The arena that Jack built
Ballantyne was instrumental in getting a second one for Welland
Jack Ballantyne wasn’t one to take “no” for an answer.
It was much more likely Ballantyne would add another word after the “no” and spring into action, using “no problem” as his marching orders.
A case in point of the Welland Sports Wall of Fame inductee’s determination to get the job done was best demonstrated in the early 1960s after Welland city council and architects couldn’t agree on a plan to build a second arena.
Instead of conceding “you can’t fight city hall” and continuing to scramble for limited ice time with other user groups, Ballantyne, the president of the Welland Minor Hockey Association at the time, began criss-crossing Ontario, checking out arenas as part of his job as a sales representative for what was originally the Stokes Rubber Co.
When he came back with a plan — as well as with an architect! — it was city council who wouldn’t give “no” for an answer.
What would be renamed the Jack Ballantyne Memorial Youth Arena following his death at age 74 in 1995 was opened in 1967 as a Centennial project for the city.
“He was really upset about that. He found an architect and a lessexpensive plan and that became the Youth Arena in Welland,” said Karon Morehead, Ballantyne’s daughter and the person who nominated him for induction.
Wayne Redshaw, Welland Tribune sports editor at the time, remembered accompanying Ballantyne on one of his trips scouting arenas.
“Wherever there was an arena, he always went. I remember going with him to Stoney Creek — I think it was one of the rinks in Stoney Creek that had just been built — and he said, ‘That would be perfect for Welland,’ ” he said.
“He made that arena possible,” he added.
Ballantyne died one month shy of his 75th birthday and Redshaw wrote a column suggesting the city rename the Youth Arena in Ballantyne’s memory.
“I thought he was not only an excellent minor hockey coach for the kids, but he was also a good leader. No wonder he was president of Welland minor hockey for a number of years,” Redshaw said. “We called him ‘J.B.’ and he was a good guiding light for Welland minor hockey for years.
“They’ve had some good presidents over the years. I would have to rate him as one of the best. He left his mark in Welland.”
Ballantyne, who will be enshrined posthumously in a ceremony beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Seaway Mall, is being added to the wall as a builder.
However, the graduate of the former Welland High and Vocational School was an accomplished athlete in his own right. In addition to bowling, he played golf, soccer, softball and tennis.
“Tennis was a lifelong passion and, in fact, he was president of the Welland Tennis Club a number of times in the ’40s and ’50s,” Morehead said.
Ballantyne just couldn’t wait to pass along his passion for tennis to his only child.
“I was at the tennis club in my pram, so that became a lifelong thing for me,” quipped Morehead, who was born in 1945.
She also skated and played hockey as a youngster growing up in Welland.
“We lived near Chippawa Park, which had an outdoor pond that froze over in the winter. That was big for me, too,” she said.
Morehead recalled in an interview it didn’t matter to her father if she won or lost her matches on the tennis court.
“Oh, no. He was always very encouraging,” she said.
Ballantyne became involved with the recreation committee in Welland and represented his hometown on the Ontario Select Committee on Youth in the 1960s.
“At that point, he was talked into working with minor hockey and that became a real passion for him,” she said.
After Ballantyne’s involvement with minor hockey, he also began volunteering his time to junior-A and senior-B hockey teams.
“He did a lot of coaching, a lot of managing,” Morehead said.
Ballantyne served junior and senior hockey teams in a managerial capacity, but coached players in minor hockey.
“He was known as quite the coach,” Morehead said.
His daughter recalled a 1948 article in The Tumbling Barrel, a Stokes Rubber in-house publication, which reported that Ballantyne’s team of adults was trailing 9-3 heading into the third period.
“He gave them quite a pep talk and, in the end, the score was 11-10 for his team. From all the things I’ve been reading, he was known as someone who would could deliver an epic pep talk,” his daughter said with a chuckle.
When Ballantyne was coaching minor hockey teams, could Morehead tell if he had won or lost when he came through the door?
“I’m sure there was disappointment if they lost, but they didn’t often lose,” she said.
Morehead recalled that one of Ballantyne’s minor hockey teams won an Ontario championship.
And behind the scenes, Ballantyne was instrumental in helping to bring hockey tournaments to Welland.
“He was always waiting to see that kids were occupied in a positive way and learned all about good team spirit,” Morehead said.
“I think the most important thing for him was that they were together and worked as a unit.”
Though celebrated as a native of Welland, Jack Ballantyne was actually born in Scotland at a “brand-new maternity hospital for difficult pregnancies.”
“His mother went to Scotland and brought him back to his father when he was a couple of months old,” Morehead said.
Seven individuals and three teams are being added to the Welland Sports Wall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.