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Melville Marks "Bobby" Robinson
Born: 1888
Died: 1974
Inducted: 2015
Sport: Athletics
Category: Builder
Biography
Melville Marks (Bobby) Robinson founded the British Empire Games, now known as the Commonwealth Games. Bobby was a sports reporter for the Hamilton Spectator and was the Manager of the Canadian Track and Field team that attended the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, Canada's first-ever co-ed track and field team. The Amsterdam Olympic Games provided Robinson with an opportunity to develop the contacts he would need to sell the concept of holding a British Empire Games in the "spirit of friendly competition". The first British Empire Games were held in Hamilton in 1930.
Bobby’s dream was of an event that would bring together athletes from all countries of the British Empire and enlarge the sport of friendly competition. The values that Bobby stood for, the spirit of friendship, the ideals of goodwill and understanding, and the goal of peace among nations have stood the test of time.
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