The following is an excerpt from Burlington — The Growing Years by Dorothy Turcotte.
Have you ever wondered what M.M. Robinson did to have a secondary school named in his honour?
It’s a very interesting story.
Melville Marks Robinson was a native of Peterborough. Almost everyone knew him as M.M. or Bobby. He left school at 13 and took a job at the Toronto News as an office boy in the circulation department. Later he became assistant sports editor at $8.50 a week.
In 1910 he was hired as sports editor at the Hamilton Spectator at $15 a week, and later became city editor of the paper.
One day in 1927, he was chatting with Howard Crocker who had been director of athletics at the University of Western Ontario.
They were deploring the fact that Canadian runners lacked the competition they needed to develop into top athletes in their fields.
Crocker mentioned the Empire Festival, which had been held in England in 1911.
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Bobby Robinson took up the idea immediately. He began lobbying for the establishment of the British Empire Games, which he wanted to be held in Hamilton.
In 1928, he went to Amsterdam as manager of the Canadian Olympic track and field team, and took the opportunity of selling the idea of the Empire Games abroad.
In order to develop the necessary facilities for such games, Hamilton had to have a stadium and indoor swimming pool.
T.B. McQueston, then chairman of the Hamilton Parks Board, convinced the city council that it would be worthwhile to spend the money needed.
As a result, Civic Stadium and the Municipal Pool were built at a cost of $160,000.
Meanwhile, Bobby Robinson went abroad to approach other countries in the Empire. They were all enthusiastic, except for one. When Robinson met with Lord Derby in England, Derby insisted that the games weren’t practical due to the Depression and lack of funds.
Robinson told him that ”If Britain won’t play with us, we will turn south — to the United States.”
That convinced Lord Derby that Britain should compete. The British Empire Games were held in Hamilton in 1930, and are still being held, although are now called the Commonwealth Games.
The founder of the Games continued to manage the Canadian Olympic and B.E.G. track teams until 1938.
Having left school at an early age, Bobby Robinson knew the value of learning and was a champion of education.
In addition to his numerous sports interests he served for many years on a various school boards.
In 1959 he became the first chairman of the newly-amalgamated City of Burlington’s Board of Education.
In 1959, Bobby Robinson was named Citizen to be Remembered for his contribution to education.
When the new high school opened on Upper Middle Road in September 1963, it was appropriately named M.M.Robinson.
Bobby Robinson died in 1974 at the age of 86.
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The next meeting of the Burlington Historical Society is on Monday (May 10) at 7 p.m. at the Burlington Central Library, 2331 New St.
Stewart Leslie will speak on Hamilton — Panorama of our Past. Admission is free and visitors are invited to bring a friend.
