Lionel Conacher
Encyclopedia
Lionel Pretoria Conacher, MP
(May 24, 1900 –May 26, 1954), nicknamed "The Big Train", was a Canadian
athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. His first passion was football
; he was a member of the 1921 Grey Cup
champion Toronto Argonauts
. He was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team that won the International League
championship in 1926. In hockey, he won a Memorial Cup
in 1920, and the Stanley Cup
twice: with the Chicago Black Hawks
in 1934 and the Montreal Maroons
in 1935. Additionally, he won wrestling, boxing and lacrosse championships during his playing career.
Conacher retired as an athlete in 1937 to enter politics. He won election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
in 1937, and in 1949 won a seat in the House of Commons
. Many of his political positions revolved around sports. He worked to eliminate corruption in boxing while serving as an MPP in Ontario, also serving as the chairman of the Ontario Athletic Commission. Additionally, he served a term as director of recreation and entertainment for the Royal Canadian Air Force
. It was also on the sporting pitch that Conacher died: He suffered a heart attack during a softball game in 1954.
Numerous organizations have honoured Conacher's career. In addition to being named Canada's athlete of the half-century, he was named the country's top football player over the same period. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
in 1955, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
in 1964, the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1965 and the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1994. Additionally, the Canadian Press
gives the Lionel Conacher Award
to its male athlete of the year.
, Ontario
on May 24, 1900. His middle name was given after the South African city of Pretoria
, where British troops were fighting the Boer War
at the time of his birth. He was the eldest son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Conacher, and the third of ten children overall. He had four brothers and five sisters. The family grew up in the neighourhood of Davenport, which his brother Charlie
described as "one of Toronto's higher class slums".
His father was a teamster
, and struggled to earn enough money to support the family. In the winter, he ploughed the snow off outdoor skating rinks to earn additional money. Conacher left school after the eighth grade to go to work and help support his siblings. For ten hours a day, he hauled sod, earning an extra dollar a week for his family.
All ten children were encouraged to participate in sports by the principal of Jesse Ketchum School, who felt that such pursuits would keep his students from getting into trouble. Conacher discovered that he was among the better players in any sport he tried, and quickly became a star at Canadian football
, ice hockey
and lacrosse
. He realized his athletic ability could offer an escape from poverty.
championship, and at 20 won the Canadian amateur light-heavyweight boxing
championship. In 1921, he fought, and was knocked out
by heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey
in an exhibition match. One year he famously hit a triple
to win the Toronto city baseball championship, then rushed to the other side of the city to find his lacrosse
team trailing 3–0 in the Ontario provincial final. He scored four goals and an assist to lead team to a comeback victory.
with the Capitals in the Toronto Rugby Football League. He played four seasons with the team between 1912 and 1915, during which the Capitals won the city championship each year. He won the Ontario championship as a junior with the Toronto Central YMCA in 1918, and in 1919 moved up to the intermediate level. With the intermediate Capitals, he was moved to into an offensive role as a halfback
. He excelled in the role, and his team reached Ontario Rugby Football Union
(ORFU) final. In that final, the Capitals' opponents from Sarnia
made stopping Conacher their priority, a strategy that proved the difference as Sarnia won the championship.
Conacher moved to the senior level in 1920 with the Toronto Rugby Club where his team again won the ORFU championship, but lost the eastern semifinal to the Toronto Argonauts
of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
(IRFU). His play impressed the Argonauts, who signed him for the 1921 season. In his first game with the Argonauts, he scored 23 of the team's 27 points, and led the IRFU in scoring, accounting for 85 of his team's 167 points as they went undefeated in six games. The Argonauts won the eastern championship, and faced the Edmonton Eskimos
in the first east-west Grey Cup
championship in Canadian history. Conacher scored 15 points in Toronto's 23–0 victory to claim the national title.
