From www.owensound.library.on.ca/page.php?PageID=175
Most articles available about Red Ryan tell the story as below;
Norman Ryan, who was born in Toronto in 1895 to a working class Irish immigrant family, grew up wild in the city. Caught burglarizing a cigar store when he was only 17, he was sentenced to six year's hard labour in the grim Kingston Penitentiary, then and now, a hard-case prison.
Paroled in September, 1914, Norman had only a few months of freedom before being shipped back to Kingston for his Owen Sound crimes. At 20, he now faced 32 more years behind bars. He was saved by the happenstance of the First World War.
The army needed men, any men, and Ryan grabbed the chance, enlisting in the Princess Pats. Shipped to England, he soon deserted, living by robbing English shops. Captured, he spent time in a military stockade before being released and sent home to an unsuspecting Ontario.
In early 1921, Red Ryan, as he was known for his thatch of ginger hair, got down to work. First, it was a branch of the Bank of Hamilton, then the Union Bank down the street. Moving on to Montreal, Ryan was captured after a shootout at the Bank of Commerce. Back in jail again, he set about forming a gang of bank robbers among the prison's most dangerous inmates.
Two years later, Red Ryan and members of his gang, escaping from prison, went on a crime spree, robbing banks across Canada and down into the United States. The gang's spree ended in deadly gunfire with the Minneapolis police. Wounded, Red Ryan told local reporters "Crime doesn't pay." Now, he was given life imprisonment and lodged seemingly forever at Kingston.
After two years served in solitary, Red Ryan became a model prisoner, impressing his captors with his exemplary behaviour. Norman, it seems, had turned a corner, becoming a poster boy for the prison reform movement, then being led by Grey County's Member of Parliament, Agnes Macphail.
The Red Ryan story attracted the attention of the newspapers and soon, his apparent rehabilitation brought him supporters including Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, major politicians including Agnes Macphail and several major newspapers. Among them was the Toronto Daily Star whose publisher and editor had made a cause célebre out of Red Ryan. The Star sent a young reporter named Ernest Hemingway to Kingston to interview Ryan. Hemingway described the bank robber as a "thick, freckle-faced man whose prison cap could not hide his flaming head."
The campaign to free Ryan was successful and in 1935, he was back on the streets again. For the next ten months, Norman Ryan presented himself in public as an honest spokesman for prison reform, denouncing the criminal lifestyle and his own past errors. Not only did he host a popular radio programme for CFRB, a car dealership in Toronto hired him as a salesman, inviting people to buy a vehicle from the famous Red Ryan.
Ryan became a fan of Toronto wrestling promoter Jock "Corky" Corcoran's shows at Maple Leaf Gardens. According to Lou Marsh, the famous sports editor of the Toronto Daily Star, "The ‘rasslin' bug had bit Red Ryan." On one occasion he was introduced into the ring while a multi-coloured spotlight bathed him in light.
Ryan was also photographed at the Toronto Police Games standing with, among others, the city's chief coroner, a well-respected lawyer, a city alderman, and the official starter of the games. Norman "Red" Ryan, the notorious bandit, had become a model citizen.
Or had he? During the same time that Red was in the spotlight as a rehabilitated criminal, he was leading his gang on a ten-month long armed robbery spree that took them across the province of Ontario. Living a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence, along with gang members Edward McMullen and Harry Checkley, the Ryan mob robbed and murdered.
On Leap Year Day, February 29, 1936, Red and his gang broke into a garage in Markham, attempting to steal a new Chevrolet. As they pulled away with the car, the owner of the garage and his son confronted them only to be shot by gang members.
A local constable pursued them but gave up the chase after 50 rounds were aimed his way. After the garage owner, shot in the head with a sawed-off shotgun died, a large reward was offered for information leading to an arrest. Red denounced the shooting on his radio programme while offering himself to Toronto's Chief Detective as an undercover man to help solve the case.
On May 21, 1936, Red attended a wrestling match in Oshawa, stating during a radio interview that he was planning on moving out west. If Sarnia was west –then indeed Ryan did have plans.
But those plans revolved around the Ryan gang robbing a liquor store in Sarnia three days later. The Toronto Globe headlines told the story: "Red Ryan, Pal, Officer Are Slain: Three Shot Dead in Sarnia Liquor Store Hold-Up." Ironically, the last broadcast of Ryan's programme on CFRB came directly before the news broadcast of his death.
Gang member Edward McMullen tried to flee into the United States but was killed in a gun battle at the Blaine border crossing in British Columbia. Before he died, Ryan coolly shot and killed 33-year old Constable John Lewis, the first policeman to arrive on the scene.
Red Ryan was gunned down with an Ivor Johnson .38 revolver in one hand and a Colt .45 in the other. With a dead policeman lying in front of him, Red's last words were, "I give up."
