Frederick Everett Betts (October 17, 1870February 23, 1942) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and businessman. He concurrently served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association, and the Saskatchewan branch of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada during the 1919–20 season. He sought regulations to govern amateur sport in Canada, which he felt was in a state of disrepute due to the lack of discussion and meetings during World War I. He supported the reinstatement of former professionals as amateur athletes as favoured in Western Canada, despite the growing rift with delegates from Eastern Canada on the issue. He sought for the Allan Cup trustees to allow the CAHA to have more say into how the national playoffs were operated and argued for receiving an annual percentage of profits from gate receipts to allow the CAHA to govern effectively.
Betts rose to sporting prominence as the manager of senior ice hockey in Saskatoon, had established a clubhouse atmosphere to foster clean athletics in the city, and had hustled to revive interest in amateur sport in Saskatchewan. He was named to the Canadian Olympic Association in preparation for the 1920 Summer Olympics, and later managed the Saskatoon Crescents Hockey Club in the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1922–23 season. By the end of his hockey career, Betts was "noted for his genial and philosophical outlook upon life", and skilled as "the most prolific and entertaining author of hockey letters" that were "lengthy, profound, well-worded, interesting and to the point".
Betts was the Saskatoon dealer for the Scripps-Booth car, and secretary of the Saskatoon Retail Merchants Association. Hired as an organizer by the Saskatchewan Motor League, he established 37 automobile clubs in Northern Saskatchewan within one year. He lobbied the provincial government for highway improvements and succeeded in having uniform traffic signs and mileposts installed. He wanted more vehicle owners to install dimmers on headlights, and advocated for enforcement of no-glare laws for driving at night. He sought to increase membership in the motor leagues to fight against the rising cost of vehicle licence fees, and for any fees collected to be set aside for annual maintenance of roads. He was later contracted to organize clubs for the Alberta Motor League after the Saskatchewan Motor League had been the most active provincial league in Canada under his leadership.
Early life and family Frederick Everett Betts was born on October 17, 1870, in Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Robert Betts and Eliza Ann Sampson. His father was born in Nova Scotia with English heritage, and his mother was born in the United States. During his younger years, Betts was an athlete who played football, baseball, bicycle racing and track and field sports in the Eastern United States. He was a fan of baseball and attended home games for the Providence Grays and recalled seeing games at the Polo Grounds. His favourite player was Cap Anson, who he felt was one of the game's greatest first basemen.; Betts later settled in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and was married to Harriett B. Betts of Nova Scotia.
Early hockey career
Betts was a recreational ice hockey player in Saskatoon, and served on the executive of the Saskatchewan Hockey League until his resignation in 1916. During the 1913–14 season, he was the secretary-treasurer of the Saskatoon R-Jay senior ice hockey team.
Saskatoon Pilgrims Betts was president of the Saskatoon Pilgrims from 1915 to 1917 season, and attracted record crowds to watch senior hockey under his leadership of the team. He led efforts to establish a clubhouse for the Pilgrims located on the top floor of the Royal Bank Building, which included a gymnasium with exercise equipment, a sitting area and a reading room. In addition to keeping the players in good shape, he wanted the clubhouse atmosphere to foster clean athletics for Saskatoon.
In April 1916, Betts agreed to race a two-person dash to raise funds for the Saskatoon Patriotic Fund during World War I, which the Saskatoon Daily Star stated would be a "great sporting race". His opponent was Roy "Tiny" Luck, a local gun club member and trap shooter who weighed in at , and vowed to win what he called a "fat man's race". Betts weighed in at and promised to embark on a training regimen in the Pilgrims' team room in advance of the race.
The Pilgrims won the northern division of the Saskatchewan Hockey League during the 1915–16 season, and travelled to Winnipeg in the following season to play the Toronto Dentals in a semi-final game for the fourth challenge of the 1917 Allan Cup playoffs. Betts was credited by The Leader for instilling a fighting spirit into the Pilgrims who challenged the Regina Victorias for the league's title, and was lauded by The Saskatoon Phoenix for turning the Pilgrims into "the biggest success of hockey that Saskatoon [had] ever known".
Saskatchewan hockey Betts served as vice-president of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association (SAHA) for the 1917–18 and 1918–19 seasons, and helped co-ordinate junior ice hockey teams in Saskatoon for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. In 1918, Betts and the SAHA approved the establishment of an intermediate level division, and the concept of reinstating former professionals as amateurs who were no longer playing sport for money.
After being inactive during World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAU of C) resumed meeting and governance of amateur sports in Canada. Betts was elected vice-president of the Saskatchewan branch of the AAU of C in December 1918. The branch favoured the principle of soldiers who were professional athletes before the war, could be reinstated as amateurs. The Regina Evening Post credited the SAHA for having revived interest in amateur sport in Saskatchewan, and described Betts as "the original 'ginger kid' of Saskatchewan athletics", one of the "live wires" of the province, and "a hustler ... who gets results [with] few equals".
