death_place death_date birth_place birth_date article_title name
winnipeg , manitoba 26 may 1999 moose jaw , saskatchewan 13 may 1911 jack wells
 jack wells
jack wells

john hampson `` jack '' wells -lrb- may 13 , 1911 in moose jaw , saskatchewan -- may 26 , 1999 -rrb- , also known as cactus jack , was a winnipeg-based radio and television broadcaster specializing in sports .
wells 's career began in 1936 .
while listening to a hockey broadcast on cfqc , wells boasted he could do a better job than the guy on the mike .
dared by a chum to prove his claim , jack applied for a job at the station , and was hired .
in 1939 , he joined cjat-fm in trail , british columbia as an all-round announcer and play-by-play man for the trail smoke eaters .
in 1941 , he got a job as a sports announcer at cjrw in winnipeg .
cjrc provided wells with his first experience in football broadcasting , and he began calling games for the winnipeg blue bombers .
jack became a free-lance broadcaster after gaining the exclusive rights to broadcast from shea 's amphitheatre and osborne stadium which , in turn gave him the right to sell time to any one of the winnipeg stations .
it was during an announcing stint on cky that jack acquired his illustrious nickname .
when jack filled in for porky charbonneau on his western show , it occurred to wells that he should have a moniker and adopted `` cactus '' and it became one of the most famous in canadian broadcasting .
jack was famous for reporting the weather with the phrase , `` well , it turned our nice again . ''
even when calling in from his winter location of phoenix , arizona .
during his career , jack wells broadcast on four winnipeg stations - ckrc , cky , cjob and cfrw .
in the early 50s , he became the first television voice of western conference football for the cfl on cbc .
in 1952 , wells turned down the play by play job on hockey night in canada to remain in winnipeg .
the job eventually went to the danny gallivan .
wells was closely associated with the national curling scene , beginning in 1952 when he covered his first macdonald brier .
in the following years , wells reported on provincial events in manitoba , the brier , the women 's macdonald lassie and the world curling championships .
wells was appointed head of public relations in western canada for macdonald tobacco in 1970 .
wells was inducted to the cab hall of fame in 1988 .
in recognition of his broadcasting career the city of winnipeg named a street linking canad inns stadium and the former site of winnipeg arena after him .
he is an `` honoured member '' of the manitoba hockey hall of fame .
his son , john wells , worked with him at cky and later became the first football play-by-play man at tsn .
