While playing UBC basketball between '52 and '56, rewrote virtually every UBC scoring record -- the campus had never seen a player so dominant offensively. An unprecedented three-time Evergreen Conference All-Star and a 1956 Olympian, he continued to star in BC basketball after UBC.
When John McLeod joined the Thunderbird basketball team in 1952, it would be the dawning of a UBC basketball scoring career unparalleled in UBC history to date. McLeod's four year Thunderbird experience saw him rewrite virtually every UBC point scoring record; most points in one season, most career points, best points per game average for season and career, and most points in one game. The 6'6" Commerce student with the radar hook shot led the UBC team in scoring in an amazing 72% of the games he played during his career as a Thunderbird. In an era when UBC played the best competition both Washington state colleges and British Columbia could offer, McLeod, as a scorer, dominated.
John graduated from Vancouver's University Hill High School in 1951 and made the Thunderbird basketball team as a second year student in 1952. After an impressive rookie season in which he averaged 13.5 points per game, he came into his own his second season, 1953/54, hitting for 15.5 points per game. It was this season McLeod was selected to the Evergreen Conference First All-Star team, and in addition led the UBC Thunderbirds to the Western Canada Intercollegiate title with a double victory over the highly touted University of Alberta.
In 1954/55 McLeod continued to dominate, ably supported by guards Barry Drummond and Ed Wild. He scored 386 points this season averaging 17.5 points per game. For the second time he was selected to the First All-Conference team. The Ubyssey described McLeod as "Coach Pomfret's meal ticket" and a typical game would see "the big southpaw rack up 25 points, clear the board at both ends and be the fastest man on the floor".
In McLeod's final season, 1955/56, the Thunderbird captain was often described in glowing terms by the Ubyssey: "As usual, UBC's All-Conference star John McLeod was the high scorer and also the best player on the floor". It was this season that McLeod established a UBC single game point scoring record. In a game against the Central Washington Wildcats January 27,1956, he scored 41 points in a 70-68 victory, erasing Sandy Robertson's old UBC record of 40 points. The 400 fans saw McLeod "…brilliantly vary his attack to meet every defense with which Central unsuccessfully tried to stop him. Big John was also tremendous on defense, in checking, intercepting passes and rebounding." This single game UBC record would be the one that would stand for ten years. McLeod finished the season with a record 627 points, averaging 19.6 points per game. These two marks were UBC standards that would endure well into the next decade. As a result of this dazzling season, McLeod's career point total reached 1481 for an average of 17.2 points per game, both new UBC records. The 17.2 points per game over a career was a record that stood for 16 years while his 1481 career points also endured 16 seasons, finally eclipsed by Ron Thorsen when he completed his career in 1972.
McLeod was selected to the First All-Evergreen Conference team for a third time - an achievement unprecedented in UBC basketball. This distinction was complemented by the honour of being named the 1956 Bobby Gaul Award winner as the campus' foremost athlete in performance, leadership and sportsmanship. Upon completion of his impressive university basketball career, the "popular and modest" Commerce graduate was selected to play for Canada's basketball team at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, one of only two Thunderbirds at that time to achieve the honour, Ed Wild being the other.
Early the following UBC basketball season, the Ubyssey, assessing Thunderbird prospects for the upcoming season stated that even with UBC's big men in top shape"…Coach Pomfret still faces the biggest problem of all- how do you replace a guy like John McLeod?"
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
