T. Franklin Ahearn
Encyclopedia
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, 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....
, Canada
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...
– November 17, 1962) was a 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...
hockey club owner and a Canadian Member of Parliament. He was survived by his wife Norah, who lived until January 20, 1966.
Mr. Ahearn became involved with the Ottawa Senators in the period when they won three Stanley Cups in four years between 1920 and 1923. In 1924 he bought out majority owner Tommy Gorman
Tommy Gorman
Thomas Patrick "T. P." Gorman was a founder of the National Hockey League , a winner of seven Stanley Cups as a general manager with four teams, and an Olympic gold medal-winning lacrosse player for Canada....
. In 1926-27, the Senators won the Cup with one of the most impressive rosters ever assembled. This imposing collection included Jack Adams, King Clancy
King Clancy
Francis Michael "King" Clancy was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee, coach and executive. Clancy played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams and won All-Star honours...
, Alex Connell
Alex Connell
Alec Connell was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Falcons, New York Americans and Montreal Maroons teams in the National Hockey League...
, Cy Denneny
Cy Denneny
Cyril Joseph Denneny was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League and the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association. His brother Corbett Denneny also played in the NHL.-Early life:Cy Denneny was born...
, Frank Finnigan
Frank Finnigan
Francis Arthur Clarence "The Shawville Express" Finnigan was a Canadian ice hockey professional forward who played in the National Hockey League from 1923 to 1937. During this time, he played for the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and St...
, Hec Kilrea
Hec Kilrea
Hector Joseph "Hurricane" Kilrea was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He played for the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Falcons, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League...
, Frank Nighbor
Frank Nighbor
Julius Francis "Pembroke Peach" Nighbor was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League and National Hockey Association and Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL, Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA and Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific...
and Hooley Smith
Hooley Smith
Reginald "Hooley" Smith was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons, Boston Bruins and New York Americans. He won the Stanley Cup twice, with Ottawa and Montreal...
.
Winning the Stanley Cup was the last hurrah for the franchise. Due a combination of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and the smaller population of Ottawa, the club lost money every year after, leading the club to suspend operations for one year, move home games to other cities, and finally move to St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
to operate as the Eagles. After one season in St. Louis, the club sought to suspend operations again and was turned down by the league. Finally, on October 15, 1935, the Eagles and their players were bought out by the NHL, dispersing the players to other NHL teams and suspending the franchise, with a promise to pass along the proceeds if the franchise was resold. (The franchise would be reinstated eventually in 1992) In the years of his owning the Ottawa Senators, his losses were over $200,000, a loss he said he never regretted.
Mr. Ahearn was the son of Thomas Ahearn
Thomas Ahearn
Thomas Ahearn, PC was a Canadian inventor and businessman. Ahearn, a native of Ottawa, was instrumental in the success a vast streetcar system that was once in Ottawa, the Ottawa Electric Railway, and was the first chairman of Canada's Federal District Commission in 1927...
, a prominent Ottawa citizen who owned Ottawa Electric and the famous Ottawa Electric Streetcar Line
Ottawa Electric Railway
Ottawa Electric Railway Company was a streetcar public transit system in the city of Ottawa, Canada, part of the electric railway streetcars which operated between 1891 and 1959...
.
Like his father, Ahearn was involved in Canadian politics, and was elected to 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...
in 1930 and 1935.
He was elected to 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 1962 as a builder. He was inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. He died in 1962, and was interred in Beechwood Cemetery.