Doug Peden is widely regarded as the best and greatest athlete to ever come out of British Columbia. By his own admission, versatility was his "strong suit" and he excelled in tennis, basketball, rugby, baseball and cycling. His career highlights date from 1936 when he became the first Canadian ever to score a try against the New Zealand All-Blacks. That same year he won silver at the 1936 Berlin Olympics playing for the Canadian basketball squad. The young Peden showed his prowess early and he was the under-14 B.C. champion and Island champion in tennis. As a 16 year old he played in the 1930's for the powerful Victoria Blue Ribbons and Dominoes basketball teams and helped them to the Canadian championships in 1934 - 1935 and again in 1945 - 1946. Peden won the Canadian cycling sprint championship in 1939 and was a winning, professional cyclist with his brother "Torchy" before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball organization. Peden was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and he just missed, to Lionel Conacher, being named Canada's athlete-of-the-half century in 1950.