A product of Canada’s amply successful junior football program, the CJFL, with the Vancouver Blue Bombers, Ron Docherty, born September 1937 in Vancouver, made a name for himself as one of the fathers of junior football development in BC. A graduate of King Edward High School, Vancouver’s first secondary school, known for the quality of athletes it produced, Docherty excelled at football. After graduating high school in 1958, the one-time Seagram’s sales manager studied at Vancouver Vocational Institute of Technology while still playing football in the junior program. It was there that he developed an appreciation for the dedication of the Canada and BC’s junior football programs.
After living in the USA from 1959 to early 1961, Docherty returned to Canadaand worked in the engineering field before taking a job with Seagram’s Distillery and retiring as BC’s national sales manager in 1993. During the early 60s, he coached football for 13 and 14 year olds and developed a love for the operational aspect of the game. While still continuing his career, Docherty took on the role of President of the Bantam League in BC in 1965 and was named Man of the Year in BC amateur sports. Docherty was also an official referee at Junior, Juvenile and BC Lions games from 1961 to 1968. From 1972 to 1978, he held the role of Vice Chairman of the BC Junior Football Conference (BCFC) and then named Executive Director followed by Vice President. His final role was as BCFC’s statistician and Western Commissioner. During 1965-75. In 2011, he was honoured at the BC Lions Orange Helmet Awards, an annual banquet honouring individual’s contributions to amateur football in BC, in the pioneer category.
