| Lionel Conacher MP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1994 | |||
 | |||
| Born | (1900-05-24)May 24, 1900 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died | May 26, 1954(1954-05-26) (aged 54) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | |||
| Playing career | 1925–1937 | ||
| Member of Parliament forTrinity | |||
| In office June 27, 1949 – May 26, 1954 | |||
| Preceded by | Larry Skey | ||
| Succeeded by | Donald Carrick | ||
| Member of Provincial Parliament forBracondale | |||
| In office October 6, 1937 – August 3, 1943 | |||
| Preceded by | Arthur Russell Nesbitt | ||
| Succeeded by | Rae Luckock | ||
| Personal details | |||
| Political party | Liberal | ||
| Military service | |||
| Allegiance | Canada | ||
| Branch/service | Royal Canadian Air Force | ||
| Years of service | 1942–1943 | ||
| Rank | Honorary squadron leader | ||
Lionel Pretoria ConacherMP (/ˈkɒnəkər/KON-ə-kər; 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 wasCanadian football; he was a member of the 1921Grey Cup championToronto Argonauts. He was also a member of theToronto Maple Leafs baseball team that won theInternational League championship in 1926. In hockey, he won theMemorial Cup in 1920, and theStanley Cup twice: with theChicago Black Hawks in 1934 and theMontreal Maroons in 1935. Additionally, he won wrestling, boxing and lacrosse championships during his playing career. He is one of three players, includingJoe Miller andCarl Voss, to have their names engraved on both the Grey Cup and Stanley Cup.
Conacher retired as an athlete in 1937 to enter politics. He won election to theLegislative Assembly of Ontario in 1937, and in 1949 won a seat in theHouse of Commons. Many of his political positions revolved around sports. He worked to eliminate corruption in boxing while serving as amember of provincial parliament (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 theRoyal Canadian Air Force.[1] It was also on the sports field that Conacher died: He suffered a heart attack twenty minutes after hitting a triple in a softball game played on the lawn ofParliament Hill.[2]
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 intoCanada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, theCanadian Football Hall of Fame in 1964, theCanadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1965, theHockey Hall of Fame in 1994, and theOntario Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.[3] Additionally, theCanadian Press gives theLionel Conacher Award to its male athlete of the year.
Conacher was born inToronto, Ontario, on May 24, 1900.[4] His middle name was given after the South African city ofPretoria, where British Empire troops including Canadians were fighting theBoer War at the time of his birth.[5] He was the eldest son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Conacher, and the third of ten children overall. He had four brothers and five sisters.[6] The family grew up in the neighbourhood ofDavenport, which his brotherCharlie described as "one of Toronto's higher class slums".[5]His father was ateamster, and struggled to earn enough money to support the family.[7] In the winter, he ploughed the snow off outdoor skating rinks to earn additional money.[8] Conacher left school after grade eight to go to work and help support his siblings.[9] For ten hours a day, he hauled sod, earning an extra dollar a week for his family.[10]
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 atCanadian football,ice hockey andlacrosse.[5] He realized his athletic ability could offer an escape from poverty.[9]
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.[7] In his youth, he played forCanadian Sports Hall of Fame coach,Bob Abate, and starred on Abate's Elizabeth Playground teams.[11] He was 16 years old when he won the Ontario lightweightwrestling championship,[12] and at 20 won the Canadian amateur light-heavyweightboxing championship.[13] In 1921, he fought, and wasknocked out by heavyweight championJack Dempsey in an exhibition match.[14] One year he famously hit atriple to win the Toronto city baseball championship, then rushed to the other side of the city to find hislacrosse team trailing 3–0 in the Ontario provincial final. He scored four goals and an assist to lead them to a comeback victory.[15]
