A fitting tribute arrived at a fitting time for a legendary Mustang as Western honoured Jack Fairs, naming its squash courts after the legendary coach, who led the men’s team to dozens of Ontario University Athletics championships – some 30 of them in consecutive years.
A ceremony unveiling the Jack Fairs Squash Courts was held Wednesday in the Western Student Recreation Centre, on the eve of Fairs’ 90th birthday, marking also the start of a yearlong celebration of the centennial of Western Athletics.
“Jack’s legacy is beyond far-reaching – it extends beyond the walls of the university. His fingerprints are all over this campus,” said Jim Weese, Dean of Health Sciences, at the event.
Fairs joined Western’s faculty and coaching staff in 1947, after completing a master’s in Physical Education at Columbia University. He quickly established a reputation as a skilled and admirable instructor, coach and mentor, and while he initially split his time between the university’s football and basketball programs, Fairs took over the squash courts in 1962.
One of the top tennis coaches in Canada at the time, Fairs needed only two years to lead the squash team to its first championship during his tenure. In the 1970s his coaching prowess came through: beginning in 1970-71, he led the program to nine out of a possible 10 OUA championships in the decade and in 1977, he began a long tradition of success in North America, helping the team claim its first U.S. intercollegiate squash title and place second at the U.S. National Team Championship.
Fairs’ team came back with a vengeance in the mid-1980s with an unpredictable winning streak in the 1983-84 season. The three missed opportunities at the beginning of the decade would be his last to this day, with his teams taking home every single OUA Men’s Squash Championship in the 30 seasons since.
“He loves this place so much; it’s really become his second home,” said John Fairs, his son, at yesterday’s dedication. He added the honour is a most fitting tribute and the best possible birthday gift for his father.
“He always had a soft spot for the hard game – pun intended. Morale is high – way to go,” he said as he echoed words Fairs often spoke to his team.
Fairs, feeling unwell, delivered words of gratitude by way of a longtime friend, Bill Salter.
“I am humbled, highly honoured and extremely pleased to have the Rec Central squash courts named in my honour,” he said through Salter.
“I accept it with pride and gratitude not just for myself and family, but for all the players and their level of excellence for the past four decades. To become champions, the teams must be talented. Over the years I’ve been blessed with more than my share of talented players. Coaching success is directly related to talent.”
Phil Mohtadi, one of Fairs’ players and the 1980 Western Male Athlete of the Year, said both Western and its squash teams owe the legendary coach a lasting debt for his tireless efforts and dedication to the sport and the teams.
“There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for his players,” he said.
“I can’t imagine any one person at the university so well known and so well liked, as Jack was back then.”
Therese Quigley, director of Sports and Recreation Services at Western, also presented Fairs with a memory box at the event, giving him and his wife Peg the first centennial Mustang Athletics ring as well.
Fairs is also recognized as one of the founding fathers of Western’s Physical Education Department, which became the Faculty of Kinesiology in 1972.
He is a member of seven different sports halls of fame, including Western’s ‘W’ Club Hall of Fame, the London Sports Hall of Fame and the National Intercollegiate Squash Association Hall of Fame. Fairs is also a three-time member of the Mustangs Football Wall of Champions and received the John McManus award earlier this year as the OUA coach who has exemplified the highest ideals and qualities of sportsmanship and service while coaching university sport.