Caring for injured Gryphon athletes on campus brought Helen Clark and Fred Dunbar together in the early 1970s. A nurse, Helen worked in the student health centre. Fred joined the University in 1969 as the Gryphons athletic trainer. Helen and Fred were married June 21, 1975. Pictured here with their wedding party before the Portico on Johnston Green, the couple are believed to have been the first to hold their wedding reception at the Arboretum Centre, opened in 1974. In 1976, Fred became head of the Toronto Argonauts training staff. He was integral in bringing the CFL team to U of G for its training camps, still ongoing. He died Nov. 18, 2021. On June 12, 2022, an athletic therapy room in the Gryphons football pavilion was named to honour his legacy. Fred was inducted into the Gryphon Hall of Fame as a builder in 1987.
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ON CAMPUS
- William Winegard ended his tenure as U of G president, begun in 1967.
- Macdonald Stewart Hall was built to house what is now the School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management.
- U of G’s Arkell Poultry Research Centre opened.
- The roughly 50-voice U of G touring choir visited Europe with concerts in the Netherlands, Belgium and England.
OFF CAMPUS
- Sony released its Betamax video cassette recording (VCR) system.
- The blockbuster film Jaws was released in June.
- Ex-Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.
- NASA launched the Viking I planetary probe toward Mars.
- Saturday Night Live premiered with comedian George Carlin as the inaugural host.
- The beaver became an official symbol of Canada.