Reginald Guy Lightfoot
Lightfoot A One-Man Team
Reg Lightfoot made his name in track and field as a student at Wolfville High School in the 1929-1931 period. In 1929, as a sophomore, he was second in the 440 yard run at an interscholastic track meet. At the Maritime Provinces Junior Track and Field Championship in July 1931, he was a virtual one-man team, winning the mile and finishing second in the half mile. He scored eight points, enough to place Wolfville High School sixth among the teams competing. As described in news reports: “the mile run was one of the most exciting events of the day. Sandy Purcell, Antigonish, led all the way to the final 220, with Stewart, Chipman and Lightfoot on his heels in order....Then at the 120 yard mark Lightfoot put on a great spurt and dashed to the front to win by a good 20 yards.” At the Nova Scotia High School Olympiad later that summer, Lightfoot, with schoolmate Arnold Tedford, scored enough points to place Kings County second in the meet. Lightfoot won the mile and half mile and was third in the 440, scoring 17 points. He also played rugby for the Wolfville High School team.
He was also active in Wolfville town sports, playing in several softball leagues during the late 1920s and early 1930s. For instance, during the summer of 1931 he pitched for the Baptists in the church league; his team hotly contested the league title, but lost to the Anglicans.
Lightfoot entered Acadia University and continued to be active in athletics. He was a member of the freshman class football team that beat Horton in the annual “Apple Bowl;” this meant the Horton boys had to buy Gravenstein apples for the other classes. In the spring of his freshman year, he was on Acadia’s varsity track team; he contributed to Acadia’s victory by winning the 880 and was a member of the winning relay team.
(Halifax Herald [11] July 1931; Wolfville Acadian, 16 July 1931, August-September 1931)