Betts supported a recommendation for Saskatoon City Council to take over the lease and management of the Crescent Arena, and to provide necessary upgrades for senior and junior hockey teams to play in the provincial league. He reported that the alterations being made by the rink's operator would not provide an ice surface of regulation size and that Saskatoon would be without high level hockey for the season. Betts arranged a schedule for a Saskatoon league instead, without any teams in the provincial leagues.
Amateur hockey president
In March 1919, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) held its first annual meeting since 1915 due to World War I. The SAHA was given the turn to choose the president, and nominated Betts to succeed James T. Sutherland. The CAHA adopted the rules of play used in the Ontario Hockey Association for Allan Cup for senior competition, assumed control of competition for the Memorial Cup and the Abbott Cup for junior competition, and agreed to form an alliance with the Amateur Athletic Union which oversaw ice hockey in the United States.;
Betts was opposed to the continued postponement of the AAU of C annual meeting due to post-war economic reasons. He felt that amateur sport was in a state of disrepute by not discussing the issues, and wanted to see regulations to prevent disagreements. He was opposed to the mingling of professionals and amateurs on the same team, but supported exhibition games where amateur teams played against professional teams. He also supported the reinstatement of professionals as amateurs, but insisted on penalties for athletes who broke amateur eligibility rules.
The first AAU of C annual meeting since 1914, was held at the Château Laurier in Ottawa in September 1919. Betts spoke in favour of a motion by western delegates to allow the reinstatement of former professional athletes as amateurs, despite a growing rift in Canada on the proposal. Eastern delegates were firmly against the motion, and believed that "once a professional, always a professional". A compromise was reached when the AAU of C granted Western Canada branches temporary permission to reinstate professionals as amateurs for the upcoming hockey season, but that such players would be ineligible for the national Allan Cup playoffs.
In November 1919, Betts was elected as president of the SAHA for the 1919–20 season.; He became president of the Saskatchewan branch of the AAU of C in December 1919, was named to the national committee for AAU of C championships, and set a deadline of December 31 for any former professional to apply for reinstatement as an amateur. Betts added another presidency to his responsibilities when chosen to lead the Saskatoon division of the Saskatchewan Intermediate Hockey League for the 1919–20 season.
The SAHA sought the recognition of reinstated professionals in the Allan Cup playoffs, then withdrew from competition when the cup's trustees refused.; Betts resigned as president of the Saskatchewan branch of the AAU of C for personal health and business reasons on March 24, 1920.; The next day, he submitted his resignation as president of the SAHA effective on April 15, and cited health reasons for wanting to reduce his travel.; The Saskatoon Daily Star speculated that the disagreements and the indecision on the SAHA executive contributed to Betts's resignations.
During the 1920 Allan Cup playoffs, Betts expressed concerns that the Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team had violated the rules by participating in both the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union playoffs. At the 1920 general meeting, the CAHA decided that the team was eligible for the Allan Cup. Betts and Allan Cup trustee William Northey formed a committee to discuss the CAHA having more say into how the Allan Cup playoffs were operated.; Betts sought to end the financial struggles of operating the CAHA and to receive adequate financial compensation. He argued that the Allan Cup playoffs were the primary source of income for the CAHA, and that the lack of working capital made it difficult to have meetings and govern effectively. He sought a provision that gave a set percentage of gate receipts to the CAHA annually, as opposed to funds being distributed solely at the discretion of the cup's trustees.
Later hockey career Betts was named to the board of governors for the Canadian Olympic Association which prepared for the 1920 Summer Olympics in Belgium. He was succeeded as president of the CAHA on March 31, 1920, by H. J. Sterling of the Thunder Bay Amateur Hockey Association.
The AAU of C appointed a commission to investigate into the amateur status of hockey players in Canada in May 1921. Betts wrote to the commission and argued to resolved the disputes on amateurism for the sake of the fans, and wanted to see an end to hockey authorities ignoring the regulations if the local team had a chance to win the Allan Cup. Betts was appointed as the western representative to the commission in June 1921, by then CAHA president W. R. Granger who was sympathetic to Betts's cause and wanted to end the differences between east and west. Betts was unable to travel to the commission's meeting in Toronto and recommended another representative from Saskatoon instead.
At the general meeting of the SAHA in November 1921, northern and southern delegates disagreed on how to interpret the constitution, then passed a motion by Betts to divide the SAHA in two pending approval by the CAHA. The SAHA later decided on operating as one association with separate divisions for the north and south. Betts was named to the organizing committee for the north, which formed teams at the intermediate level.
Saskatoon Crescents