Fun Factoids for the UTS Centennial
factoid n. a brief or trivial item of information (Oxford English Dictionary)
Factoid Archive
The first UTS headmaster was H. J. “Bull” Crawford who also taught classics at the school. Crawford was responsible for most administrative tasks which, until a secretary was hired in 1921, included signing admit slips. (Source: Wikipedia)
J. Scott Malcolm’27, future concert pianist, received his first critical acclaim "as the First Former who got them [UTS boys] an afternoon off by almost burning down the school". He attempted to retrieve his handball – which had fallen in to hole left behind when a pipe was removed - by attaching a pin to end of a ruler in order to stab it. However, the match he was using to light his way in the rescue operation fell in and set fire to papers that were also nestled there. Miss Seldon in the school office called firemen but the smoke was bothersome enough that the boys were let out early. Later, as a pianist, Malcolm teamed with musician Reginald Godden and toured North America and England. He also played in in a four-member ensemble with Alberto Guerroro, Nora Drewett, and Viggo Kihl for a number of performances, including one in the Eaton Auditorium (pictured above ) on May 5, 1932. On the program: the Vivaldi-Bach Concerto for four keyboards and strings.Source: Jack Batten; Canadian Encyclopedia. Picture: Wikipedia Commons
In October 1960, Principal W. B. MacMurray placed an order with Eaton’s of Canada for a walnut display case for the school foyer. The cost was $250. In his proposal, Eaton’s W. D. Tucker wrote: "Upper case has adjustable glass shelf, large centre door, violet cloth back lining, and 2 fluorescent tubular lights concealed in front corners. This would brighten an otherwise dark and heavy corner of the foyer." He also noted that "Bell Telephone Company should replace present ugly stands with 2 new wall type, one for each hallway," and suggested that the walls around the case "be painted a gold colour...instead of heavy brown, as at present." (Pic: above L - Tucker's sketch proposal; R - the display case today).
Bill Naylor `54 and 1964-67, was remembered by his students as the first Phys Ed teacher who laid down a mandatory rule that all boys had to take showers after gym classes.
Pic: Twig, 1979
"Before UTS became co-ed, somebody had to play the lady’s part. So, since I was only 15, my voice hadn’t changed, and I played Lady Macbeth to Mavor Moore’s Macbeth. Among others in the cast were Victor Mason, Don Deacon, Graham Neilson – father of Peter Neilson ‘72 [current UTSAA president - ed.], Ralph Sturgeon, Geoff Dale (one of the three witches), Ira Pollock, Roly Ellison, Tom Fletcher, Ted Despard and others. It strikes me that some of the cast might have become parents of kids who would recognize their father as my son (Dugald ‘72) did."
Bob Cameron ‘38 on the 1936 UTS production of Macbeth.
UTS used the Aura Lee field from the 1920’s until 1968 when the University of Toronto swapped the land for Robert Street field. It sat on what is now Ramsden Park.
This cartoon spread appeared in the the 1942 Twig accompanied by an article on ‘Farm Service Force’ by three IVB students. Don Bark describes threshing inside a steel-roofed barn on a hot day: "I resolved that if the resulting heat was any indication of the state of Satan’s abode, I would turn over a new leaf on the spot. (Since then I have thought better of it)". Derek Bate describes picking peaches late at night and loading them onto a truck which had had two blow-outs on the way there. The farmer doubled their pay for night work and told them to quit early the next day to see a movie. "We were ready to sprinkle tacks along the road before the next truck came." Meanwhile, Roger Morris, after barely making it through a stable door walking side-by-side with a steed concludes that "horses have no consideration for us poor humans."
The UTS building (371 Bloor St. W) was used as a location for significant exterior and interior shots in the 2006 film Take the Lead, but the school was only credited in the DVD director’s commentary. (Source: Wikipedia)
In 1916, UTS student, Edward Booth, whose father donated the Booth Award and Booth Trophy for Cross Country, flew an aeroplane from Camp Borden to land in the field behind Bishop Strachen School to win a dare. Edward was training at Camp Borden for entry into the Royal Flying Core.
(Picture courtesy Bishop Strachan School Museum and Archive).
In the early 1970s, Principal Donald Gutteridge asked art teacher Don Boutros to create the artwork for a UTS informational booklet. Mr Boutros obliged with a stunning series of scratchboard illustrations.
The Science department acquired its first IBM computer in the 1990s, a period when outdated Commodore 64s were still in general use. For comparison's sake, here are some specs:
Then - Commodore 64 (1982-94); CPU: .985 MHz-1.02 MHz ; 64 KB RAM
Now - CPU: Duo Core 2.80 GHz; 2 GB RAM
"W.A. Stickland 1946-1978 set records. One for durability. A missed day for him in his modern languages classroom was such an aberration as to be next to impossible; he went for 23 of his 32 years at the school without a single absent day."
From the Twig, 1973
Brigadier-General Dennis Whitaker ’33 was one of Canada’s most decorated WWII vets. He was twice decorated with a DSO (Distinguished Service Order), and was also made a Commander of the Order of the Crown (Belgium), Officer of the Legion of Honour (France), and Member of Order of Canada (CM). His sports career was equally illustrious beginning with captaincy of the RMC ice hockey and Canadian football teams. He led the Hamilton Tigers in 1938 and was named all-eastern quarterback. He was named to the Canadian Forces Sports Honour Roll and was a national senior squash champion. Under his guidance for 20 years, the Canadian Equestrian Team won two Olympics, 15 Pan-American Games and two World Championship gold medals. He was also chef-de-mission for the 1980 Canadian Olympic Team in Moscow (games which Canada eventually boycotted due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan). He was a founder and member of the Olympic Trust of Canada. In 1990, he was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
James Mavor Moore ’35 was the son of Dora Mavor, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre in the 1930s and 1940s. Mavor Moore graduated from UofT in 1941 and spent World War II as an intelligence officer. He was a pioneer of Canadian television in the 1950s and was the creator of the CBC National News, later known as The National. He created more than 100 plays, documentaries, musicals and librettos for stage, radio and television. From 1970-84, Mavor Moore taught theatre history at York University, and he was the first artist to chair the Canada Council from 1979-83. In 1973 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada - promoted to Companion in 1988 – and in 1999 was appointed to the Order of British Columbia.
