Sam Jacks

Sam Jacks (April 23, 1915 – 1975) was the Canadian inventor of the sport of ringette and floor hockey. He was just completing six years of serving with the Canadian Armed forces when he met Agnes and they were married. They had three sons, Barry, Bruce and Brian. They lived in Toronto and Sam was soon asked to become Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of North Bay. He then invented the sport of ringette because for a long time he saw that females needed a sport to play, a team sport, on the ice.

Each year, Jacks' wife, Agnes, continued to be a strong supporter of the sport, attending Provincial Championships in many of the Provinces and, of course, the Canadian Ringette Championships each April until she died in April 2005

The Sam Jacks Trophy is awarded to the World Champions. The trophy currently resides with Finland.

Ringette is a Canadian sport game which was first introduced in 1963 in North Bay, Ontario by Sam Jacks, who worked at the Department of Parks and Recreation. The first-ever ringette game was played in Espanola, Ontario in the winter of 1963-1964. Developed originally for girls, ringette is a fast-paced team sport played on a hockey rink in which players use a straight stick to pass, carry, and shoot a rubber ring to score goals. Sam Jacks also invented floor hockey. [http://www.ringette.ca/Content/About/Hall%20of%20Fame/Inductees/Sam%20Jacks.asp?langid=1 Ringette Canada - Sam Jacks]