James Athol Murray (often referred to as Pere Murray) was born January 9, 1892. He attended Laval University studying law and worked for the Toronto World and the Toronto Star as a journalist. Neither his law career nor journalism satisfied and Athol Murray later entered St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto and was ordained as a Catholic Priest in 1918. He was posted to Regina in 1922. While helping Archbishop Mathieu in Regina he formed an athletic club for boys known as the Argos. Upon his appointment to St. Augustine's Parish in Wilcox, Saskatchewan in 1927 Athol Murray began the high school program at the residential elementary school founded in 1920 by the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis. He succeeded in obtaining an official affiliation with the University of Ottawa in 1933 for the school's Arts program, and continuted to promote participation in sports. Athol Murray remained as administrator and teacher of the Arts Program at the school, now known as Notre Dame College, until his death at the age of 83 on December 15, 1975. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1968 by Governer General Mitchener and became Msgr. In the Catholic Church in 1969. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1968 and into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder category posthumously in 1998.

In 1936, a group of Saskatoon business men began a campaign to raise funds to build an artificial ice ring for the City. In 1937 they formed the Saskatoon Arena Limited with L.D. Peterkin as President and R.J. Norman Couch as Managing Secretary. The campaign raised about $50,000 from shareholders subscriptions and $13,000 from the City and the province in the form of relief payments. The Collegiate Board agreed to sell the site in return for a 10 year guarantee of free hockey and skating time for school children. The cornerstone was laid on 18 September and the first game was played on 30 October 1937. The facility was run by Saskatoon Arena Limited until 1956 at which time it was leased by the City. In 1958 the City purchased the rink outright

The 1989 Jeux Canada Games Society Saskatoon Inc. No. 207594 was established to plan, organize, finance, prepare for and manage the 1989 Canada Summer Games, held in Saskatoon from August 13th to August 26th, 1989. The Society was incorporated and registered under the Non-profit Corporations Act (Saskatchewan) on 8 July 1985. The work of the Games Society was accomplished through the coordinated efforts of the following: a Games President and General-Manager; a twenty-one member Board of Directors; a Management Committee consisting of the General-Manager, nine voluntary vice-presidents, and provincial and municipal government representatives which implemented the policies and guidelines of the Multi-Party Agreement of September 19,1986; and nine Games divisions, each headed by a vice-president, which were responsible for the day-to-day planning and operations of specific-interest areas. These divisions were: Administration; Ceremonies and Protocol; Complementary Activities; Facilities; Finance; Friends of the Games; Language Services; Marketing; and Sports. The chief Executive officers of the 1989 Jeux Canada Games were Tony Dagnone, Games President and Brian Hansen, General-Manager. The official bilingual name of the 1989 Canada Summer Games was established as "Jeux Canada Games" (Canada Games Council minutes, June 12-13, 1987). Verbal references to the Games in ceremonies, press releases and articles used the term "Canada Games" in English and "Jeux du Canada" in French. Generally, throughout the records,it is known as the 1989 Jeux Canada Games.The 1989 Jeux Canada Games Society had no predecessors or successor bodies. It worked closely with, but did not form part of the Canada Games Council, a federal governing body overseeing the Canada Games, which establishes eligibility rules,standards of facilities and sports to be included in the Games. The 1989 Jeux Canada Games Foundation Inc., established to administer funds remaining after the 1989 Games,through the distribution of interest accrued from the invested funds to assist in the development of amateur sport in Saskatchewan, is a separate and distinct body from the1989 Jeux Canada Games Society Saskatoon Inc.The 1989 Jeux Canada Games Society Saskatoon Inc. was struck off the Corporations' register on 31 December, 1990.