“To strengthen the body is to improve the vehicle of almost all our activity, and to strengthen the bodies of the nation is to strengthen the nation."

— Henry Roxborough, Canadian author and supporter of amateur sport, 1925

Founded in 1909, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) was responsible for selecting and organizing Canadian Olympic teams and for soliciting funds for the teams’ support. Although the COC was officially a standing committee of the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAUC) until after the Second World War, it functioned independently under the leadership of its president, Toronto businessman Patrick J. Mulqueen, an amateur sports enthusiast and former Canadian champion rower.

The COC, sometimes referred to in the press as “the good old boys,” operated like an elite club, guarding its control of Canada’s Olympic involvement. COC committee members prided themselves on managing an efficient Olympic organization that championed Canadian participation at the highest levels of international amateur athletic competition.