Named captain in 1922, Conacher led the Argonauts to another undefeated season in IRFU play, finishing with five wins and one tie, as he rushed for 950 yards. The Argonauts reached the Eastern final, but lost to Queen's University
, 12–11, in a game which Conacher struggled, committing seven fumbles.
, Canada's national junior championship. Conacher then returned to the Aura Lees to play for their senior team for two years.
National Hockey League
(NHL) teams took notice of Conacher's ability. The Toronto St. Pats offered him $3,000 a season – three times the average salary – to play for them in 1920–21, while in 1921, the Montreal Canadiens
offered $5000 and support setting up a business. He turned both down as he was not yet willing to surrender his status as an amateur athlete. His decisions to refuse the offers led to speculation that he was being paid under the table. He and Billy Burch
were accused of deliberately throwing a game in 1922, but were absolved of guilt by the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada.
and owner of the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets
of the United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA), to play for his team. While he would retain his amateur status, Schooley set Conacher up with a job in the insurance business and paid his university tuition so that he could improve his education. He brought many of his teammates with him to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, all of whom received jobs in the community, and he attended school at Bellefonte Academy
for a year before enrolling at Duquesne University
.
He played football for both schools in the fall, and served as the Yellow Jackets' captain in the winter where he led the team to consecutive USAHA titles in 1924 and 1925. In the summers, Conacher returned to Toronto and played lacrosse and baseball. The Yellow Jackets turned professional in 1925 when they were renamed the Pittsburgh Pirates
and joined the National Hockey League
(NHL). Conacher finally chose to turn professional with the team, a decision that surprised fans and teammates in Toronto, who knew of his favourtism for the game of football.
Conacher scored the first goal in Pirates history on November 26, 1925, against the Boston Bruins
. He scored nine goals in 33 games in , then returned to Toronto to play professional baseball with the Toronto Maple Leafs. An outfielder on the team, Conacher and the Maple Leafs won the International League
championship then defeated the Louisville Colonels to win the Little World Series
.
He returned to Pittsburgh for the NHL season, but was was dealt early in the year to the New York Americans
in exchange for Charlie Langlois
and $2,000. The trade nearly proved disastrous for Conacher. He scored 8 goals in and improved to 11 in , but playing for a team owned by notrious bootlegger
Bill Dwyer
resulted in his becoming a heavy drinker. Conacher served as player-coach in , but his play and health had deteriorated. Two events in that off-season saved Conacher: he swore off alcohol completely upon the birth of his first child, and his playing rights were sold to the Montreal Maroons
.
Conacher periodically struggled with Montreal, and at one point was placed on waivers
with no other team willing to take over his contract. None the less, his overall play and point totals increased for three consecutive seasons with the Maroons, peaking at 28 points in . He was named to the Second All-Star Team
that season, but was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks
in exchange for Teddy Graham. Conacher was a key figure in the club's first-ever Stanley Cup victory that season. He finished second to the Canadiens' Aurel Joliat
in the voting for the Hart Trophy and earned a spot on the NHL's First All-Star Team.
On October 3, 1934, Conacher was involved in one of the largest transactions in league history. He was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens
, along with Leroy Goldsworthy
and Roger Jenkins in exchange for Montreal superstar Howie Morenz
, Lorne Chabot
and Marty Burke
. The deal was only part of a series of trades involving four teams that represented one of the biggest deals in NHL history. Immediately following the Chicago trade, Conacher was sent back to the Maroons, along with Herb Cain
, in exchange for the rights to Nelson Crutchfield. Conacher spent his last three NHL seasons with the Maroons and won his second Stanley Cup in 1935. He ended his hockey career after the team was eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Rangers
on April 23, 1937. That final year he was runner-up to Babe Siebert
in the 1937 Hart Trophy voting and was placed on the NHL Second All-Star Team.
