Athletic Lives of Distinction - M - Z
S - Z
Zimmerman, Adam ’44 - Football
Combine belief in the power of sport, business savvy and a commitment to philanthropy and just watch what happens. Adam played on Ridley’s First Hockey and Football teams, before going on to study at the Royal Canadian Naval College—where he rose in rank to Lieutenant and served for six years in the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve. He enrolled at the University of Toronto, where he earned a degree in philosophy and played football for the Varsity Blues.
Upon graduation, Adam turned down an invitation to try out for the Toronto Argonauts. Instead, he embarked on a successful business career, never forgetting to give back to society. In keeping with Ridley’s motto, Terar Dum Prosim, he served on over 40 private and public sector boards throughout his career, including Roy Thomson Hall, the University of Toronto, the Hospital for Sick Children, and the World Wildlife Fund.
And if you’re a current fan of the Varsity Blues football team, you have Adam to thank. Until he stepped in during the early 1990s, U of T was seriously considering pulling the plug on their football programme, but Adamused his business expertise and advocacy skills to keep football alive. He founded ‘Friends of Football,’ a group which offered moral and financial support to the team, buoying both spirits and results. In 1993, the Varsity Blues won the Vanier Cup, and the programme lives on to this day.
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.
