Mackinnon excelled in several sports
The late Irving MacKinnon of Charlottetown excelled in many sports, including tennis, baseball, badminton, bowling and snooker.
But it was the game of curling that allowed him to travel extensively to truly “see Canada from the hack,” as noted by John McNeill in his column, The Realm of Sport, in the Summerside Journal Pioneer in 1981.
MacKinnon went away to represent P. E. I. in 19 Canadian curling championships.
MacKinnon started to curl in 1963 at the Charlottetown Curling Club.
He won his first of six P. E. I. senior men’s curling championships in 1972, playing lead for skip Arthur Ballem. Jim Cameron was the third stone and Chris Gallant played second stone.
MacKinnon’s next win came in 1974 as second stone for Dr. Wen Macdonald. John Squarebriggs was at third, and the lead was Ballem.
With Don Hutchinson replacing Ballem at lead, this team won the P. E. I. seniors men’s championship the next two years — 1975 and 1976. They went on to win both the 1975 and 1976 Canadian senior men’s championships.
Recognizing this accomplishment, the team was inducted into the P. E. I. Sports Hall of Fame in 1976.
His next provincial win was in 1980 with the same team, but MacKinnon played lead and Hutchinson played second.
His last provincial senior win was in 1982 as second stone with Dr. Macdonald’s team. Their teammates were Hutchinson at third and Squarebriggs at the lead position.
In postal curling, he represented P. E. I. 10 times at the Canadian postal curling championships, mostly curling with teammates Erroll MacNeill and Phil Perry.
In 1966, he won the Royal Canadian Legion provincial championship playing second for the Ballem team. Other team members were Doug George at third and Art Crockett at lead.
In 1976, MacKinnon skipped his team of third Hutchinson, second Aurel Morais and lead Claude Whitenect to a provincial legion senior men’s title, and went on to win the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Canadian senior’s curling championship in Stettler, Alta., in 1977.
In 1982, Irving won the Royal Canadian Legion provincial championship playing second stone, with skip Lorne Burke, Bill Beer at third and Ivan MacDougall at lead.
MacKinnon also spent time volunteering on the executive of the Charlottetown Curling Club as a director starting in 1969- 70. For the next three years he served as chair of entertainment. He handled all of the bingo draws, which generated a steady income used to help pay off the mortgage for the club.
As well, Irving was a member of the host committee in charge of house and ice for the Canadian senior men’s curling championship in Charlottetown in 1982.