George Hillier – Athlete

Inducted November 6, 1982

George Hillier was probably the best middle and long-distance runner Newfoundland has ever produced.

During his career Hillier, who was born in St. John’s and now resides in Boston, held records in the one mile, three mile, six mile and the 26-mile marathon. He was, at various times, Newfoundland champion in all races from the one mile to the marathon. He also competed successfully in cross-country running, tennis and was no stranger to walking races.

His long distance running career started in the late 1940s and his first victory came in The Evening Telegram 10-mile event in 1950. He won the Telegram 10-mile for 7 successive years and also placed first in the Daily News Marathon in 1951, ’52 and ’53. In the six-mile run Hillier had first-place finishes in 1952, ’53, ’54 and ’55; placed first in the one mile in 1951 and 1953 and was winner of the half-mile competition in 1951.

Hillier also excelled nationally. He was first among the Canadian entries in the 1955 Canadian Marathon at Three Rivers, Quebec, and in 1956 won the Canadian Marathon Championship in Hamilton, Ontario. In the 1954 British Empire Marathon trials, heat exhaustion forced him out of the competition after he held first place for 20 miles. This performance gained him a place on Canada’s national marathon team and at the international level he finished fifth to earn two points for Canada. He moved to Boston in 1955 and continued his marathon running. He was 19th in the 1955 Boston Marathon and placed 25th against an internationally renowned field in 1956.