One of Canada's great sprinters was a Canadian sprint champion and 1936 Olympian while a student at UBC. Pillar of strength on UBC's track team as well as outstanding Thunderbird rugby player leading the team in scoring.
In September 1935, the Ubyssey announced "It looks like a big season for the boys who cavort over the cinders, fly into sawdust pits and toss various weights about. For none other than Howie McPhee, ace sprinter and Olympic Games hope, has enrolled." With much optimism, the UBC men's track team coached by Percy Williams opened its season introducing its new star recruit, Vancouver, BC's Lord Byng High School grad, Howie McPhee. So much confidence was placed in McPhee that two weeks after school opened, the "classy sprinter of Empire Schoolboy fame" was elected captain of Varsity's 35/36 track team.
The Blue and Gold won its first track meet of the year with McPhee giving an "exhibit of smooth and effortless sprinting...his two wins in the 100 and 220 were gained with ease." At a meet in Victoria, BC, McPhee was the high individual scorer for UBC, showing well in the hurdles, sprints and mile relay. UBC capped off a successful track season by winning the New Westminster indoor meet with McPhee the meet's aggregate champion.
At the Canadian Olympic trials in Montreal in July of '36, McPhee, coached by Bob Granger, was the star of the show. Described by the press at this meet as the "quiet spoken, beautifully muscled Vancouver boy - the next Percy Williams," McPhee proceeded to set three Canadian records at this two day event. Later, at a pre Olympic meet in Vancouver, McPhee equalled the Olympic record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.3 seconds. He also recorded a 9.6 clocking for the 100 yards, one of the fastest times in the world and a UBC record that stands to this day!
Although McPhee had aroused the hopes of Canadians for a major Olympic victory for Canada, he finished out of the medals in the 100 meters in Berlin, the race won by the great Jessie Owens. McPhee was, however, on Canada's 4 x 100 meter relay team that made the Olympic finals, finishing fifth.
In September 1936, UBC rugby coach A.B. Dobbie was looking toward sprint star and former Rowing Club rugby player, Howie McPhee, to help fill some of the gaps left in his team through graduation. The popular McPhee proceeded to add a new dimension to a Thunderbird rugby team already dubbed the "wonder team ". According to the Ubyssey, "Howie's flying feet were a big aid to the fleety three line". In a UBC win against the powerful Vancouver Reps, McPhee ran 70 yards for a score by "...driving, diving and mowing through the pack on a slippery, soaking turf and once in the clear no one got within half a block of the fleetest of humans around these parts..."
In 37/38 McPhee continued his starring role in the two UBC sports, rugby and track. The "Ubyssey" was following closely; "McPhee leads Dobbiemen to win over Rowers 11-3, Sprinter Sparkplug in Flashy Game", as he worked with the likes of Carey, Bird, Mattu, Leggat and Tremblay. "McPhee, Carey, Bird Shine in Classic Display", as Howie recorded an inspiring 102 yard run for a try against the Reps, leading UBC to victory and the 37/38 McKechnie Cup. McPhee finished the season as top scorer on the team (all on trys, teammate Dave Carey was the kicker), his 13 tries being more than three times as many as his nearest teammate.
With track, whose season coincided with rugby, he was one of four UBC track athletes selected to participate in a Western Canada Intercollegiate meet in Saskatoon. At a local meet, he led UBC to victory with triumphs in the 100 yard dash and the broad jump.
McPhee returned to Thunderbird rugby in 38/39 and 39/40 using his peerless speed to again be UBC's scoring and tackling standout, scoring at better than a try per game clip. His UBC athletic career was highlighted early in '40 when he was honoured with the Bobby Gaul Award as he best exemplified the special athletic and personal qualities of the late UBC "legend".
Howie McPhee graduated from UBC in 1940, taking a teaching position at Grand Forks, B.C.
In track, McPhee was only the second UBC undergraduate student to appear in the Olympics. His 100 meter personal best still stands as an unofficial UBC record after over 80 years! As a four year veteran on the rugby squad, he was regarded by contemporaries as one of the best Thunderbird rugby players to wear the Blue and Gold. All UBC was proud of this popular athlete, especially since this world-recognized sprinter was very much a part of campus life and campus athletics.
It was November 22, 1940, just months after his graduation, that a picture of McPhee appeared in the Ubyssey with the single line; "University grad reported ill."
Two weeks later the front page of the Ubyssey was dominated by the words, "Howie McPhee: Athlete and Scholar." The sincere friendship and smiling presence of Howie McPhee would never more grace the campus as the popular grad had quickly succumbed to what was thought to be a brain anneurism. He would be missed by his friends as well as the youngsters he helped both in institutions and youth groups, but most of all he would be missed by his family and his new bride Lillian. To them, "...we grieve with you the loss of a sportsman and gentleman whose memory will never die in the annals of our Alma Mater."
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
