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![]() ![]() James 'Big Jim' Pendergast was Kensington's version of the rugged individualist, a man who tasted life to the full through sports and adventure. Born in 1879, he completed school at Kensington and went on to Prince of Wales College, where he tested his mettle on the football gridiron. After graduation, Pendergast taught school for a few years on the Island, but the thrill-seeker in him soon got the upper hand and he packed his bags to head off in search of new sights. He moved to Boston and found work as a
motorman on the Boston Elevated Railway, a job whose hard
physical labour was well suited to his brawny 6' 4",
225 pound frame. His strength began to attract attention
not only on the jobsite, but also in local
track-and-field competitions. At a field day sponsored by
his railway company, Big Jim almost swept the events.
Encouraged by this success, he began to train more
seriously in local gyms. Then in 1904, at Madison Square
Gardens
In 1911, after his brother had passed away, Pendergast finally returned home from his wanderings across the continent, and settled down in Kensington to help his father on the farm. When he could not find enough excitement on the Island, he seemed determined to make some himself. In 1912, he became partners with John MacKinnon and Jim MacDonald in the development of the New Annan race track. The annual races at the track soon became the most action-packed day of the year, thanks in no small part to the boundless energy Pendergast devoted to the contest. Still an imposing figure, he helped serve as crowd control at his own event, where sometimes the spirits flowed as fast as the horses. If someone looked ready to start a commotion, the perpetrator would soon feel a heavy hand clamp upon his shoulder. Not many wanted to be personally involved in determining how far the former world champion could still throw.
Knowing that his days of participation were over, he shifted his involvements in the world of sports to the organizational side. One of his most lasting accomplishments was the organizing of a 9 mile marathon swim between Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick and Borden , P. E. I.-- the same route taken by the ferry crossing. The first Northumberland Strait Swim in 1963 attracted athletes from across the Maritimes, and by the following year, it drew internationally-known swimmers from as far away as Holland, Egypt, and Britain. In 1963, Pendergast was voted Islander of the Year for founding such a prestigious event, and for devoting his life to building the community through sport. More accolades followed in 1972, with a richly-deserved induction into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame. This Hall of Fame ceremony, which took place in his ninetieth year, was the last public function which the sports star ever attended. Pendergast passed away on January 25, 1975 at the age of ninety five, after a life which could not have been more active or full. Immediately after the funeral, a memorial scholarship fund was established, which grants annual scholarships to a girl and boy graduating from Kensington High School. While Kensington may never produce another world-record holder, Big Jim's legacy of athletic excellence lives on. Hockey | Rinks | Horse Racing | Semple family | Recreation |