• Bears basketball player winning national recognition and the Block ‘A’ Award.
• Coached men's basketball at U of Saskatchewan, U of Alberta (Calgary campus), and Laurentian University; the first coach of the Calgary Dinosaurs.
• Dean of the College of Physical Education at the University of Saskatchewan (1977-1985).
• Coached the Saskatchewan Wheelchair Basketball Team and served as advisor to the Saskatchewan First Nations Hall of Fame.

A native Albertan, John Dewar spent his youth in small communities throughout the province before moving to Calgary and subsequently to Edmonton where he attended St. Anthony’s College. During the depression the early years of one’s life on the prairies meant that entertainment had to be self-created. Sports were always favourite pastimes. It is not surprising; therefore, that John Dewar developed an abiding love for games of all types. By the time he arrived at St. Anthony’s he was highly motivated in basketball, baseball and hockey. The opportunity to play on the University of Alberta’s outstanding Golden Bears basketball team was part of the lure of the U of A and he enrolled in the new Physical Education degree program in 1951.

During his playing career John emerged as an outstanding team member of the Golden Bears and by his final year he was selected as the team’s co-captain. Canadian basketball was highly competitive during the 1950’s both at the University and the Senior “A” levels. The Bears of John Dewar’s era competed strongly in both divisions. In 1951-1952 they won the Western Canada University title but lost the Canadian championship to a strong University of Western Ontario squad. The next season, playing in the Canadian Amateur Basketball Association championships, John’s bears lost in the finals to the powerful Toronto Tri-Bells. His excellent play and team leadership won for him national recognition and the University’s Big Block Award.

After graduation Dr. Dewar accepted a position as the Physical Education Program Director at Regina’s Scott Collegiate Institute and from 1955-1959 was a teacher, and administrator and a player for the Sr. A Regina Crescents. His team captured three consecutive provincial titles during his tenure as a player. While resident in Saskatchewan, John also played with the Saskatoon Regals Sr. A basketball team but in 1959 Alberta beckoned her native son and John moved to Calgary to assume the position as Supervisor of Physical Education for the Calgary Separate School Board. On several occasions John was drafted by the Sr. A Lethbridge Broders to strengthen their squad for key competitors. John’s playing career, however, was near an end; he was joining the ranks of leading national coaches. From 1960-1961 he was the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan’s Huskies and following a year off the courts to begin a graduate program at Florida State he assumed the head coaching position at the University of Alberta (Calgary Campus – UAC) from 1962-1966. Under his leadership the Dinosaurs emerged as a contender at the national level. Dewar’s Dinosaurs won the silver medal at the 1966 CIAU championships finishing behind the University of Windsor Lancers. In 1966 the University of Calgary was established as an independent academic institution and Dr. Dewar became Dinosaur’s first hand basketball coach at the U of C.

The lure of senior University administration was attractive to many young leaders during the years of rapid growth in the Canadian field of advanced education. From 1967-1969 John filled the role as Director of Physical Education at St. Francis Xavier University. While at St. FC he facilitated the hosting of the 1968 CIAU Basketball Championships in the newly completed Oland centre. In 1969 John and his family packed their belongings once more and moved to Sudbury, Ontario, where he became the Dean of the Division of Physical Education at Laurentian University. In his first year at Laurentian, John also served as the head coach of the Voyageurs basketball team and lead them to an Ontario Intercollegiate Athletic Association (OIAA) championship and a bronze medal at the CIAU championships. Following these successes he was moved into several senior administration positions within the University including those of Associate Dean of Professional Schools, Acting Director of the School of Social Work coupled with the Chief Administrator of the School of Nursing and the Acting Director of the School of Commerce and Administration. At Laurentian he initiated the first Sport Administration degree program in Canada.

Western Canada called Dr. Dewar again and in 1977 he was selected as Dean of the College of Physical Education at the University of Saskatchewan. He continued in this role until 1985. With reduced administrative responsibilities he returned to his first love – basketball. He became a volunteer coach and chief administrator of the Saskatchewan Wheelchair Basketball team (1987-1992) and then the coach/coordinator for the Saskatchewan First Nations basketball team that competed in the North American Indigenous Games (1992-1996). From 1992 to 1998 he served as an advisor to the Saskatchewan First Nations Sports Hall of Fame. His Legacy in these fields lives on today. Upon retirement he was named Professor Emeritus.

As a coach, teacher, sport administrator, builder of sports and physical education programs and as a highly regarded sport historian Dr. John Dewar has left an incredible mark on Canada in many ways. The University of Alberta is proud to add his name to the Sports Wall of Fame.