Rugby football was the first sport Conacher played, and it was his favourite.[16] He first played organized football at the age of 12 as amiddle wing with the Capitals in the Toronto Rugby Football League.[17] 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.[18] With the intermediate Capitals, he was moved into an offensive role as ahalfback. He excelled in the role, and his team reachedOntario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) final. In that final, the Capitals' opponents fromSarnia made stopping Conacher their priority, a strategy that proved the difference as Sarnia won the championship.[19]
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 theToronto Argonauts of theInterprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU). His play impressed the Argonauts, who signed him for the 1921 season.[17] In his first game with the Argonauts, he scored 23 of the team's 27 points, and led the IRFU in scoring, accounting for 14 touchdowns and 90 of his team's 167 points as they went undefeated in six games.[17] The Argonauts won the eastern championship, and faced theEdmonton Eskimos in the first east–westGrey Cup championship in Canadian history. Conacher rushed for 211 yards and scored 15 points in Toronto's 23–0 victory to claim the national title.[20]
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 about 950 yards. The Argonauts reached the Eastern final, but lost toQueen's University, 12–11. In that game, Conacher was the entire Argonaut offence, rushing 35 times for 227 yards but Pep Leadley's 21-yard field goal towards the end of the game gave Queens' its victory.[17]
The expense of playing hockey initially kept Conacher off the ice.[12] He did not learn to skate until he was 16. Consequently, hockey was among his weakest sports.[9] 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 stardefenceman for Aura Lee.[21] He joined theToronto Canoe Club Paddlers, a team of all-star calibre players in 1919–20, and with them won theMemorial Cup, Canada's nationaljunior championship.[22] Conacher then returned to the Aura Lees to play for their senior team for two years.[23]
National Hockey League (NHL) teams took notice of Conacher's ability. TheToronto St. Pats offered him $3,000 a season – three times the average salary – to play for them in1920–21,[24] while in 1921, theMontreal Canadiens offered $5,000 and support setting up a business.[25] He turned both down as he was not yet willing to surrender his status as an amateur athlete.[24] His decisions to refuse the offers led to speculation that he was being paid under the table. He andBilly Burch were accused of deliberately throwing a game in 1922, but were absolved of guilt by the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada.[26]
Conacher remained in senior hockey and while playing for the North Toronto Seniors in 1923, was a part of the first hockey game broadcast on radio.[23] That summer, he received an offer from Roy Schooley, the manager of theDuquesne Gardens and owner of thePittsburgh Yellow Jackets of theUnited 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.[27] He brought many of his teammates with him toPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, all of whom received jobs in the community, and he attended school atBellefonte Academy for a year before enrolling atDuquesne University.[28]
He played football for both schools in the fall,[17] and served as the Yellow Jackets' captain in the winter where he led the team to consecutive USAHA titles in 1924 and 1925.[23] In the summers, Conacher returned to Toronto and played lacrosse and baseball.[29] The Yellow Jackets turned professional in 1925 when they were renamed thePittsburgh Pirates and joined theNational Hockey League (NHL).[23] Conacher finally chose to turn professional with the team, a decision that surprised fans and teammates in Toronto, who knew of his favouritism for the game of football.[7]
Conacher scored the first goal in Pirates history on American Thanksgiving Day Thursday November 26, 1925, against theBoston Bruins.[23] He scored nine goals in 33 games in1925–26, then returned to Toronto to play professional baseball with theToronto Maple Leafs.[30] An outfielder on the team, Conacher and the Maple Leafs won theInternational League championship then defeated theLouisville Colonels to win theLittle World Series.[31]
