Category: Athlete
Degree: B.A. (1929), B.Ed. (1930), M.Ed. (1935)
Balfour Kirkpatrick, a graudate of Bedford Road Collegiate in Saskatoon, enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan (B.A., 1923; B.Ed., 1930; M.Ed., 1935) in 1926.
Under the tutelage of coach Joe Griffiths, Balfour became one of Saskatchewan's premier track & field athletes as a thrower and jumper. He held provincial records in the 1930s in high jump and shot put. In the first ever Canadian championships, in 1938 at Griffiths Stadium, Balfour finished second in high jump and third in three throwing events.
Balfour, who was 6-3, developed his basketball skills in the "ham and egg league" that Griffiths introduced on campus in 1924for raw recruits, progressed to interfaculty competition and eventually earned a starting position on the Huskies. He played on the Saskatoon Grads, who won the provincial senior men's title in 1939-40.
A late bloomer in tennis, Balfour was a member of the Huskies team in 1934 and in 1937 captured the provincial men's singles title.
Balfour went on to serve as director of the Saskatchewan Recreation Movement and laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association.
Balfour was later the dean of the College of Education at the U of S.
He was named Saskatoon Kinsmen Sportsman of the Year in 1983 and was inducted as a builder into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990.