Conacher had not played competitive football since turning professional. At one point he was offered a position as coach of the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers
, but disappointed the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
club when he turned down the job due to his other commitments. He was not absent the game long, however, as Conacher returned to football in 1933. He was part of an effort to launch a new professional league that would feature both Canadian and American teams. The league never came to fruition, but Conacher organized what became the first professional football team in Canada. He captained the team, based out of Toronto, which was known as the Crosse and Blackwell Chefs following a sponsorship with a local food products company. Conacher recruited former amateur players who had likewise left the sport in favour of paying jobs in other pro sports, including his brother Charlie
.
The first game was held Thanksgiving Day
in 1933, an exhibition contest against the Rochester Arpeakos. A crowd of 10,000 attended the game to watch Conacher play his first competitive football game in Canada in ten years. He did not disappoint, scoring two touchdown
s and setting up a third for the Chefs, and was hailed as the game's star despite an 18–15 loss. Toronto lost a return match in Rochester, but in the third and final game of their season, the Chefs defeated a team from Buffalo
at Toronto by a score of 18–0. Conacher was again the star, rushing for two touchdowns and scoring 13 of his team's points. He organized the team for a second year in 1934, known as the Wrigley Aromints due to new sponsorship, and again played an exhibition schedule as the team remained unaffiliated with any league. The team again played three games, winning all three. However, at 34-years-old, Conacher found that the game was too hard on his body physically, and neither he nor his team returned for a third season.
in 1931 in a bid to fill arena dates in the summer. The field
variant of the sport had been in decline in Canada as the popularity of baseball and football grew, and it was hoped that lacrosse played in the confines of a hockey rink would create a faster, more exciting game. A summer professional circuit, the International Professional Lacrosse League was created with representative teams of the Montreal Maroons, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and an entry from Cornwall, Ontario
. Several NHL players who had played the field game before abandoning it to turn professional in hockey signed with the teams, including Conacher, who joined the Maroons. The Maroons' inaugural game came against the Maple Leafs, and though Toronto won 9–7, Conacher stole the spotlight from the victors. He scored six of Montreal's goals, assisted on the seventh, and earned the praise of his fellow players. When the Maroons went to Toronto, the Maple Leafs hosted a "Lionel Conacher Night" to celebrate the city's native son. The Maroons did not figure into the playoff for the championship, but Conacher led the league in scoring with 107 points. His dominance in the league was such that his total nearly doubled his nearest rival, who finished with 56 points. In one game, against Toronto, he scored ten goals in a 17–12 victory. He chose not to return to lacrosse for the 1932 season, choosing instead to sign a contract to wrestle professionally during the hockey off-seasons.
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the Toronto riding of Bracondale
, from October 6, 1937 until June 30, 1943. He was elected in the 1949 federal election
as a Liberal
Member of Parliament
in the Toronto riding of Trinity
and re-elected in the 1953 election
.
In 1954, Lionel Conacher went to Ottawa to play in the annual softball game between MPs and members of the parliamentary press gallery. In the sixth inning, he hit a triple
into left field and sprinted to third base
. Then Conacher collapsed with a heart attack. Within twenty minutes, he was pronounced dead. He is buried at St. Johns York Mills Anglican Church Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario.
He was named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century (1950). In 1981 the Pro Football Researchers Association called Conacher, "Canada's Answer to Jim Thorpe
". He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (1955), the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
(1963), the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1966), and Hockey Hall of Fame
(1994). The award for the Canadian Press
Canadian male athlete of the year is called the Lionel Conacher Award
.
, and Roy Conacher
, were also Hall of Fame hockey players. His namesake, Lionel Jr.
, was a first round draft pick in 1960 and played a season with the Montreal Alouettes
of the Canadian Football League
. His son Brian Conacher
represented Canada at the 1964 Winter Olympics
and played for the Toronto Maple Leafs
of the National Hockey League
, winning a Stanley Cup
with them in 1966–67 NHL season. Pete Conacher
, Lionel's nephew and the son of Charlie, also played in the NHL.
