Albert “Ab” Morton

Albert “Ab” Morton was born in 1914 in Galt (Cambridge) and started his running career in 1934. He became an outstanding long distance runner, competing in many national and international championships.

In 1946, Morton captured the International Championship in Quebec. In 1947 he won the Canadian marathon championship. That same year, Morton won two of three Olympic marathon qualifying races. He was denied a spot on the 1948 Canadian Olympic team based on these wins, but instead was required to run a qualifying 10,000 metre race which he lost, ending the opportunity to join the Olympic team. Morton ran the Boston Marathon on four occasions, twice finishing in fifth place. He retired from competitive running in 1950.

In 1947 Morton was first runner-up in the balloting for the Norton H. Crow Memorial Award, presented to Canada’s amateur athlete of the year since 1932. In 1997, he was inducted into both the City of Cambridge Hall of Fame and the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame.