Leo Dandurand
Encyclopedia
Joseph Viateur "Léo" Dandurand (July 9, 1889 – June 26, 1964), was a sportsman and businessman. He was the owner and coach of the Montreal Canadiens
ice hockey
team in the National Hockey League
(NHL). He also was an owner of race tracks and of the Montreal Alouettes
football team in the league that evolved into the Canadian Football League
.
. He moved to Canada with his family when he was 16 years old and attended St. Mary's College where he was an athlete in baseball, hockey and lacrosse. After graduating, he became involved in real estate and later in wholesale tobacco in the Montreal area. His first sports investment was the Kempton Park racetrack in Laprairie. After his retirement from professional sports, he owned a successful restaurant in downtown Montreal. He died of a heart attack on June 26, 1964 at age 75.
and was involved with the St. Jacques minor hockey team in the Montreal
area. He was an ice hockey representative at the founding of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
in 1914. He is considered the inventor of the rule in ice hockey limiting the number of concurrent penalties to two.
On November 2, 1921, Dandurand and his partners, Joseph Cattarinich
and Louis Letourneau, purchased the Montreal Canadiens
hockey club from the widow of George Kennedy
for $11,000. Under Dandurand's ownership, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup
in 1924, 1930
, and 1931
. Dandurand coached the team until 1926 and was the coach for the 1934–35 season. Dandurand was also the team's general manager from 1921 until 1935. Letourneau sold his stake in the club in 1930, and Dandurand and Cattarinich continued as owners until selling the team in 1935 for $165,000.
Leo Dandurand was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1963 as a builder.
in Montreal. They owned 17 tracks in Quebec
, Ontario
, New York
, Ohio
, Delaware
, Illinois
, Utah
, and Louisiana
at the time of Cattarinich's death in 1938. Dandurand was also a boxing and wrestling promoter in Montreal and a director of the Montreal Royals
baseball team.
In 1946, Dandurand founded the Montreal Alouettes
football team with Eric Cradock and Lew Hayman
. The team played in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, which later became the CFL's east division
. The Leo Dandurand Trophy
is a CFL award presented each year to the most outstanding lineman in the East Division.
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). He also was an owner of race tracks and of the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
football team in the league that evolved into the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
.
Personal life
Dandurand was born in Bourbonnais, IllinoisBourbonnais, Illinois
Bourbonnais is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,256 at the 2000 census, but it was estimated to have grown to 19,119 in 2009...
. He moved to Canada with his family when he was 16 years old and attended St. Mary's College where he was an athlete in baseball, hockey and lacrosse. After graduating, he became involved in real estate and later in wholesale tobacco in the Montreal area. His first sports investment was the Kempton Park racetrack in Laprairie. After his retirement from professional sports, he owned a successful restaurant in downtown Montreal. He died of a heart attack on June 26, 1964 at age 75.
Ice hockey and the Montreal Canadiens
He was a referee in the National Hockey AssociationNational Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
and was involved with the St. Jacques minor hockey team in the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
area. He was an ice hockey representative at the founding of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey play in Canada from 1914 until 1994 when it merged with the Canadian Hockey Association or Hockey Canada....
in 1914. He is considered the inventor of the rule in ice hockey limiting the number of concurrent penalties to two.
On November 2, 1921, Dandurand and his partners, Joseph Cattarinich
Joseph Cattarinich
Joseph "Joe" Cattarinich , was a professional hockey player, and co-owner of horse racing tracks in Canada and the United States as well as a co-owner of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League....
and Louis Letourneau, purchased the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
hockey club from the widow of George Kennedy
George Kennedy (sports promoter)
George Washington Kendall , known professionally as George Kennedy, was a Canadian sports promoter best known as the owner of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team from 1910 to 1921. Kennedy was a wrestler himself and after the end of his wrestling career turned to wrestling promotion...
for $11,000. Under Dandurand's ownership, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
in 1924, 1930
1930 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:* Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame . Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books, 12, 57. ISBN 1-55168-261-3.-See also:*1929–30 NHL season...
, and 1931
1931 Stanley Cup Finals
-References:* Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame . Lord Stanley's Cup. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7...
. Dandurand coached the team until 1926 and was the coach for the 1934–35 season. Dandurand was also the team's general manager from 1921 until 1935. Letourneau sold his stake in the club in 1930, and Dandurand and Cattarinich continued as owners until selling the team in 1935 for $165,000.
Leo Dandurand was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1963 as a builder.
Other sports interests
Along with hockey, Dandurand and his partners were heavily involved with horse racing. In 1932, they bought Blue Bonnets RacewayHippodrome de Montréal
Blue Bonnets Raceway was a horse racing track and casino in Montreal, Canada. After 137 years of operation, it closed in October 2009.-History:...
in Montreal. They owned 17 tracks in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
at the time of Cattarinich's death in 1938. Dandurand was also a boxing and wrestling promoter in Montreal and a director of the Montreal Royals
Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897–1917 and from 1928–60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...
baseball team.
In 1946, Dandurand founded the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
football team with Eric Cradock and Lew Hayman
Lew Hayman
Lewis Edward "Lew" Hayman was an American sports figure. He was one of the driving forces behind the Canadian Football League as coach, general manager, team president, and league president. As head coach, he was a five-time Grey Cup winner with three different teams...
. The team played in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, which later became the CFL's east division
Canadian Football League East Division
The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues.- Pre-1907 :...
. The Leo Dandurand Trophy
Leo Dandurand Trophy
The Leo Dandurand Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy is awarded to the Most Outstanding Lineman in the East Division. The winner of this trophy is chosen from a group of nominees, one from each team in the East Division...
is a CFL award presented each year to the most outstanding lineman in the East Division.