Richard Henry (Dick) Buckingham

Richard Henry “Dick” Buckingham was an all round athlete who excelled at hockey, football and rugby (1925 Grey Cup), but he made his name in the sport of field lacrosse. After leading Norquay School to three consecutive city school championships, Buckingham toiled in the minor leagues until turning senior at age eighteen. Over the next fourteen years, the all-star defenceman claimed seven provincial lacrosse titles playing for Winnipeg squads such as the Tammy Tigers (1922/24/25/26), the Argonauts (1927) and the Wellingtons (1928/31). He often held the honour of captaincy for these teams.

On the national scene, Buckingham’s Tigers competed for the Mann Cup but lost the Canadian final to the Toronto Westons in 1926. He returned to the finals in 1928, only to lose out to the Ottawa Emmettes. In 1932 box lacrosse was introduced and he played both field lacrosse and its new cousin with the Wellingtons. That same year, Buckingham was named Captain of the Canadian All-Star lacrosse team that competed at the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, as a demonstration sport. He was the only Manitoban (local star Frank Hawkins was born in Ontario) named to an Olympic squad dominated by Ontario and B.C. lacrosse players; and yet he was given the captaincy. R.H. “Dick” Buckingham was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1977.