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(May 24, 1900 –May 26, 1954), nicknamed "The Big Train", was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. His first passion was football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
; he was a member of the 1921 Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
champion Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
. He was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team that won the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
championship in 1926. In hockey, he won a Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
in 1920, and 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...
twice: with the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
in 1934 and the Montreal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
in 1935. Additionally, he won wrestling, boxing and lacrosse championships during his playing career.
Conacher retired as an athlete in 1937 to enter politics. He won election to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
in 1937, and in 1949 won a seat in the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
. Many of his political positions revolved around sports. He worked to eliminate corruption in boxing while serving as an MPP in Ontario, also serving as the chairman of the Ontario Athletic Commission. Additionally, he served a term as director of recreation and entertainment for the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
. It was also on the sporting pitch that Conacher died: He suffered a heart attack during a softball game in 1954.
Numerous organizations have honoured Conacher's career. In addition to being named Canada's athlete of the half-century, he was named the country's top football player over the same period. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
in 1955, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
in 1964, the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1965 and 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 1994. Additionally, the Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
gives the Lionel Conacher Award
Lionel Conacher Award
The Lionel Conacher Award is an annual award given to Canada's male athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top athlete, of either gender, in 1932. Separate polls for the best male and female athletes were conducted beginning...
to its male athlete of the year.
Early life
Conacher was born in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, 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....
on May 24, 1900. His middle name was given after the South African city of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, where British troops were fighting the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
at the time of his birth. He was the eldest son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Conacher, and the third of ten children overall. He had four brothers and five sisters. The family grew up in the neighourhood of Davenport, which his brother Charlie
Charlie Conacher
Charles William "The Big Bomber" Conacher, Sr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and New York Americans in the National Hockey League. An early power forward, Conacher was nicknamed "The Big Bomber," for his size, powerful...
described as "one of Toronto's higher class slums".
His father was a teamster
Teamster
A teamster, in modern American English, is a truck driver. The trade union named after them is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , one of the largest unions in the United States....
, and struggled to earn enough money to support the family. In the winter, he ploughed the snow off outdoor skating rinks to earn additional money. Conacher left school after the eighth grade to go to work and help support his siblings. For ten hours a day, he hauled sod, earning an extra dollar a week for his family.
All ten children were encouraged to participate in sports by the principal of Jesse Ketchum School, who felt that such pursuits would keep his students from getting into trouble. Conacher discovered that he was among the better players in any sport he tried, and quickly became a star at Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, 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...
and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. He realized his athletic ability could offer an escape from poverty.
Amateur career
Conacher was a prolific athlete, excelling in numerous sports at the same time. He played with 14 different teams during his teenage years, winning 11 championships. He was 16-years-old when he won the Ontario lightweight wrestlingWrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
championship, and at 20 won the Canadian amateur light-heavyweight boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
championship. In 1921, he fought, and was knocked out
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
by heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
in an exhibition match. One year he famously hit a triple
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
to win the Toronto city baseball championship, then rushed to the other side of the city to find his lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
team trailing 3–0 in the Ontario provincial final. He scored four goals and an assist to lead team to a comeback victory.
Football
Rugby football was the first sport Conacher played, and it was his favourite. He first played organized football at the age of 12 as a middle wingTackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
with the Capitals in the Toronto Rugby Football League. He played four seasons with the team between 1912 and 1915, during which the Capitals won the city championship each year. He won the Ontario championship as a junior with the Toronto Central YMCA in 1918, and in 1919 moved up to the intermediate level. With the intermediate Capitals, he was moved to into an offensive role as a halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
. He excelled in the role, and his team reached Ontario Rugby Football Union
Ontario Rugby Football Union
The Ontario Rugby Football Union or ORFU was an early amateur Canadian football league with teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded in 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside Rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would...
(ORFU) final. In that final, the Capitals' opponents from Sarnia
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
made stopping Conacher their priority, a strategy that proved the difference as Sarnia won the championship.