Above: Mavor Moore in the Twig, 1935
John Charles Henry Copp was UTS School Captain from 1928-29, and captain of the 1928 UTS football team. On November 3,1933, Copp, by then a popular UofT football star, was shot outside his home. He died on December 3, and the mystery of his murder was never solved. "So great was the grief exhibited by his classmates, fellow students, players from football teams against which Johnny had competed, family friends and ordinary Torontonians, that… university president Dr. Henry Cody [decided] that classes would be cancelled on December 5 and a public funeral held in Convocation Hall. This was the first time someone other than a university official or political figure had been accorded such an honour."(from Mount Pleasant Cemetary: An Illustrated Guide, 2nd Edition).
The Johnny Copp Memorial Trophy, still awarded today, was first awarded at UofT in 1935. Two particularly noteworthy UTS grads were recipients: Fraser "Moose" Mustard as team MVP in 1948 and John Evans as team MVP in 1950. In addition, after Copp’s death, UTS raised $525 of the total $4200, to found a University of Toronto bursary for Fourth Year Medicine.
“A mark of the affection held for Dr. [Tommy] Porter by all his pupils… was shown last May in the presentation of his portrait to the University Schools. When first approached regarding the painting…Dr. Porter stated that he would be better pleased if the money was put into a scholarship… Finally, Mr. Corrigan and Mr. Tory were able to get Dr. Porter to… sit for his portrait on condition that a scholarship be presented to the school… Mr. Corrigan very generously furnished that part of the “agreement” in the form of the Thomas Marshal Porter Scholarship for Mathematics in the Upper School. Thus, on the evening of May 7th, 1929, the staff and pupils of the University Schools... gathered in the Auditorium for the presentation of the portrait... Mr. J.W.L. Forster, the prominent Canadian portrait painter, was the artist. “
From the Twig, 1929
The painting still hangs in the UTS auditorium today.
One of the first UTS admissions ads appeared on page 6 of the Toronto Star on September 10, 1910. The school was championed as “A day school for boys - taught by men” and boasted “Elementary and High School Classes from the Third Book to Honor Matriculation. New buildings with modern equipment. Preparation for College, the Professional Schools, or Business."
Ad reproduced with permission: Torstar Syndication Services
Poet Raymond Souster ’39, was awarded the *Governor General’s Award in 1964 for The Colour of the Times. He worked in a chartered bank from 1939 until his retirement in 1985 and served in R.C.A.F. ground crew from 1941 to 1945, with a brief stint in England. His work first appeared in Unit of Five from Ryerson Press in 1944. He was associate editor of Direction from 1943 to 1946, editor of Contact from 1952 to 1954, and editor of Combustion from 1957 to 1960. He was a founding member and the first President of the League of Canadian Poets.
Source:http://www.toronto.ca/book_awards/2007/uptown-downtown.htm
http://www.poets.ca/linktext/direct/souster.htm
*Two other former UTS students have won Governor General’s Awards... stay tuned!
The Old Boys’ Association was founded in October 1912, with an active membership of 60. The first annual dinner took place on November 27, 1913 at the University Club.
“On October 28 [1920], in the Great Hall, a dinner was held at which there was a record attendance of two hundred and fifty. After a good dinner and a delightful social reunion of old boys and masters, a ballot was taken to elect permanent officers for the ensuing year… It was decided to raise the membership fee to $2.00 which would include a copy of The Annals…”
From The Annals 1918-20
It was during a public speaking competition in the 1920s that UTS grad Jim Chamberlin ‘32 (who went on to design the Avro Arrow and became a space engineer at NASA) first picked up a model airplane. The plane was meant to fly around the room to cap off a classmate’s speech about aviation, but instead it took a nosedive. Looking at the model thoughtfully, Chamberlin bent back the propeller slightly and threw it into the air… it flew.
In the early years, UTS provided on-site bicycle "parking" for almost every boy. At first, the bicycles were kept in long, open sheds. Later they were stored in a space under the stage of the new auditorium, and later still, in two old houses on Spadina Avenue.
Ad from The Twig (student yearbook), 1922
In March 2000, Leah Wahba ’00 and Mark Greenberg ’01 traveled to the UK for the renowned Oxford Debating Union’s Championships. They represented both Canada and UTS – and were only the second Canadian team in the long history of public speakingat Oxford to be invited to the event.
‘The Greatest Jazz Concert in history’ at Massey Hall on May 15, 1953 featured jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Also performing was a Toronto big band, dubbed the CBC Allstars for that performance, whose leader and trumpet soloist was Graham Topping ’44. In addition, one of the concert organizers was Dick Wattam, then president of the Toronto chapter of the New Jazz Society, who spent four years at UTS in the early 1930s.
In September 1910, the school opened with an attendance of 325, of whom 175 were in the Senior, and 150 were in the Junior School. By December 1914, the attendance was 450, of whom 250 were in the Senior, and 200 were in the Junior School.
From The Annals, 1914-16, Volume 2
