A Tradition Unlike Any Other
By Jade Farhat
Receiving a purple blanket was very meaningful to me, especially since it was the first one given out to an athlete from my sport (baseball). Being presented with this honour meant that not only I, but our team was being recognized by the Western Mustangs community, for performing at a high level over a number of years. For this reason, the purple blanket award will always be one of my proudest accomplishments, because I was able to receive and share that recognition with all of the great ballplayers that came before me.
-Adam Paish, Men’s Baseball, BSc Kinesiology ‘12, PhD Medical Biophysics ‘20
A tradition unique to no other University athletic program, being awarded a Purple Blanket is one of our most superior distinctions. The prestigious and highly coveted Purple Blankets are presented: “to the student athletes, who in the opinion of the Selection Committee, achieved superior distinction at the Provincial/National level of competition as representatives of Western”.
The first Purple Blankets were introduced in the 1939-40 academic year and were first awarded to George Oliphant (football, wrestling), John Loaring (swimming, track and field), Alfred M. Hurley (football and basketball), and Morton Golden (boxing). Shortly after, the Women’s Athletic Association recommended that the rules for awarding athletic merits for men’s sports should also be applied to women’s athletics competing for the university. In 1948 and under this new policy, Doris Shirley (Synchronized Swimming, Basketball, Tennis) became the first woman to be awarded the Purple Blanket.
In 1953, the director of women’s athletics, Jean Carmichael, decided to grant a separate award for women’s athletic achievement thus the White Blanket was introduced. Kay Miles (Swimming, Basketball, Volleyball) would become the first receipient of the White Blanket for the 1953-54 academic year. The last White Blanket was awarded to Mary Riezebos (Basketball, track and field) in 1974 and now both male and female athletes are eligible for Western’s Purple Blankets. The tradition continues to be regarded as a milestone for the recipients and the perfect way to capture their contributions to athletics and Western. Nancy O'Shea (Lemon), Women's Basketball, BA' 84, BEd'85 shares her memory of not only receiving her Purple Blanket, but what it was like to watch the ceremony in her first year:
The Purple Blanket is one of my most prized possessions and I will never forget
receiving mine on the night of the awards ceremony. However, my first memory of
actually seeing the “Purple Blanket” was as a Rookie at my first UWO Awards
ceremony in the Great Hall. I carefully watched only a handful of the most
decorated star athletes from all sports walk across the stage to receive this
beautiful purple coloured blanket with the huge White W on it decorated with
stark white stars and circles. I had never seen such a unique and beautiful
award item given out. I distinctly remember the audience becoming quiet while
all graduating athletes held their breath in hopes their name would be called.
It was at this moment that I quietly said to myself, I WANT ONE OF THOSE. Of
course I never uttered these words to anybody during my athletic career but I
did hold it particularly close to me on the night I received mine.
This year’s Purple Blankets have been honoured virtually and presentations can be found on the Western Mustangs Website. Congratulations to all recipients on this outstanding achievement!
For a full list of Purple Blanket receipients, please check out the Metras Museum.