Most articles available about Red Ryan tell the story as below;
Norman Ryan, who was born in Toronto in 1895 to a working class Irish immigrant family, grew up wild in the city. Caught burglarizing a cigar store when he was only 17, he was sentenced to six year's hard labour in the grim Kingston Penitentiary, then and now, a hard-case prison.
Paroled in September, 1914, Norman had only a few months of freedom before being shipped back to Kingston for his Owen Sound crimes. At 20, he now faced 32 more years behind bars. He was saved by the happenstance of the First World War.
The army needed men, any men, and Ryan grabbed the chance, enlisting in the Princess Pats. Shipped to England, he soon deserted, living by robbing English shops. Captured, he spent time in a military stockade before being released and sent home to an unsuspecting Ontario.
In early 1921, Red Ryan, as he was known for his thatch of ginger hair, got down to work. First, it was a branch of the Bank of Hamilton, then the Union Bank down the street. Moving on to Montreal, Ryan was captured after a shootout at the Bank of Commerce. Back in jail again, he set about forming a gang of bank robbers among the prison's most dangerous inmates.
Two years later, Red Ryan and members of his gang, escaping from prison, went on a crime spree, robbing banks across Canada and down into the United States. The gang's spree ended in deadly gunfire with the Minneapolis police. Wounded, Red Ryan told local reporters "Crime doesn't pay." Now, he was given life imprisonment and lodged seemingly forever at Kingston.
After two years served in solitary, Red Ryan became a model prisoner, impressing his captors with his exemplary behaviour. Norman, it seems, had turned a corner, becoming a poster boy for the prison reform movement, then being led by Grey County's Member of Parliament, Agnes Macphail.
The Red Ryan story attracted the attention of the newspapers and soon, his apparent rehabilitation brought him supporters including Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, major politicians including Agnes Macphail and several major newspapers. Among them was the Toronto Daily Star whose publisher and editor had made a cause célebre out of Red Ryan. The Star sent a young reporter named Ernest Hemingway to Kingston to interview Ryan. Hemingway described the bank robber as a "thick, freckle-faced man whose prison cap could not hide his flaming head."
The campaign to free Ryan was successful and in 1935, he was back on the streets again. For the next ten months, Norman Ryan presented himself in public as an honest spokesman for prison reform, denouncing the criminal lifestyle and his own past errors. Not only did he host a popular radio programme for CFRB, a car dealership in Toronto hired him as a salesman, inviting people to buy a vehicle from the famous Red Ryan.
Ryan became a fan of Toronto wrestling promoter Jock "Corky" Corcoran's shows at Maple Leaf Gardens. According to Lou Marsh, the famous sports editor of the Toronto Daily Star, "The ‘rasslin' bug had bit Red Ryan." On one occasion he was introduced into the ring while a multi-coloured spotlight bathed him in light.
Ryan was also photographed at the Toronto Police Games standing with, among others, the city's chief coroner, a well-respected lawyer, a city alderman, and the official starter of the games. Norman "Red" Ryan, the notorious bandit, had become a model citizen.
Or had he? During the same time that Red was in the spotlight as a rehabilitated criminal, he was leading his gang on a ten-month long armed robbery spree that took them across the province of Ontario. Living a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence, along with gang members Edward McMullen and Harry Checkley, the Ryan mob robbed and murdered.
On Leap Year Day, February 29, 1936, Red and his gang broke into a garage in Markham, attempting to steal a new Chevrolet. As they pulled away with the car, the owner of the garage and his son confronted them only to be shot by gang members.
A local constable pursued them but gave up the chase after 50 rounds were aimed his way. After the garage owner, shot in the head with a sawed-off shotgun died, a large reward was offered for information leading to an arrest. Red denounced the shooting on his radio programme while offering himself to Toronto's Chief Detective as an undercover man to help solve the case.
On May 21, 1936, Red attended a wrestling match in Oshawa, stating during a radio interview that he was planning on moving out west. If Sarnia was west –then indeed Ryan did have plans.
But those plans revolved around the Ryan gang robbing a liquor store in Sarnia three days later. The Toronto Globe headlines told the story: "Red Ryan, Pal, Officer Are Slain: Three Shot Dead in Sarnia Liquor Store Hold-Up." Ironically, the last broadcast of Ryan's programme on CFRB came directly before the news broadcast of his death.
Gang member Edward McMullen tried to flee into the United States but was killed in a gun battle at the Blaine border crossing in British Columbia. Before he died, Ryan coolly shot and killed 33-year old Constable John Lewis, the first policeman to arrive on the scene.
Red Ryan was gunned down with an Ivor Johnson .38 revolver in one hand and a Colt .45 in the other. With a dead policeman lying in front of him, Red's last words were, "I give up."
