Schmon, Robert '42 - Hockey

Robert Schmon from the Class of 1942 made a name for himself as a spectacularly successful football player, described in 1941’s ACTA as “one of the best all-around halfbacks the school has ever had.” He was also a vital member of Ridley’s successful hockey and cricket teams. During the annual Track and Field Sports Day in 1942, he was named Senior Champion, turning in brilliant efforts in all events he entered. He moved on to Princeton University where he played varsity football and hockey. However, he was deprived of the opportunity to develop, at the college level, the enormous potential he had shown at Ridley. He left Princeton to join the RCAF, returning to graduate mid-year in 1948. That he so willingly transferred his considerable abilities in service of such a worthy global cause, is something to be celebrated and for which we remain grateful.

During the 1941 Little Big Four championship football game, he noticed TCS has shifted their defense just before the snap, leaving only one defender. It was an enormous risk, but he decided to run for the first down rather than punt, thinking: “I always felt if it was just one guy I had to beat, I could do it.” His choice (and hustle) would lead to the winning touchdown.

P.O. Box 3013, 2 Ridley Road St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 7C3 Canada 905 684 1889

With more than 700 students from 60 countries, the largest boarding programme in Ontario and the third largest in Canada, Ridley College is a truly international, co-educational, day and boarding school of the world that prepares students for the world. It has provided enriching learning and life-shaping experiences focused on the arts, academics, and athletics since 1889. Ridley’s Lower School offers JK-Grade 8, its Upper School consists of Grade 9-PG, and Ridley graduates attend some of the top universities and colleges around the world. Ridley is the only co-ed independent boarding school in Canada and one of only three in North America authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum programme.