Fanny Rosenfeld

Fanny ("Bobbie") Rosenfeld December 28, 1904, in Dneipropetrovsk, Russia &mdash;November 14, 1969) was a Canadian athlete, who earned a gold medal for the 400 metre relay and a silver medal for the 100 metre at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. She was called the "best Canadian female athlete of the half-century" and a star at basketball, hockey, softball, and tennis. She was named Canada's Female Athlete of the First Half-Century (1900-1950). She also was called Bobbie for her "bobbed" haircut. The Bobbie Rosenfeld Award is named in her honour.

Early life
Rosenfeld and her family relocated to Toronto in 1922. For leisure, she joined the Y.W.H.A. and was a center for their basketball team. That year, they won both the Toronto and Ontario championships. Her legend would grow in 1923 at a picnic in Beaverton. She entered a 100 yard dash and defeated the Canadian champion, Rosa Grosse. Later that year, she competed in a track meet at the Canadian National Exhibition.

Athletic career
In the spring of 1939, Rosenfeld was the manager of Langley’s Lakesides softball team. The team played an exhibition game in front of 14,000 fans at Madison Square Garden.

Hockey
Rosenfeld was a hockey player in the 1920’s and was dubbed superwoman of ladies' hockey. During the 1920’s and 30’s, she was one of Canada’s most famous female hockey players. Rosenfeld was a centre on the 1927 and '29 Ontario champion Toronto Patterson Pats. The Pats were part of the North Toronto Ladies' City League. Rosenfeld helped form the Ladies Ontario Hockey Associaton in 1924. Rosenfeld was president of the LOHA from 1934 to 1939. By late 1936, Rosenfeld was not only the LOHA president, but served as the secretary and the treasurer. She was considered the most outstanding women’s hockey player in all of Ontario during 1931-32.

Olympics
During the Olympic trials for the 1928 Games, Rosenfeld set numerous Canadian track and field records. These records included the running broad jump, standing broad jump and the discus. Her time in the 100 metres was four-fifths of a second slower than the world record at that time. She would go on to compete in the 1928 Summer Olympics and claim a gold medal in the 4x100 relay. In the 100 yard dash, Rosenfeld earned a silver medal.

Retirement
Rosenfeld developed arthritis, and the condition forced her to stop competing in 1933. Although she spent time as a coach in track and softball, she would turn her attention to journalism. In 1937, Rosenfeld penned the “Sports Reel” for the Globe and Mail newspaper. In 1949, she was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

Awards and honors

 * 1924 - Toronto grass-courts tennis championship title
 * Five 1st place and two 2nd place titles at Ontario Ladies’ Track and Field Championships
 * World record (since broken), 100yd. dash (11.0 seconds)
 * 1931 - Leading home run hitter in softball league
 * 1931-32 - Most outstanding woman hockey player in Ontario
 * Canada's Female Athlete of the First Half-Century (1900-1950)