Red McCarthy

McCarthy had been present at a meeting when Sam Jacks brought up the fact that there was a need for a new winter team sport for girls. After Jacks's presentation, McCarthy volunteered to experiment with the new sport in Espanola where he was the recreation director and arena manager. Equipped with Jack's basic idea, McCarthy then created the first set of rules for the sport of ringette. These rules were then presented at a NORDA meeting at Moose Lake Lodge in Onaping, Ontario, on January 19–20, 1964. Today the title of "birthplace of ringette" is shared by both North Bay, Ontario, and Espanola, Ontario, though Espanola is still recognized as the "Official Home of Ringette". To date, McCarthy has not had a trophy or any other award in the sport named in his honour.

McCarthy, a member of the Northern Ontario Recreation Directors Association (NORDA), set up the first on-ice activity, or "game", of ringette which took place at the Espanola Arena in the fall of 1963. He drew up the first set of rules and set up the very first game between Espanola high school girls who had played high school ice hockey.

In 1954, at the age of 24, he became recreation director of Espanola, Ontario and held the position for forty-one years. He became actively involved in all aspects of Espanola's recreational programs and was instrumental in forming the Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) Junior A Hockey League, and the Espanola Eagles Junior A hockey team. He coached the team for 18 years, and then managed it for four more.

Between 1933 and 1934 at the Chicago World's Fair, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, McCarthy was photographed participating in barrel jumping, a discipline of speed skating, at the Black Forest Village.

Mirl Arthur "Red" McCarthy (March 12, 1930 – 1995), was a Canadian sportsperson, sport and recreation administrator, ice hockey player, founder and co-inventor of the sport of ringette, and for a time, a barrel jumper.