Alexander Turnbull

Who was Alexander Turnbull?

Alexander "Alex" Thomas Turnbull was a Canadian lacrosse player who competed and won gold in the 1908 Summer Olympics.

He was born in Stratford, Ontario and died in Burnaby, British Columbia. For most of his career, "Dad" Turnbull gained his fame playing in the home and outside home positions - although when he first started playing senior in Ontario, it was as a defensive player. He played his first senior matches in 1884 in Toronto. He bounced around teams in Toronto and Paris, Ontario for six years before landing in Brockville in 1890. He played with Brockville and then Perth until 1894. In 1896 he found himself playing with and assortment of Toronto-based teams: the Elms, West Torontos, and then the Tecumsehs. In the fall of 1897, Turnbull moved to British Columbia - first to Rossland and then onwards to New Westminster where he would launch a 14-season career [spanning from 1897 to 1909, followed by a comeback in 1918] with the Salmonbellies. He played professional lacrosse for New Westminster Salmonbellies in 1909 and 1918, in which he scored 5 goals in 13 matches over those two seasons.