The Canadian Sportsman
Last Call Online
Back To Last Call OnlineFebruary 18, 2010
The latest installment from my weekly Guelph Mercury column…
Nearly lost in the lead-up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics was the death of one of the most prominent harness horse owners and breeders in Canada. Bob Murphy, who lived in the Vancouver area, was the dominant harness owner in BC and, at one time, owned more standardbreds than anyone in the nation. He died on Feb. 8 — four days before the Olympics opened — at the age of 77 after a battle with cancer.
While Murphy’s death made news in harness racing circles, the recent passing of another man with strong ties to the sport, did not.
Former harness driver Don MacDonald, Jr., died Jan. 24 at University Hospital in London at the age of 50. While MacDonald’s accomplishments on the track in his abbreviated career paled in comparison to Murphy’s, MacDonald is believed to be the longest-living heart transplant patient to ever come out of London’s renowned Multi-Organ Transplant Program. Doctors gave MacDonald an extra 25 years of life.
Click on the words “Guelph Mercury” to read the article in its entirety.
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