page_title: Jack Roxburgh
section_title: First term
hierarchical_section_title: Jack Roxburgh / CAHA president / First term
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the Memorial Cup trophy on display at the 2015 Memorial Cup tournament
context_page_description: John Maxwell Roxburgh was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, politician, farmer and businessman.
  Roxburgh graduated from Ontario Agricultural College and became a turkey breeder and orchardist. In the 1930s, he ventured into local politics and business in the Simcoe, Ontario area. He organized the Ontario Juvenile Hockey Association in 1934, and was a cofounder of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association in 1940. He served as president of the Ontario Hockey Association from 1950 to 1952, and was credited with improving the OHA's finances and profits.
  He served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1960 to 1962. He arranged exhibition games between Canada and the Soviet Union, represented the CAHA at the International Ice Hockey Federation, and pushed for the separation of politics and sport when the Cold War threatened the 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships. He was opposed to changes in the International Olympic Committee's definition of amateurism, and recommended the formation of an amateur student team coached by Father David Bauer to become the Canada men's national ice hockey team.
context_section_description: Roxburgh was elected CAHA president on May 28, 1960, at the annual general meeting in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and succeeded Gordon Juckes, who had stepped down as president to be appointed a full-time secretary and employee of the CAHA. Roxburgh was subsequently elected a director of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) later in 1960. As CAHA president, Roxburgh arranged exhibition games between Canada and the Soviet Union, and represented the CAHA at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
  Roxburgh and fellow CAHA executives were tasked with choosing which club would represent the Canada men's national ice hockey team at the Ice Hockey World Championships and in ice hockey at the Olympic Games. The CAHA felt that the Winnipeg Maroons were Canada's strongest team to win the 1961 Ice Hockey World Championships, but the Maroons could not play a three-week exhibition tour in Switzerland due to work commitments. Roxburgh later announced the Trail Smoke Eaters were chosen to represent Canada, and would participate in a profitable exhibition tour. He also admitted that Soviet teams were faster and stronger than before, and that Canada needed to improve to win against them in the World Championships.
  Roxburgh travelled with Trail on the exhibition tour of Europe, and felt they were a balanced team that could play physical hockey. After games with in Sweden, Herman Carlsson of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association said that Canadian players were intent on injuring Sweden's best players in advance of the 1961 World Championships. Roxburgh responded by calling the Swedish players weak, and offered to arrange to a trip to Canada where Sweden could learn how to play hockey. The tour continued into the Soviet Union, and after Trail lost to HC Dynamo Moscow by a 3–2 score, Roxburgh said, "the Russians have come a long way and are able to give and take body checks just as we do". He told reporters in Czechoslovakia that either Canada or the Soviet Union national ice hockey team would win the gold medal at the 1961 World Championship. His prediction proved correct when Canada won the gold medal over the Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team. Roxburgh chose to share profits from the television rights of the exhibition series with members of the Trail Smoke Eaters, after it was mistakenly reported that the team would get a share of the profits instead of just the CAHA retaining the profits. After the tour completed, Roxburgh stated he was opposed to more exhibition games in Sweden in the upcoming winter season due to issues regarding physical play, and didn't want to risk more problems.
  At the 1961 CAHA annual general meeting in Port Arthur, Ontario, Roxburgh stated that the recent Memorial Cup and Allan Cups were the more financially successful in recent times. Delegates to the meeting pushed for more say about rules of play on the joint committee with the National Hockey League (NHL) and other professional leagues. Roxburgh challenged delegates to choose a consistent refereeing system to be used in national playoffs. Until then, the playoff format had been an executive choice, lacking consistency across the nation. Delegates voted to have one referee and two linesmen at all games, as opposed to two referees without linesmen.
caption: Roxburgh oversaw scheduling and officiating for Memorial Cup playoffs (trophy pictured), and wanted to see more balance between teams in competing in Eastern and Western Canada.
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