Conacher moved to the senior level in 1920 with the Toronto Rugby Club where his team again won the ORFU championship, but lost the eastern semifinal to the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
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 :...
(IRFU). His play impressed the Argonauts, who signed him for the 1921 season. In his first game with the Argonauts, he scored 23 of the team's 27 points, and led the IRFU in scoring, accounting for 85 of his team's 167 points as they went undefeated in six games. The Argonauts won the eastern championship, and faced the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
in the first east-west Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
championship in Canadian history. Conacher scored 15 points in Toronto's 23–0 victory to claim the national title.
Named captain in 1922, Conacher led the Argonauts to another undefeated season in IRFU play, finishing with five wins and one tie, as he rushed for 950 yards. The Argonauts reached the Eastern final, but lost to Queen's University
Queen's Golden Gaels
The Queen's Gaels are the athletic teams that represent Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Team colours are blue, red, and gold. Its main home is Richardson Memorial Stadium on West Campus....
, 12–11, in a game which Conacher struggled, committing seven fumbles.
Ice hockey
The expense of playing hockey initially kept Conacher off the ice. He did not learn to skate until he was 16. Consequently, hockey was among his weakest sports. He played with the Toronto Century Rovers, and then the Aura Lee Athletic Club, but saw limited ice time. Determined to improve his game, he closely watched the top players from the bench and sought to emulate what made them successful. His efforts paid off, and by 1918–19, was considered a star defenceman for Aura Lee. He joined the Toronto Canoe Club Paddlers, a team of all-star calibre players in 1919–20, and with them won the Memorial CupMemorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
, Canada's national junior championship. Conacher then returned to the Aura Lees to play for their senior team for two years.
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) teams took notice of Conacher's ability. The Toronto St. Pats offered him $3,000 a season – three times the average salary – to play for them in 1920–21, while in 1921, 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 ...
offered $5000 and support setting up a business. He turned both down as he was not yet willing to surrender his status as an amateur athlete. His decisions to refuse the offers led to speculation that he was being paid under the table. He and Billy Burch
Billy Burch
Harry Wilfred Burch was an Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Hamilton Tigers, New York Americans, Chicago Black Hawks, and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League...
were accused of deliberately throwing a game in 1922, but were absolved of guilt by the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada.
Move to Pittsburgh
Conacher remained in senior hockey and while playing for the North Toronto Seniors in 1923, was a part of the first hockey game ever broadcast on radio. That summer, he received an offer from Roy Schooley, the manager of the Duquesne GardensDuquesne Gardens
Duquesne Gardens was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA during the first half of the 20th century. It opened 3 years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. The arena was the first hockey rink to use glass above the dasher...
and owner of the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets
Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets
The Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets was an amateur hockey team that existed between . They evolved from being an amateur to a semi-pro team and are one the earliest sports organizations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Yellow Jackets played primarily in the United States Amateur Hockey Association...
of the United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA), to play for his team. While he would retain his amateur status, Schooley set Conacher up with a job in the insurance business and paid his university tuition so that he could improve his education. He brought many of his teammates with him to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, all of whom received jobs in the community, and he attended school at Bellefonte Academy
Bellefonte Academy
Bellefonte Academy was a historic school building located at Bellefonte, Centre County, Pennsylvania. The original building was built in 1805, as a two-story, rectangular limestone building. It was enlarged between 1839 and 1845, with the addition of two bays and wings to the north and south...
for a year before enrolling at Duquesne University
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
.
He played football for both schools in the fall, and served as the Yellow Jackets' captain in the winter where he led the team to consecutive USAHA titles in 1924 and 1925. In the summers, Conacher returned to Toronto and played lacrosse and baseball. The Yellow Jackets turned professional in 1925 when they were renamed the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL)
The Pittsburgh Pirates were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League , based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1925–26 to 1929–30. The nickname comes from the baseball team also based in the city...
and joined 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). Conacher finally chose to turn professional with the team, a decision that surprised fans and teammates in Toronto, who knew of his favourtism for the game of football.
