It doesn’t matter where you come from in Ontario, if you play amateur sports you’ve heard of ‘The Guelph Oaks Sports Club’.
The club got its humble start back in 1968 when Bob Oaks, then President of Oaks Precasting, was approached to sponsor an Industrial League Basketball team. At the time, the graduate of GCVI, had no idea what he had started.
In 1974, the sport of volleyball was added to Oaks stable and the following year the Kossuth Soccer Club came under his wing. In 1977 Oaks was given the Award of Merit by the city for his outstanding dedication to amateur sports, but he wasn’t finished yet.
In 1978 the club really expanded by adding hockey, lacrosse, and track and field to the mix. The final teams, baseball and softball, were added in 1979. Oaks ceased active participation in the club in 1982 but his legacy continues to this day. Few organizations have represented Guelph on a larger scale than the Oaks Sports Club. They have travelled many times to Europe and all over North America carrying our city’s banner. The various teams, like Robert Oaks himself, have been tremendous ambassadors for our city.
Inducted into the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame May 8, 1995
