William Henry Jackson was born May 3, 1861 in Ontario. Will, as he was called, received a formal education and eventually attended the University of Toronto, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts.

In past Whale of a Tales I discussed how soccer played an important part in the sport history and the lifestyle of Prince Albert. I began those columns with a humourous anecdote about an incident when Canadian style football was confused with Scottish style football (soccer).  

The sound of excited little ones greeted my ears as I stepped onto the third floor walking and running track at the Alfred Jenkins Field House. When I looked down at the artificial soccer pitch below me, there were dozens of toddlers happily running and playing. With them were moms and dads and other close family. I had to pause in my exercise walk to stare at this wonderful, moving example of the ‘Circle of Security.’

In the last Whale Of A Tale, I spoke about Bill Kerr, his coming to Canada, his humorous initiation into our Canadian brand of ‘football,’ and the  immense contribution he made to his brand of ‘football – soccer’ here in Prince Albert. Since then, sadly, we have lost Bill to cancer. 

‘They hardly ever kick the ball; why the devil do they call it football?’

Bill Kerr upon arriving in Canada in the middle 1960’s could well have asked that very question.