Johnny Fripp

Johnny Fripp was born on February 11, 1921, in Ottawa, Ontario. He attended high school at Lisgar Collegiate Institute, before transferring to Glebe Collegiate.[1] He skipped college to play football in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) for the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Fripp started skiing at the age of 6, and won multiple tournaments as a youth. In 1938, at the age of 17, he won the Journal Trophy at the Gatineau Ski Zone Championships. However, he was ineligible to win the trophy as he was too young, and it was awarded to someone else.[2]

After not being able to compete at the Dominion Championships due to his age, he went to Lake Placid in New York to test his skills against Americans at the Eastern Olympic try-outs. He finished third place in tryouts in both downhill and Slalom events, being beaten by national champion Dick Durrance.[2]

Fripp again won the Journal Trophy one year later, and also placed second in the Quebec Kandahar combined race, earning first place honors in downhill. He was champion of the Kandahar race in 1940, and won the Eastern Canadian Championships with first place in both downhill and slalom events.[2]

He competed against American and Austrian professionals later that year in Sun Valley, Idaho, placing 16th out of 80 competitors. He also in 1940 was named an assistant professional ski instructor at Mont Tremblant.[2]

His sports career was interrupted in 1942 by World War II, when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was a member of the air force skiing team and won an event at Mount Baldy Ski Area, recording the fastest time ever recorded by a Canadian skier. After returning from the war, Fripp won again the Quebec Kandahar race. He also won the Alta Cup competition in Alta, Utah.[2]

He retired shortly afterwards, but returned in 1951 and won his third Quebec Kandahar tournament. He won the Canadian Open Class Downhill Championships in 1953, and was Canada's top entrant to the 1954 Ryan Cup.[2]

He was appointed coach of the Canadian Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) men's team in 1958, while they competed in Bad Gastein. He also served as director of the Canadian Amateur Ski Association in 1957, and was a member of the International Competetion Committee in 1958. He retired in 1960.[2]

Fripp skipped college in 1941 to play football for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU). He played the flying wing position. He made his debut on September 27, in a 18–5 win over a Montreal team. An article in The Montreal Gazette said, "Johnny Fripp, one of Canada's greatest skiers and last year's one man football team at Glebe Collegiate, was shoved into the battle as a momentary replacement for Andy Tommy in the second quarter."[3] After being put in, he was immediately given the ball on a short end play and "made yards".[3] His rushes were described as "bull-like" by The Montreal Gazette.[3] He made a "fine debut", according to The Ottawa Journal.[4]

Controversy arose after the game, when Montreal Star writer Baz O'Meara claimed he was ineligible to play due to his skiing career.[5] James P. McCaffrey, league president, declined to comment on Fripp.[6]

Fripp remained in the league, and scored his first touchdown in a 24–6 win over the Toronto Argonauts on October 25.[7] He was out of the league in 1942, when they suspended due to World War II. He returned to football the following year, playing on the Lachine Fliers military service team.[8] After then spending another year out of football, Fripp played for the Montreal Hornets of the IRFU in 1945.

He re-joined the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1946, appearing in eleven games. He returned to the team in 1947,[9] but left before the season start for the Ottawa Trojans of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU).[10] He played one season with the Trojans, appearing in seven games, before retiring from football.[1]

His father, Herbert, founded a real estate and insurance firm in 1923, H. D. Fripp & Son Ltd., and Johnny Fripp took over in 1950.[11]

He was inducted into the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame in 1988, and one year later was an inductee to the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame.[2][12]

Fripp celebrated his 100th birthday on February 11, 2021.[11] He is the oldest former Ottawa Rough Rider, and believed to be the oldest former Canadian football player.[13]