Maury Mulhern #35, was a true Vancouver boy having been schooled at Little Flower Academy, and Vancouver College (class of 1946).
Maury was one of four football-playing brothers at Vancouver College who also played basketball and baseball. He was the Most Valuable Player in the very first BC High School Basketball Tournament in 1946 won by the Irish. Maury graduated in 1946 and went on to Portland State University to play baseball. His two sons also played football at Vancouver College. The Mulhern family owned and operated the Patricia Hotel and then the Eldorado Hotel a hotel in Vancouver for many years that served as the hub for Vancouver sports teams. Early BCFOA meetings were held there. He retired from the Hotel business in 1989.
He was a gifted basketball player and referee as well. In 1945 he was named the first ever BC Provincial Boys Basketball MVP. He played in a semipro league for the Vancouver Cloverleafs in the 1950s. He then refereed high school and university level basketball throughout the 1960s and 70s. He travelled to Cali, Columbia in 1973 to referee at the Pan Am Games. He was also asked to work at the 1976 Olympics but had to decline due to a conflict with his CFL duties.
People associate Maury with his time as an official and supervisor with the CFL, spending 16 years on the field of play and 10 years behind the scenes. He appeared in numerous playoff games and 5 Grey Cup games.
Maury Mulhern also served the BCFOA in numerous capacities —Educator, Allocator, Mentor, and Evaluator.
Maury was a Vancouver College Hall of Honour Inductee in 1991.
In 2017, Maury was awarded a BC Lions Orange Helmet award in the Pioneer category.
July 14, 1927 – March 26, 2016