Jack Wells

Who was Jack Wells?

John Hampson "Jack" Wells, also known as Cactus Jack, was a Winnipeg-based radio and television broadcaster specializing in sports.

Wells's career began in 1936. While listening to a hockey broadcast on CFQC, Wells boasted he could do a better job than the guy on the mike. Dared by a chum to prove his claim, Jack applied for a job at the station, and was hired.

In 1939, he joined CJAT-FM in Trail, British Columbia as an all-round announcer and play-by-play man for the Trail Smoke Eaters.

In 1941, he got a job as a sports announcer at CJRW in Winnipeg. CJRC provided Wells with his first experience in football broadcasting, and he began calling games for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Jack became a free-lance broadcaster after gaining the exclusive rights to broadcast from Shea's Amphitheatre and Osborne Stadium which, in turn gave him the right to sell time to any one of the Winnipeg stations.

It was during an announcing stint on CKY that Jack acquired his illustrious nickname. When Jack filled in for Porky Charbonneau on his western show, it occurred to Wells that he should have a moniker and adopted "Cactus" and it became one of the most famous in Canadian broadcasting.