Professional career
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
. He scored nine goals in 33 games in , then returned to Toronto to play professional baseball with the Toronto Maple Leafs. An outfielder on the team, Conacher and the Maple Leafs won the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
championship then defeated the Louisville Colonels to win the Little World Series
Junior World Series
The Junior World Series was the name given to a postseason series between champions of two of the three high-minor baseball leagues, modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball...
.
He returned to Pittsburgh for the NHL season, but was was dealt early in the year to the New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...
in exchange for Charlie Langlois
Charlie Langlois
Louis Charles Langlois was a Canadian professional hockey forward who played four seasons in the National Hockey League for the Hamilton Tigers, New York Americans, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Canadiens. He was born in Lotbinière, Quebec.-External links:...
and $2,000. The trade nearly proved disastrous for Conacher. He scored 8 goals in and improved to 11 in , but playing for a team owned by notrious bootlegger
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
Bill Dwyer
Bill Dwyer (mobster)
William Vincent Dwyer , known as "Big Bill" Dwyer, was an early Prohibition gangster and bootlegger in New York during the 1920s. He used his profits to purchase sports properties, including the New York Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates of the National Hockey League , as well as the Brooklyn...
resulted in his becoming a heavy drinker. Conacher served as player-coach in , but his play and health had deteriorated. Two events in that off-season saved Conacher: he swore off alcohol completely upon the birth of his first child, and his playing rights were sold to the Montreal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...
.
Conacher periodically struggled with Montreal, and at one point was placed on waivers
Waivers (NHL)
Waivers is a National Hockey League labor management procedure by which an NHL team makes a professional ice hockey player’s contract and rights available to all other NHL teams. The term refers to the term that other NHL teams 'waive' any claim to a player designated for assignment, re-entry from...
with no other team willing to take over his contract. None the less, his overall play and point totals increased for three consecutive seasons with the Maroons, peaking at 28 points in . He was named to the Second All-Star Team
NHL All-Star Team
The NHL All-Star Teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position.Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the All-Star Team at the end of the regular season.The career leaders in citations are...
that season, but was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
in exchange for Teddy Graham. Conacher was a key figure in the club's first-ever Stanley Cup victory that season. He finished second to the Canadiens' Aurel Joliat
Aurel Joliat
Aurèle Émile "Mighty Atom, Little Giant" Joliat was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens....
in the voting for the Hart Trophy and earned a spot on the NHL's First All-Star Team.
On October 3, 1934, Conacher was involved in one of the largest transactions in league history. He was dealt to 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 ...
, along with Leroy Goldsworthy
Leroy Goldsworthy
Leroy "Goldy" Goldsworthy was an American ice hockey forward.Goldsworthy started his National Hockey League career with the New York Rangers in 1929. He also played for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, and New York Americans. He retired from the NHL...
and Roger Jenkins in exchange for Montreal superstar Howie Morenz
Howie Morenz
Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre for three National Hockey League teams: the Montreal Canadiens , the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers...
, Lorne Chabot
Lorne Chabot
Lorne "Chabotsky" Chabot was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender.-Playing career:Lorne played in the National Hockey League from 1926 to 1937. During this time, he played for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, Montreal Maroons, and New York Americans...
and Marty Burke
Marty Burke
Martin Alphonsos Burke was a defenceman in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Black Hawks. He was on two Stanley Cup championship teams in 1930 and 1931 with Montreal.- External links :...
. The deal was only part of a series of trades involving four teams that represented one of the biggest deals in NHL history. Immediately following the Chicago trade, Conacher was sent back to the Maroons, along with Herb Cain
Herb Cain
Herbert James Cain was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Maroons, Montreal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins.-Playing career:Herbert Cain grew up in Newmarket and played junior hockey for the Newmarket Redmen and the...