He returned to Pittsburgh for the1926–27 NHL season, but was dealt early in the year to theNew York Americans in exchange forCharlie Langlois and $2,000.[32] The trade nearly proved disastrous for Conacher. He scored 8 goals in1926–27 and improved to 11 in1927–28,[32] but playing for a team owned by notoriousbootleggerBill Dwyer resulted in his becoming a heavy drinker.[28] Conacher served as player-coach in1929–30, 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 theMontreal Maroons.[33]
Conacher periodically struggled with Montreal, and at one point was placed onwaivers with no other team willing to take over his contract.[34] Nonetheless, his overall play and point totals increased for three consecutive seasons with the Maroons, peaking at 28 points in1932–33.[32] He was named to thesecond All-Star team that season,[15] but was traded to theChicago Black Hawks in exchange forTeddy Graham.[32] Conacher was a key figure in the club's first Stanley Cup victory that season. He finished second to the Canadiens'Aurel Joliat in the voting for theHart Trophy and earned a spot on the NHL's first All-Star team.[23]
On Wednesday October 3, 1934, Conacher was involved in one of the largest transactions in league history. He was dealt to theMontreal Canadiens, along withLeroy Goldsworthy andRoger Jenkins in exchange for Montreal superstarHowie Morenz,Lorne Chabot andMarty Burke.[35] 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 withHerb Cain, in exchange for the rights toNelson Crutchfield.[36] 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 theNew York Rangers on April 23, 1937. That final year he was runner-up toBabe Siebert in the 1937 Hart Trophy voting and was placed on the NHL second All-Star team.[23]
Conacher had not played competitive football since turning professional. At one point he was offered a position as coach of theMontreal AAA Winged Wheelers, but disappointed theInterprovincial Rugby Football Union club when he turned down the job due to his other commitments.[37] He was not absent from 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.[38] The league never came to fruition, but Conacher organized what became the first professional football team in Canada.[20] 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.[17] Conacher recruited former amateur players who had likewise left the sport in favour of paying jobs in other pro sports, including his brotherCharlie.[39]
The first game was heldThanksgiving 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 twotouchdowns and setting up a third for the Chefs, and was hailed as the game's star despite an 18–15 loss.[40] Toronto lost a return match in Rochester, but in the third and final game of their season, the Chefs defeated a team fromBuffalo at Toronto by a score of 18–0.[41] Conacher was again the star, rushing for two touchdowns and scoring 13 of his team's points.[42] He organized the team for a second year in 1934, known as theWrigley Aromints due to new sponsorship, and again played an exhibition schedule as the team remained unaffiliated with any league.[43] The team again played three games, winning all three. However, at the age of 34 years, Conacher found that the game was too hard on his body physically, and neither he nor his team returned for a third season.[44]
Led by the owners of the Montreal Canadiens, the arena operators of Canada's NHL teams invented the sport ofbox lacrosse in 1931 in a bid to fill arena dates in the summer.[45] Thefield 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.[46] 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 fromCornwall, 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.[46] 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.[47] When the Maroons went to Toronto, the Maple Leafs hosted a "Lionel Conacher Night" to celebrate the city's native son.[47] 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.[48] In one game, against Toronto, he scored ten goals in a 17–12 victory.[49] 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.[50]
When Conacher retired from professional hockey, he ran as aLiberal in the1937 Ontario general election. He was elected as aMember of Provincial Parliament (MPP) representing the TorontoBracondaleelectoral district in theOntario Legislative Assembly, defeating the district's incumbent,ConservativeArthur Russell Nesbitt.[51] Bracondale had a colourful electoral past, and this election night was no different. The October 6 election was a very close race between Nesbitt and Conacher.
