from 1966 to 1972.<ref name="honored">{{cite news|title=Juckes honored|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=October 22, 1977|page=167|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-22-1977-700924/}}</ref>
Juckes authored a report for the CAHA after Canada's 1960 Winter Olympics results, arguing for more coherence and continuity in its international representatives, as opposed to sending amateur club teams.<ref name="pp142-142" /> He supported giving financial assistance to teams representing Canada, instead of the clubs raising funds on their own for travel costs to international events.<ref>{{cite news|title=Juckes Reluctant For Tour Debate|newspaper=Brandon Daily Sun|location=Brandon, Manitoba|date=December 3, 1960|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-03-1960-708340/}}</ref><ref>Oliver, Greg (2017), p. 33</ref> In 1962, Father David Bauer made his proposal to start a Canadian national team in a meeting with Juckes and CAHA president Art Potter.<ref name="pp142-142" /> Juckes supported Bauer's proposal, and advocated it with the rest of the CAHA executive.<ref>Oliver, Greg (2017), p. 5</ref> He helped set up the national team with Father Bauer in 1962, then established the first CAHA office in Winnipeg in 1964.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite news|title=Negotiations key to any move by Nats|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=April 18, 1997|page=45|last=Taylor|first=Scott|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-18-1997-699686/}}</ref> Juckes later facilitated the joint effort between Bauer's national team with the Winnipeg Maroons to perpetuate the national team program by bringing in more coaches and players, effectively merging the two teams.<ref>Oliver, Greg (2017), p. 126</ref> He also supported creating a second national squad prior to the 1968 Winter Olympics, to have more players with the same type of training and experiences to increase the talent pool, also to reduce the workload of extensive exhibitions tours through Europe.<ref>Oliver, Greg (2017), pp. 192–193</ref>
Juckes was chosen to be part of the Canadian delegation to the meetings in 1969, which aimed to negotiate the use of professionals in IIHF competitions, before Canada ultimately withdrew from international competition in 1970.<ref>McKinley, Michael (2014), pp. 164–165</ref> Later the same year, he and the CAHA offices relocated to Ottawa.<ref name="Smith" /> Juckes and the CAHA cooperated with Charles Hay of Hockey Canada to persuade the Soviet national team to take part in what became the 1972 Summit Series.<ref>McKinley, Michael (2014), p. 167</ref> Juckes is also credited with the efforts that established the World Junior Championship.<ref name="Legends" /><ref name="p188">McKinley, Michael (2014), p. 188</ref><ref name="saskhockey">{{cite web|url=http://www.saskhockeyhalloffame.ca/inductees/2012-inductees/gordon-juckes|title=Gordon Juckes|website=Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame|access-date=2018-05-27}}</ref> He used his position as an IIHF director to negotiate an upper age limit of 20 for the juniors, which had been a main point of contention with European delegates, and prevented any previous agreement for sanctioned events.<ref name="p188">McKinley, Michael (2014), p. 188</ref> The first official tournament was the 1977 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
During his tenure with the CAHA, Juckes supported having rules to limit body contact in minor hockey, and he was responsible to implement helmet safety rules.<ref name="reflects" /> He was considered an authority for interpreting CAHA by-laws and hockey rules,<ref name="reflects" /> and was well respected for his ability to negotiate with Europeans.<ref name="Smith" /> He sat on the board of the Canadian Olympic Association and of Hockey Canada.<ref name="Legends" />
Juckes retired as executive director of the CAHA in 1977, and was replaced by David Branch.<ref name="hockeycanada" /><ref>Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. p. 132</ref> In an interview he gave in May 1979, Juckes said that Canada's withdrawal from international competition in 1970 was the toughest decision he had been involved with, and was something he opposed.<ref name="toughest">{{cite news|title=Juckes' toughest job was to withdraw from World Championships|newspaper=Medicine Hat News|location=Medicine Hat, Alberta|date=May 24, 1979|page=12|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-24-1979-700990/}}</ref> He felt it more effective to host the 1970 World Ice Hockey Championships under protest, then withdraw if necessary.<ref name="toughest" /> Juckes also mentioned that the withdrawal of the Western Canadian Hockey League teams from the CAHA was one of his biggest regrets.<ref name="toughest" />
==Hockey honours and awards== {|class="wikitable" align="right" !Year!!colspan="2"|Honours and awards |- align="center" |1962||AHAUS citation award||<ref name="AHAUS-citation" /> |- align="center" |1967||IIHF Diploma of Honour||<ref name="sportshall" /><ref name="Legends" /> |- align="center" |1975||OHA Gold Stick||<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohahockey.ca/view/oha/about-us/association-awards/gold-stick|title=Gold Stick|website=Ontario Hockey Association|access-date=2018-06-26}}</ref> |- align="center" |1976||CAHA Executive of the Year||<ref name="CAHA-111">Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. p. 111</ref> |- align="center" |1976||CAHA Order of Merit||<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/corporate/awards/hc-awards/awards/order-merit|title=Hockey Canada Order of Merit|website=Hockey Canada|access-date=2018-07-24}}</ref><ref name="CAHA-114">Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. p. 114</ref> |- align="center" |1976||SAHA Life Member||<ref name="toughest" /> |- align="center" |1977||IIHF Life Member||<ref name="honored" /> |- align="center" |1979||Hockey Hall of Fame||<ref name="sportshall" /><ref