From www.owensound.library.on.ca/page.php?PageID=175
Most articles available about Red Ryan tell the story as below;
Norman Ryan, who was born in Toronto in 1895 to a working class Irish immigrant family, grew up wild in the city. Caught burglarizing a cigar store when he was only 17, he was sentenced to six year's hard labour in the grim Kingston Penitentiary, then and now, a hard-case prison.
Paroled in September, 1914, Norman had only a few months of freedom before being shipped back to Kingston for his Owen Sound crimes. At 20, he now faced 32 more years behind bars. He was saved by the happenstance of the First World War.
The army needed men, any men, and Ryan grabbed the chance, enlisting in the Princess Pats. Shipped to England, he soon deserted, living by robbing English shops. Captured, he spent time in a military stockade before being released and sent home to an unsuspecting Ontario.
In early 1921, Red Ryan, as he was known for his thatch of ginger hair, got down to work. First, it was a branch of the Bank of Hamilton, then the Union Bank down the street. Moving on to Montreal, Ryan was captured after a shootout at the Bank of Commerce. Back in jail again, he set about forming a gang of bank robbers among the prison's most dangerous inmates.
Two years later, Red Ryan and members of his gang, escaping from prison, went on a crime spree, robbing banks across Canada and down into the United States. The gang's spree ended in deadly gunfire with the Minneapolis police. Wounded, Red Ryan told local reporters "Crime doesn't pay." Now, he was given life imprisonment and lodged seemingly forever at Kingston.
After two years served in solitary, Red Ryan became a model prisoner, impressing his captors with his exemplary behaviour. Norman, it seems, had turned a corner, becoming a poster boy for the prison reform movement, then being led by Grey County's Member of Parliament, Agnes Macphail.
The Red Ryan story attracted the attention of the newspapers and soon, his apparent rehabilitation brought him supporters including Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, major politicians including Agnes Macphail and several major newspapers. Among them was the Toronto Daily Star whose publisher and editor had made a cause célebre out of Red Ryan. The Star sent a young reporter named Ernest Hemingway to Kingston to interview Ryan. Hemingway described the bank robber as a "thick, freckle-faced man whose prison cap could not hide his flaming head."
The campaign to free Ryan was successful and in 1935, he was back on the streets again. For the next ten months, Norman Ryan presented himself in public as an honest spokesman for prison reform, denouncing the criminal lifestyle and his own past errors. Not only did he host a popular radio programme for CFRB, a car dealership in Toronto hired him as a salesman, inviting people to buy a vehicle from the famous Red Ryan.
Ryan became a fan of Toronto wrestling promoter Jock "Corky" Corcoran's shows at Maple Leaf Gardens. According to Lou Marsh, the famous sports editor of the Toronto Daily Star, "The ‘rasslin' bug had bit Red Ryan." On one occasion he was introduced into the ring while a multi-coloured spotlight bathed him in light.
Ryan was also photographed at the Toronto Police Games standing with, among others, the city's chief coroner, a well-respected lawyer, a city alderman, and the official starter of the games. Norman "Red" Ryan, the notorious bandit, had become a model citizen.
Or had he? During the same time that Red was in the spotlight as a rehabilitated criminal, he was leading his gang on a ten-month long armed robbery spree that took them across the province of Ontario. Living a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence, along with gang members Edward McMullen and Harry Checkley, the Ryan mob robbed and murdered.
On Leap Year Day, February 29, 1936, Red and his gang broke into a garage in Markham, attempting to steal a new Chevrolet. As they pulled away with the car, the owner of the garage and his son confronted them only to be shot by gang members.
A local constable pursued them but gave up the chase after 50 rounds were aimed his way. After the garage owner, shot in the head with a sawed-off shotgun died, a large reward was offered for information leading to an arrest. Red denounced the shooting on his radio programme while offering himself to Toronto's Chief Detective as an undercover man to help solve the case.
On May 21, 1936, Red attended a wrestling match in Oshawa, stating during a radio interview that he was planning on moving out west. If Sarnia was west –then indeed Ryan did have plans.
But those plans revolved around the Ryan gang robbing a liquor store in Sarnia three days later. The Toronto Globe headlines told the story: "Red Ryan, Pal, Officer Are Slain: Three Shot Dead in Sarnia Liquor Store Hold-Up." Ironically, the last broadcast of Ryan's programme on CFRB came directly before the news broadcast of his death.
Gang member Edward McMullen tried to flee into the United States but was killed in a gun battle at the Blaine border crossing in British Columbia. Before he died, Ryan coolly shot and killed 33-year old Constable John Lewis, the first policeman to arrive on the scene.
Red Ryan was gunned down with an Ivor Johnson .38 revolver in one hand and a Colt .45 in the other. With a dead policeman lying in front of him, Red's last words were, "I give up."
