Induction Year
1993
Sport
Hockey
Category
Builder
This Inductee is also in the
BC Sports Hall of Fame.
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Highlights:
UBC's most successful hockey coach, guiding the Thunderbirds to a UBC record 214 victories. Director of UBC Athletics for 12 years, was responsible for fostering athletic exchanges between UBC and Asian countries. General Manager of Canada's 1964 Olympic hockey team based at UBC.
Bob Hindmarch, a Nanaimo, BC native entering UBC in 1948, was set to embark upon a career in UBC athletics that would cover well over 50 years. He was involved as an athlete, coach, educator and director of UBC's athletic programs.
In 1948/49 and 49/50 Bob was one of the top scorers on the UBC Chiefs Senior 'A' basketball team, competing in one of the toughest Senior leagues in Canada. In 1950/51 Hindmarch was again a stalwart on the UBC Chiefs as well as the Thunderbird basketball team competing in the U.S. Evergreen Conference. At the same time he was lining up for his first season with the 'Birds football team and in the spring of 1950 was the catcher for UBC's very first baseball team, this his third campus sport. One of Hindmarch's more memorable UBC baseball experiences was a tense 1-0 9th inning loss to the Washington Huskies in a game played at Vancouver's Athletic Park.
In 1951/52 Hindmarch returned for his second season with the Thunderbird football team, one of the bright spots for coach "Jelly" Anderson. As an offensive end he “…was all hands, catching every pass thrown near him." At the end of the '52 season, Hindmarch was presented the Dr. Gordon Burke Award, which was given to the football player who best combined playing ability with inspirational leadership.
Bob returned in 52/53 as co-captain and highly regarded two-way player for the UBC football team. According to Ubyssey sports reporter Allan Fotheringham, "Bobby... is probably the most versatile athlete on the campus." At the conclusion of this football season, the Ubyssey selected Bob as the team's outstanding player. Not only did he play a steady game offensively and defensively but he '…was an inspiration to his teammates on and off the field."
Hindmarch completed his five-year UBC athletic career by being awarded the Bobby Gaul Award for 1953 as UBC's outstanding athlete in performance, leadership and sportsmanship. His career encompassed three years of Thunderbird football, two years of baseball, two years with the Chiefs basketball team and parts of two years with the Thunderbird basketball team.
After graduating from UBC in 1953 with a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education, Hindmarch taught and coached for two years at Duke of Connaught High School in New Westminster, BC. He returned to UBC in the Fall of 1955 as an instructor and assistant football coach to the newly hired Frank Gnup. For ten seasons Hindmarch assisted Gnup on the football field in addition to spending time coaching Thunderbird basketball and baseball. Moreover, from 1955 through to the end of the 1950s, a busy decade in UBC sports, Bob was the Director of UBC's intramural program. Bob was also the organizer of the UBC Sports Camp, Hockey School and Soccer School in 1964.
Hindmarch completed his Master of Science degree at the University of Oregon in 1959 and was appointed assistant professor of Physical Education at UBC in 1961. He achieved his Doctorate in Education at Oregon in 1962 and became a full professor at UBC in 1974. Between 1974 and 1980 Hindmarch taught at UBC's School of Physical Education and Recreation.
In 1963, when UBC was established as the base for Canada's Olympic hockey team for the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics, Dr. Hindmarch was appointed the General Manager and Assistant Coach of the Olympic team, coached by Rev. Father David Bauer. Hindmarch and Canada's team were ultimately awarded a bronze medal for their third place finish at those '64 Games.
In 1964/65, after working with Father Bauer for three years, Hindmarch embarked upon his own career as a hockey head coach, coaching for twelve seasons the Thunderbird team of the Canada West Conference. Under his guidance the 'Birds recorded only one losing season out of the twelve, won four successive John Owen Memorial trophies and was the Canada West champion in 1971. His 214 victories as coach of the Thunderbird hockey team is by far the most recorded by a UBC hockey coach since the inception of hockey at UBC in 1915/16.
For three decades, starting when he was with the Olympic hockey team, Hindmarch was largely responsible for UBC's friendship with universities and teams in China, Japan, Korea and Europe. UBC's teams, particularly its hockey teams, were leaders and innovators among North American universities with regard to team tours and the exchanging of players, coaches and trainers with these countries. It was due largely to Dr. Hindmarch, with his international standing, his involvement with Olympic games, his work with the British Columbia and Canadian Amateur Hockey Associations and his publications dealing with hockey instruction and coaching techniques, that UBC was, and is, fortunate enough to participate in these international exchanges. This concept has expanded to the point where UBC has set a North American university standard for both travelling to and hosting teams from countries all over the world.
In 1980 Dr. Hindmarch was officially named to succeed RJ "Bus" Phillips as Director of Athletic and Sport Services for UBC. From his position as Director from 1980 until 1992, Hindmarch oversaw the Thunderbird teams, the intramural and recreational sports offered on campus, plus fostered relationships with athletic alumni while championing UBC's athletic history and heritage.
For 16 years Hindmarch was also vice-president of the Canadian Olympic Association and was Chef de Mission for the Canadian team at the 1984 Winter Olympics. His work in the Olympic realm was acknowledged in 2009 when he was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.
Bob was particularly proud when, in 1991, UBC was proclaimed the number one ranking university in the country in terms of success in intercollegiate sports competition. The results of MacLeans magazine's published nation wide survey indicated that in 1990/91, UBC athletics had outdistanced all other Canadian universities in its "pursuit of excellence."
Hindmarch seems to have done it all at UBC- Bobby Gaul winner, campus Mardi Gras King, UBC all-time winningest hockey coach, Professor, Chef de Mission of international events and Director of all things athletic - the man affectionately known as "Dr. Bob."
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
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