name="Legends" /> |- align="center" |1979||CAHA Life Member||<ref name="toughest" /> |- align="center" |1980||Member of the Order of Canada||<ref name="GGOC" /> |- align="center" |1980||Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame||<ref name="SSLPP" /><ref name="sasksports" /> |- align="center" |1981||Canada's Sports Hall of Fame||<ref name="SSLPP" /><ref name="sportshall" /> |- align="center" |1997||IIHF Hall of Fame||<ref>{{cite news|title=Six Canadians go to International Hockey Hall|date=May 12, 1997|newspaper=The StarPhoenix|location=Saskatoon, Saskatchewan|page=23|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-phoenix-1997-inductions/127353877/|access-date=July 4, 2023}}</ref><ref name="IHOF">{{cite web|url=http://www.iihf.com/iihf-home/history/the-iihf/iihf-hall-of-fame/|title=IIHF Hall of Fame|website=International Ice Hockey Federation|access-date=2018-05-29}}</ref> |- align="center" |2012||Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame||<ref name="saskhockey" /> |}
Juckes received the AHAUS citation award in 1962, for appreciation of contributions in American amateur hockey.<ref name="AHAUS-citation">{{cite web|url=https://www.usahockey.com/layout_container/show_layout_tab?layout_container_id=27569776&page_node_id=837446&tab_element_id=54968|title=Citation Award|website=USA Hockey|access-date=2019-02-01}}</ref> He was honoured in 1976 as the CAHA Executive of the Year, received the CAHA Order of Merit, and was named a life member of the SAHA. When he retired in 1977, he was made a life member of the IIHF. Two years later, Juckes was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and was made a life member of the CAHA. He became a Member of the Order of Canada in 1980, and was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.<ref name="sasksports" /> In 1981, he was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.<ref name="sportshall" />
The CAHA Hockey Development Council established the Gordon Juckes Award in 1981 to recognize an individual for significant contribution to amateur hockey in Canada at the national level.<ref name="p112" /> Nominees for the award may be involved in research, sports medicine, psychology, coaching, officiating, or administration.<ref name="hockeycanada" /><ref name="bchockey">{{cite web|url=http://www.bchockey.net/Awards/HockeyCanadaAnnualWinners.aspx|title=Hockey Canada Annual Awards|website=BC Hockey|access-date=2018-05-27}}</ref>
In 1994, the CAHA set up the Gordon Juckes Memorial Trust to benefit a worthwhile team or individual each year.<ref name="sportshall" /><ref name="Legends" /><ref name="sasksports" /> Juckes was posthumously inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame, being among the first group of honourees in 1997, and was inducted into the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.<ref name="saskhockey" />
==Personal life== thumb|left|Juckes's grave marker in the Melville Cemetery|alt=Small black granite stone inscribed with the names of Juckes and his wife, with their years of birth and death
Juckes was married with two sons and two daughters,<ref name="obituary">{{cite news|title=Hall of famer dies|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|date=October 5, 1994|page=28|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-05-1994-694881/}}</ref> and was a cousin of NHL player Bing Juckes. After retiring from the CAHA, he lived in Zurich, Ontario.<ref name="GGOC" /><ref name="vii">Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. p. vii</ref> He was attending the 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in Italy when he suffered a heart attack, but was able to see Canada win the gold medal from his hospital bed via a recording.<ref name="obituary" /> He died October 4, 1994, in London, Ontario.<ref name="obituary" />
Juckes was remembered by past CAHA presidents Fred Page and Don Johnson. Page said, "He was a wonderful man as far as hockey is concerned. He put a lot of time into amateur hockey". Johnson said, "He was a tower of strength, a world of wisdom, just a wonderful man".<ref name="obituary" />
==Bibliography== * {{cite book|last=Stoffel|first=Holden|title=Saskatchewan Sports: Lives Past and Present|publisher=Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina|date=2007|location=Regina, Saskatchewan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k7ptThh_6qgC&pg=PA69|isbn=978-0-88977-167-3}} * {{cite book|last=Oliver|first=Greg|title=Father Bauer and the Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey|publisher=ECW Press|date=2017|location=Toronto, Ontario|isbn=978-1-77041-249-1}} * {{cite book|last=McKinley|first=Michael|title=It's Our Game: Celebrating 100 Years Of Hockey Canada|publisher=Viking Press|date=2014|location=Toronto, Ontario|isbn=978-0-670-06817-3}} * {{cite book|title=Constitution, By-laws, Regulations, History|publisher=Canadian Amateur Hockey Association|date=May 1990|location=Gloucester, Ontario}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{icehockeystats|legendsm=B197901}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Juckes, Gordon}} Category:1914 births Category:1994 deaths Category:20th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Category:Canadian Amateur Hockey Association presidents Category:Canadian Amateur Hockey Association secretaries Category:Canadian Amateur Hockey Association vice-presidents Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II Category:Canadian Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Canadian military personnel from Saskatchewan Category:Canadian newspaper reporters and correspondents Category:Canadian sports executives and administrators Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Category:Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Category:IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers Category:Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Category:Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association executives Category:Sportspeople from Melville, Saskatchewan