Most articles available about Red Ryan tell the story as below;
Norman Ryan, who was born in Toronto in 1895 to a working class Irish immigrant family, grew up wild in the city. Caught burglarizing a cigar store when he was only 17, he was sentenced to six year's hard labour in the grim Kingston Penitentiary, then and now, a hard-case prison.
Paroled in September, 1914, Norman had only a few months of freedom before being shipped back to Kingston for his Owen Sound crimes. At 20, he now faced 32 more years behind bars. He was saved by the happenstance of the First World War.
The army needed men, any men, and Ryan grabbed the chance, enlisting in the Princess Pats. Shipped to England, he soon deserted, living by robbing English shops. Captured, he spent time in a military stockade before being released and sent home to an unsuspecting Ontario.
In early 1921, Red Ryan, as he was known for his thatch of ginger hair, got down to work. First, it was a branch of the Bank of Hamilton, then the Union Bank down the street. Moving on to Montreal, Ryan was captured after a shootout at the Bank of Commerce. Back in jail again, he set about forming a gang of bank robbers among the prison's most dangerous inmates.
Two years later, Red Ryan and members of his gang, escaping from prison, went on a crime spree, robbing banks across Canada and down into the United States. The gang's spree ended in deadly gunfire with the Minneapolis police. Wounded, Red Ryan told local reporters "Crime doesn't pay." Now, he was given life imprisonment and lodged seemingly forever at Kingston.
After two years served in solitary, Red Ryan became a model prisoner, impressing his captors with his exemplary behaviour. Norman, it seems, had turned a corner, becoming a poster boy for the prison reform movement, then being led by Grey County's Member of Parliament, Agnes Macphail.
The Red Ryan story attracted the attention of the newspapers and soon, his apparent rehabilitation brought him supporters including Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, major politicians including Agnes Macphail and several major newspapers. Among them was the Toronto Daily Star whose publisher and editor had made a cause célebre out of Red Ryan. The Star sent a young reporter named Ernest Hemingway to Kingston to interview Ryan. Hemingway described the bank robber as a "thick, freckle-faced man whose prison cap could not hide his flaming head."
The campaign to free Ryan was successful and in 1935, he was back on the streets again. For the next ten months, Norman Ryan presented himself in public as an honest spokesman for prison reform, denouncing the criminal lifestyle and his own past errors. Not only did he host a popular radio programme for CFRB, a car dealership in Toronto hired him as a salesman, inviting people to buy a vehicle from the famous Red Ryan.
Ryan became a fan of Toronto wrestling promoter Jock "Corky" Corcoran's shows at Maple Leaf Gardens. According to Lou Marsh, the famous sports editor of the Toronto Daily Star, "The ‘rasslin' bug had bit Red Ryan." On one occasion he was introduced into the ring while a multi-coloured spotlight bathed him in light.
Ryan was also photographed at the Toronto Police Games standing with, among others, the city's chief coroner, a well-respected lawyer, a city alderman, and the official starter of the games. Norman "Red" Ryan, the notorious bandit, had become a model citizen.
Or had he? During the same time that Red was in the spotlight as a rehabilitated criminal, he was leading his gang on a ten-month long armed robbery spree that took them across the province of Ontario. Living a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence, along with gang members Edward McMullen and Harry Checkley, the Ryan mob robbed and murdered.
On Leap Year Day, February 29, 1936, Red and his gang broke into a garage in Markham, attempting to steal a new Chevrolet. As they pulled away with the car, the owner of the garage and his son confronted them only to be shot by gang members.
A local constable pursued them but gave up the chase after 50 rounds were aimed his way. After the garage owner, shot in the head with a sawed-off shotgun died, a large reward was offered for information leading to an arrest. Red denounced the shooting on his radio programme while offering himself to Toronto's Chief Detective as an undercover man to help solve the case.
On May 21, 1936, Red attended a wrestling match in Oshawa, stating during a radio interview that he was planning on moving out west. If Sarnia was west –then indeed Ryan did have plans.
But those plans revolved around the Ryan gang robbing a liquor store in Sarnia three days later. The Toronto Globe headlines told the story: "Red Ryan, Pal, Officer Are Slain: Three Shot Dead in Sarnia Liquor Store Hold-Up." Ironically, the last broadcast of Ryan's programme on CFRB came directly before the news broadcast of his death.
Gang member Edward McMullen tried to flee into the United States but was killed in a gun battle at the Blaine border crossing in British Columbia. Before he died, Ryan coolly shot and killed 33-year old Constable John Lewis, the first policeman to arrive on the scene.
Red Ryan was gunned down with an Ivor Johnson .38 revolver in one hand and a Colt .45 in the other. With a dead policeman lying in front of him, Red's last words were, "I give up."
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