Remembering Jack Fairs

Columnist Paul Mayne remembers Jack Fairs, who passed away this week at 98. The legendary London Major and Western Mustang touched the lives of many — as an athlete, a coach, and an educator.

I had the privilege to speak with Jack Fairs on many occasions. And when I say ‘privilege,’ I mean just that. It was an honour and a treat to say that I knew, and perhaps was even friends with, one of the most genuine and self-effacing individuals I have ever met.

Through the wit and storytelling skills Jack possessed, I was given the opportunity to be taken back in time. He’d share the games he caught the stinging fastball of former major leaguer Sal Maglie, as if the game were played the night before. He’d sooner talk about his wonderful teammates and how they made him better before talking of his own athletic prowess. If anyone had the right to be boastful it was Jack. But he never bragged or turned the spotlight on himself because, well, he was Jack.

On Monday morning, at the age of 98, Jack passed away. While he lived a long and glorious life, married to the love of his life, Peigi, for 60 years, it still feels he’s gone too soon.

Born in Toronto, but raised in the small town of Tillsonburg, Jack fell in love early with sports – in particular, baseball. He was a natural born athlete, playing for a senior men’s team at age 14 and leading a semi-pro team to an Ontario Baseball Senior A title just years later.

He’d head to the University of Western Ontario in 1942 to earn a degree in Chemistry, only to return years later, after earning his Physical Education degree from Columbia University. Establishing a long and successful teaching and coaching career at the university, which spanned more than four decades, Jack is recognized as one of the founding fathers of the school’s Physical Education Department.

He would also show his athletic prowess on the ball diamond in the Forest City. A member of the 1948 London Majors, he played a huge role that year in the team taking home the Senior Intercounty Baseball League title, the Canadian Baseball Congress title and the National Baseball Congress Can-Am championship.

Just last Friday, at Labatt Park, that team was honoured at London Majors Alumni Day, a pair of plaques being unveiled at the ballpark commemorating the 1948 team. Less than 48 hours later, Jack, the last surviving member of that legendary squad, had passed too.

I could go on about Jack’s astounding athletic career: His 37 consecutive provincial squash titles as a Western coach, the fact that he’s a member of seven different sports halls of fame – but that’s not what Jack would want.

Remember, he never boasted. He never bragged. He wasn’t about the swagger.

He celebrated others. He guided them. He transformed them. Jack was an outstanding mentor as a teacher and as a coach. He took so much joy from watching others succeed – on and off the field.

He’d say, ‘It was all them,’ ‘They did it themselves,’ or ‘I’m so proud of them.’ No Jack, it was you. You made the difference in the lives of so many.

Knowing Jack was to know somebody who loved life without malice in his heart, without hatred in his thoughts and without any tinge of animosity in dealing with friends and, yes, even strangers. Just ask anyone. They saw it manifest itself every day; through his teaching in the classroom; as an advisor on the court, on the field, on the diamond - and in life.

Jack’s unconditional enthusiasm, of finding the goodness in others, of smiling at you as if you were best friends – well, second-best friend next to Peigi, of course – is the reason I, and so many others, will miss him. He loved life, and we loved him for that exact reason.

Jackie Robinson once said, “A life is not important except the impact it has on other lives.” Well, Jack, if you won’t boast about yourself, I will. Thank you for being you, the true definition of a gentleman. I’m proud to say that I knew Jack Fairs – a great athlete, but an even better person.