But for a degenerative bone condition when he was a youngster, Jack Shrubb might have had a professional career in baseball or basketball, his daughter says.

Shrubb, who died in Niagara-on-the-Lake last week at age 79 after a long battle with brain cancer, was a talented athlete from a young age, excelling at any sport he tried, his daughter Mary D'Allesandro said in an interview.

As a youngster, though, he developed a bone condition that led to a long stay at Sick Kids hospital, alone and away from his family in Chatham. Doctors used pioneering bone graft surgery to save young Jack's leg, leaving him with a scar from his hip to his calf.

He didn't allow his close call to deter him and continued to play the sports he loved, especially baseball.

It was the 1950s and “I really do believe that he would have had a life as a professional athlete, as a basketball or baseball player,” D'Allesandro said.

When she once asked her dad if big league sports teams had ever recruited him, he said there had been some interest but, he told her, “when they found out about my leg, I couldn't take it to the next level.”

But he did have a memorable brush with fame. In Chatham, he played on a team with future major league Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins. Except Shrubb was the star pitcher and Jenkins played first base.

He eventually turned to golf and became a true student of the game – and was a fixture at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club after retiring from a career in marketing and sales in the Toronto area.

Shrubb loved encouraging and teaching children sports, but emphasized “it has to be fun,” D'Allesandro said.

At the NOTL club, pros Billy Simkin and Ricky Watson noted Shrubb developed and led the junior golf program for years.

“Jack was always around chipping, putting and practising, often with his grandsons Daniel and Luca, whom he loved so much,” Simkin said.

And he was out every Sunday during the summer to lead the juniors. His tutoring helped develop some excellent young players, including his grandsons, who both won junior titles at the club.

The one youngster he wasn't able to “indoctrinate” into golf was his granddaughter Natalie. He recognized she was a natural athlete, but Shrubb couldn't convince her to take up the game, D'Allesandro said. Riding in the cart was enough.

Natalie is an elite level junior figure skater, who has represented Canada around the world in ice dance competitions many times and her grandfather was immensely proud of her accomplishments.

Born in Hamilton, Jack grew up in both Chatham and Peterborough. His father became police chief in Peterborough and Shrubb would often say that ensured he and his brother Wayne would always steer clear of trouble.

Jack and Jane were married in 1967, after meeting at a Ryerson/St. Michael’s Nursing School dance. A few years after Mary was born, they had a second daughter, Sarah, a former triathlete.

After moving to NOTL, he became active as a volunteer and was honoured by the town in 2015 for his work in sports and recreation.

His many golf buddies at the NOTL club recall him as a humble, gentle man.

“He was always asking about my granddaughter even though he never got to meet her,” said Norm Arsenault.

“He was the first person, along with his brother Wayne, that I played golf with when I moved here and we remained friends ever since.”

Dow Wright said, “His love of life and golf was always evident, and there was always a sunny optimism toward imminent improvement till the last day I ever played with him. Never defeated and never complained.”

A private visitation has been held and the family plans to hold a celebration of his life at the golf club this spring.