Sandy Young was born in New York City and was educated in Pennsylvania and Maryland, but after moving to Nova Scoria in 1970, became a true Bluenoser. A professor at Dalhousie, he wrote Beyond Heroes, a two-volume history of Nova Scotia sport that has become the bible of provincial sport historians. It took Sandy Young to awaken Nova Scotians to their rich sport heritage, to acquaint both youngsters and adults with sport personalities who accomplished great things in sport and to make Nova Scotians proud of their own, and not just the glamourized stars from elsewhere. He was the master wit and the consummate presenter at Hall of Fame Induction Nights starting in 1980 through 2000 when illness forced him to step away. He was the man who refused to ignore the feats of provincial athletes and builders when too many others had forgotten them. Within his peer group, Young was cited for excellence in writing, research, and oratorical skills. He was an inspired speaker and a leader in the association of Canadian sport historians.

In a convocation address to graduates in the Faculty of Health Professions at Dalhousie, Dr Sandy Young offered a challenge, “Spend your life experimenting… and if you stay positive you’ll get better and better”. That advice epitomized Sandy’s approach to life, to sport and to his love of Nova Scotian sport history. Born in New York City in 1938, Sandy grew up in Philadelphia where at various times, he played, coached and taught baseball, basketball, golf, tennis and soccer leading him to choose an academic career in physical education. He earned Master of Arts and PhD degrees from the University of Maryland, then taught at various institutions in New York and Pennsylvania. But the defining moment in his academic career came in 1970 when he accepted a position in Physical Education at Dalhousie. Three words encapsulate Sandy – he loved sport. His mind in sport was as quick as his wit in speaking. He had the gift for competition and part of that gift was his ‘touch’. Sandy’s hands were his energy and his performance skill, a talent carried to his passion for fly-fishing. A lasting image is of Sandy standing in mid-stream, a full fishing garb, rod standing on its handle cradled by the fingers of his left hand, a salmon tailed in his right and that full-bearded, ear-to-ear grin on his affable face. Sandy could neither explain or justify his passion – nor did he try. Like all things and persons in his life, fly-fishing just was, and it was him. He brought his passion for sport to his classroom and his profession. Once in Nova Scotia, Sandy averted his training in American and ancient sport history to research and teach the history of sport in his new home. It became his niche. As he researched the sporting exploits of Nova Scotians, he became absolutely convinced their stories were untold. They were unheralded or overshadowed by incomplete histories of sport in Canada. His professional and personal mission focused on researching, writing and teaching about Nova Scotia’s sport history. 

For Sandy, the most important part of the word history was the ‘story’ part, which he wove and embellished so well. Sandy was an incredibly talented teacher, breathing life into history and sport history. I first saw him at an academic conference in Calgary in 1973. Singlehandedly, he was re-enacting the sounds, emotion, colour, violence and feeling of a part of the Pelopennesian War. Dal students flocked to his classes. He would do anything to make history meaningful. He insisted research papers be no more than five pages, but that students had to present their topic by doing it. Thus, students would re-enact races, events and issues in sport history. Once, over-zealous students staged a cock-fight with live cocks. Sandy ended up in court when the illegal aspects of the activity were reported. Sandy taught as he lived – no pretense, just passion, effervescence and wit. So, too, was there eloquence. He was a stickler for proper grammar. He thought nothing of teasing those who dared to misrepresent it.

Just as he could “trash-talk” on the court in his beloved noon-hour basketball games, equally his humour magnetized you. He saw fun in everything and had an amazing knack for encapsulating events and people with humour. In the classroom, at Canadian and international academic conferences in sport history, or at the annual induction ceremonies at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame, Sandy’s humour was infectious. Coated in jokes, he could rail against “snot-nosed Upper Canadians” in reference to Toronto’s presumed dominance and governance of sport in Canada. He brought normally staid sport historians of the North American Society for Sport History to standing ovations in tribute to his presentations. But it was sport of Nova Scotia he promoted, its athletes, and their prowess, victories, defeats, and heroics. Apropos of the title of his two volume history of sport in Nova Scotia – Beyond Heroes – Sandy went beyond the normal, beyond the mundane to bring the story of sport in Nova Scotia life. No one did it better. Sandy Young experimented with his life. His positive attitude served him in his quest to be better and do better.

Bio Courtesy of Don Morrow