Conacher represented Bracondale from October 6, 1937, until June 30, 1943, when the Legislature was dissolved for the1943 Ontario general election.[52] He was challenged for the Liberal nomination in Bracondale by Toronto city alderman E. C. Bogart.[53] Bogart won and then lost the seat to theCo-operative Commwealth'sRae Luckock a few weeks later.[54]
Conacher also served as the sports director for theRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) duringWorld War II. He andCanadian Amateur Hockey Association past-presidentGeorge Dudley, announced plans for military teams based at all RCAF commands across Canada to play insenior ice hockey leagues.[55]
In the1945 Canadian general election, Conacher represented theLiberal Party of Canada for a seat in theHouse of Commons of Canada, where he came second in Toronto'sTrinity electoral district, losing to theProgressive Conservative incumbent. He ran again in Trinity for the Liberals in the1949 Canadian general election, and this time he was elected. He was re-elected for a final time in the1953 election.[4] Conacher was a friend of Justice Walter Robb, the chairman of the Ontario Liquor Licensing board.[56] Conacher came to be influenced by the gangsterJohnny Papalia as the police informerMarvin Elkind recalled in 2011: "In those days, getting a liquor license was like printing money. Very few places had them. They were difficult to get and you had to get to Judge Robb. You just couldn't go to Judge Robb yourself and pay him off. You had to go through somebody.. Smirle Lawson was one of his contacts. Charlie Conacher was one of his contracts. So if you wanted a liquor license in a bar or something, you would get to Judge Robb through these certain guys".[56]
In the spring of 1954 Conacher was in Ottawa attending to his parliamentary duties when he was asked to play in the annual softball game between MPs and members of the parliamentary press gallery. On May 26, in the sixth inning, in his last at-bat-ever, he hit a long drive intoleft field, stretching a single into atriple, when he sprinted tothird base.[4] He stood, breathing heavily and then collapsed face-first from having been hit in the head with a pitch in an earlier inning. One of the other MPs was a doctor who tried to assist him, but there was little that could be done for Conacher and within twenty minutes he was pronounced dead.[9] The next day Conacher was supposed to attend his daughter's graduation from theUniversity of Toronto.[4] A big funeral was held, and his brother Charlie flew in from England to be there.[4] He was buried atSt. John's York Mills Anglican Church Cemetery in Toronto.[57]
He was named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century (1950). In 1981 thePro Football Researchers Association called Conacher "Canada's Answer toJim Thorpe".[17] He is a member of theCanadian Sports Hall of Fame (1955), theCanadian Football Hall of Fame (1963), theCanadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1966), andHockey Hall of Fame (1994). The award for theCanadian Press Canadian male athlete of the year is called theLionel Conacher Award.[23]
Conacher's younger brothers,Charlie Conacher, andRoy 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 theMontreal Alouettes of theCanadian Football League. His sonBrian Conacher represented Canada at the1964 Winter Olympics and played for theToronto Maple Leafs, winning aStanley Cup with them in1966–67 NHL season.Pete Conacher, Lionel's nephew and the son of Charlie, also played in the NHL, as did another nephew of Lionel's,Murray Henderson, who was the son of Lionel's sister Catherine. Former NHL playerCory Conacher is also a distant relative of Lionel's.[58]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1916–17 | Toronto Century Rovers | Minor-ON | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1917–18 | Toronto Aura Lee | OHA-Jr. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1918–19 | Parkdale Canoe Club | OHA-Jr. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1919–20 | Toronto Canoe Club | OHA-Jr. | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 21 | 9 | 30 | — | ||
| 1920–21 | Toronto Aura Lee | OHA-Sr. | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1921–22 | Toronto Aura Lee | OHA-Sr. | 20 | 7 | 2 | 9 | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1922–23 | North Toronto A. A. | OHA-Int. | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1923–24 | Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets | USAHA | 20 | 12 | 4 | 16 | — | 13 | 6 | 3 | 9 | — | ||
| 1924–25 | Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets | USAHA | 40 | 14 | 0 | 14 | — | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5 | — | ||
| 1925–26 | Pittsburgh Pirates | NHL | 33 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1926–27 | Pittsburgh Pirates | NHL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1926–27 | New York Americans | NHL | 30 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1927–28 | New York Americans | NHL | 30 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | New York Americans | NHL | 44 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 132 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 1929–30 | New York Americans | NHL | 39 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1930–31 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 35 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1931–32 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 46 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1932–33 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 47 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 61 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1933–34 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 48 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 87 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1934–35 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 40 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1935–36 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 47 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 65 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1936–37 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 45 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 64 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 494 | 80 | 105 | 185 | 882 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 34 | ||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| New York Americans | 1929–30 | 44 | 14 | 25 | 5 | 33 | 5th in Canadian | Missed playoffs |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None | Pittsburgh Pirates captain 1925–26 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head coach of the New York Americans 1929–30 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Montreal Maroons captain 1936–37 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
