Patrick Joseph GALLAGHER (1884-1954)

Born at Moncton, New Brunswick on 23 June 1884, he was the son of Patrick Joseph Gallagher (1847-1926) and Hannah McCann (1851-1919). A dentist by profession, he excelled in athletics as a shortstop and golfer. Educated at the University of St. Joseph, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, he enrolled at Tuft’s College, Boston, in 1904. In Boston, he played baseball and graduated as a dentist in 1907. Before returning to Moncton to practice dentistry, he received offers to play for the Boston Braves and the New York Giants. On his return to Canada, he played semi-professional baseball throughout the Maritimes until 1911 when he came west on the suggestion of a friend.

Gallagher chose Winnipeg as his new home in 1911 and remained there until his death. Once rated as one of Canada’s finest billiard players, he began to play golf seriously in 1922 and was a life member of the St. Charles Country Club where he won several championships.

Active in the region’s sports circle, he was a member and past chairman of the Manitoba Athletic Commission, former member and secretary of the Manitoba Boxing and Wrestling Commission. Involved with the Manitoba Golf Association, he was elected to its council and later served as secretary, honorary secretary, vice-president, president, and chairman of the association’s tournament committee. In 1945, he was awarded a life membership. He also served on the board of governors of the Royal Canadian Golf Association. The Manitoba and the Royal Canadian Golf Associations paid tribute by holding dinners in his honour.

Athlete, Dentist

He married Marie Cecilia Driscoll 26 June 1917 and they had five children: Patricia (1919- 1997, wife of Gerald McKay), Phyllis (1922-2008, wife of George Rayner), George (1927-2005), Louis (1930-2015), and Richard.

He was a member of the Fellowship Club, as well as, past president of the Winnipeg Dental society and the Maritime Provinces Association. He also belonged to the Knights of Columbus where he was a grand knight.

He died at his Winnipeg home, 423 Borebank Street, on 16 March 1954 and was buried in the St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery.

Sources:

  • Reprinted with permission from Manitoba Historical Society and updated.
  • Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
  • “Golf governor” Winnipeg Tribune, 05 October 1948, [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10, page 58]
  • “Long ill, sportsman, dentist dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 March 1954, page 1.
  • Obituary [Patricia Gallagher McKay], The Vancouver Sun, 08 January 1997, page 17.

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