, in exchange for the rights to Nelson Crutchfield. Conacher spent his last three NHL seasons with the Maroons and won his second Stanley Cup in 1935. He ended his hockey career after the team was eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
on April 23, 1937. That final year he was runner-up to Babe Siebert
Babe Siebert
Albert Charles "Babe" Siebert was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and defenceman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Maroons, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens...
in the 1937 Hart Trophy voting and was placed on the NHL Second All-Star Team.
Canadian professional football
Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers
The Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers were a member of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, a league that preceded the Canadian Football League. It was likely a team from the fabled Montreal AAA founded in 1872 as the Montreal Foot Ball Club. The MFBC joined the Quebec Rugby Football Union in...
, but disappointed the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union
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 :...
club when he turned down the job due to his other commitments. He was not absent the game long, however, as Conacher returned to football in 1933. He was part of an effort to launch a new professional league that would feature both Canadian and American teams. The league never came to fruition, but Conacher organized what became the first professional football team in Canada. He captained the team, based out of Toronto, which was known as the Crosse and Blackwell Chefs following a sponsorship with a local food products company. Conacher recruited former amateur players who had likewise left the sport in favour of paying jobs in other pro sports, including his brother Charlie
Charlie Conacher
Charles William "The Big Bomber" Conacher, Sr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and New York Americans in the National Hockey League. An early power forward, Conacher was nicknamed "The Big Bomber," for his size, powerful...
.
The first game was held Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (Canada)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day , occurring on the second Monday in October , is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season....
in 1933, an exhibition contest against the Rochester Arpeakos. A crowd of 10,000 attended the game to watch Conacher play his first competitive football game in Canada in ten years. He did not disappoint, scoring two touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s and setting up a third for the Chefs, and was hailed as the game's star despite an 18–15 loss. Toronto lost a return match in Rochester, but in the third and final game of their season, the Chefs defeated a team from Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
at Toronto by a score of 18–0. Conacher was again the star, rushing for two touchdowns and scoring 13 of his team's points. He organized the team for a second year in 1934, known as the Wrigley Aromints due to new sponsorship, and again played an exhibition schedule as the team remained unaffiliated with any league. The team again played three games, winning all three. However, at 34-years-old, Conacher found that the game was too hard on his body physically, and neither he nor his team returned for a third season.
Lacrosse
Led by the owners of the Montreal Canadiens, the arena operators of Canada's NHL teams invented the sport of box lacrosseBox lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse and sometimes shortened to boxla, LAX or simply box, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in Canada, where it is the most popular version of the game played in contrast to the traditional field lacrosse game...
in 1931 in a bid to fill arena dates in the summer. The field
Field lacrosse
Field lacrosse, sometimes referred to as the "fastest sport on two feet," is a full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initially codified by Canadian William George Beers in 1867....
variant of the sport had been in decline in Canada as the popularity of baseball and football grew, and it was hoped that lacrosse played in the confines of a hockey rink would create a faster, more exciting game. A summer professional circuit, the International Professional Lacrosse League was created with representative teams of the Montreal Maroons, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and an entry from Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
. Several NHL players who had played the field game before abandoning it to turn professional in hockey signed with the teams, including Conacher, who joined the Maroons. The Maroons' inaugural game came against the Maple Leafs, and though Toronto won 9–7, Conacher stole the spotlight from the victors. He scored six of Montreal's goals, assisted on the seventh, and earned the praise of his fellow players. When the Maroons went to Toronto, the Maple Leafs hosted a "Lionel Conacher Night" to celebrate the city's native son. The Maroons did not figure into the playoff for the championship, but Conacher led the league in scoring with 107 points. His dominance in the league was such that his total nearly doubled his nearest rival, who finished with 56 points. In one game, against Toronto, he scored ten goals in a 17–12 victory. He chose not to return to lacrosse for the 1932 season, choosing instead to sign a contract to wrestle professionally during the hockey off-seasons.
