Frederick E. Betts

rdf:langString Frederick E. Betts

rdf:langString Frederick E. Betts

rdf:langString Frederick E. Betts

rdf:langString Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada

rdf:langString Nova Scotia, Canada

rdf:langString Black and white photograph of Betts in a suit and tie

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rdf:langString Businessman

rdf:langString Frederick Everett Betts (October 17, 1870 – February 23, 1942) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and businessman. He concurrently served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA), the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association, and the Saskatchewan branch of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada during the 1919–20 season. He sought regulations to govern amateur sport in Canada, which he felt was in a state of disrepute due to the lack of discussion and the postponement of meetings during World War I. He supported the reinstatement of former professionals as amateur athletes as favoured in Western Canada, despite the growing rift with delegates from Eastern Canada on the issue. He sought for the Allan Cup trustees to allow the CAHA to have more say into how the national playoffs were operated and argued for receiving an annual percentage of profits from gate receipts to allow the CAHA to govern effectively. Betts rose to sporting prominence as the manager of senior ice hockey in Saskatoon, had established a clubhouse atmosphere to foster clean athletics in the city, and had hustled to get results and revive interest in amateur sport in Saskatchewan. He was named to the Canadian Olympic Association in preparation for the 1920 Summer Olympics, and later managed the Saskatoon Crescents Hockey Club in the Western Canada Hockey League for the 1922–23 season. By the end of his hockey career, Betts was "noted for his genial and philosophical outlook upon life", and skilled as "the most prolific and entertaining author of hockey letters" that were "lengthy, profound, well-worded, interesting and to the point". Betts was the Saskatoon dealer for the Scripps-Booth car and secretary of the Saskatoon Retail Merchants Association. He was hired by the Saskatchewan Motor League as an organizer and established 37 automobile clubs in Northern Saskatchewan within one year. He lobbied the provincial government for improvements to the highway network and succeeded in having uniform traffic signs and mileposts installed in Saskatchewan. He wanted more vehicle owners to install dimmers on headlights, and advocated for enforcement of no-glare laws for driving at night. He sought to increase membership in the motor leagues to fight against the rising cost of vehicle licence fees, and for any fees collected to be set aside for annual maintenance of roads. He was later contracted to organize clubs for the Alberta Motor League after the Saskatchewan Motor League had been the most active provincial league in Canada under his leadership.