Political career
Conacher was a LiberalOntario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the Toronto riding of Bracondale
Bracondale
Bracondale was a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1926 to 1967. It's most notable achievement, was electing one of two women Members of the Provincial Parliament to share the title "first-woman MPP" in 1943...
, from October 6, 1937 until June 30, 1943. He was elected in the 1949 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
as a Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Member of Parliament
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in the Toronto riding of Trinity
Trinity (electoral district)
Trinity was an electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons 1935 to 1988. It covered a portion of the western Toronto. Its name comes from the Trinity-Bellwoods area that was once home to Trinity College....
and re-elected in the 1953 election
Canadian federal election, 1953
The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...
.
In 1954, Lionel Conacher went to Ottawa to play in the annual softball game between MPs and members of the parliamentary press gallery. In the sixth inning, he hit a triple
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
into left field and sprinted to third base
Third Base
is a 1978 Japanese film directed by Yōichi Higashi.-External links:...
. Then Conacher collapsed with a heart attack. Within twenty minutes, he was pronounced dead. He is buried at St. Johns York Mills Anglican Church Cemetery in Toronto, Ontario.
He was named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century (1950). In 1981 the Pro Football Researchers Association called Conacher, "Canada's Answer to Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
". He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (1955), the Canadian Football Hall of Fame
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is an open to the public institution. It includes displays about the Canadian Football League, Canadian university football and Canadian...
(1963), the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1966), and 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...
(1994). The award for the Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
Canadian male athlete of the year is called the Lionel Conacher Award
Lionel Conacher Award
The Lionel Conacher Award is an annual award given to Canada's male athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top athlete, of either gender, in 1932. Separate polls for the best male and female athletes were conducted beginning...
.
Family
Conacher's younger brothers, Charlie ConacherCharlie Conacher
Charles William "The Big Bomber" Conacher, Sr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and New York Americans in the National Hockey League. An early power forward, Conacher was nicknamed "The Big Bomber," for his size, powerful...
, and Roy Conacher
Roy Conacher
Roy Gordon Conacher was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks...
, were also Hall of Fame hockey players. His namesake, Lionel Jr.
Lionel Conacher Jr.
Lionel Conacher Jr. is a former running back in the Canadian Football League. He is the son of famed Canadian sports legend: Lionel Conacher....
, was a first round draft pick in 1960 and played a season with 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...
of 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....
. His son Brian Conacher
Brian Conacher
Brian Kennedy Conacher was a professional ice hockey player and hockey broadcaster, specializing in colour commentary. He is the son of the legendary Lionel Conacher, who was voted Canada's top athlete for the first half of the century...
represented Canada at the 1964 Winter Olympics
Ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics
At the 1964 Winter Olympics held in Innsbruck, Austria, one ice hockey event was held: men's ice hockey. This tournament was also counted as IIHF World Championship and IIHF European Championship. Games were held at the Olympiahalle Innsbruck....
and played for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
of 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...
, winning a 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...
with them in 1966–67 NHL season. Pete Conacher
Pete Conacher
Pete Conacher is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 229 games in the National Hockey League....
, Lionel's nephew and the son of Charlie, also played in the NHL.
Ice hockey
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL) The Pittsburgh Pirates were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League , based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1925–26 to 1929–30. The nickname comes from the baseball team also based in the city... |
NHL 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... |
33 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | NHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1926–27 | New York Americans New York Americans The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals... |
NHL | 30 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| New York Americans | NHL | 30 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| New York Americans | NHL | 44 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 132 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |||
| New York Americans | NHL | 39 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Montreal Maroons Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935... |
NHL | 35 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Montreal Maroons | NHL | 46 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Montreal Maroons | NHL | 47 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10... |
NHL | 48 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 87 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |||
| Montreal Maroons | NHL | 40 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | |||
| Montreal Maroons | NHL | 47 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 65 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Montreal Maroons | NHL | 45 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 64 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| NHL totals | 494 | 80 | 105 | 185 | 862 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 34 | ||||