Edwin Smith "Chaucer" Elliott (August 20, 1878 – March 13, 1913) was aCanadiansportsman and aHall of Famereferee andlinesman. He was the grandfather ofBob Elliott, one of Canada's most respectedsports writers.
Born inKingston, Ontario, Elliott played hockey and football at his hometownQueen's University. While studying arts and later medicine, he captained Queen's rugby and hockey team.[1] He also played for theKingston Granites, winners of the Canadian championship in 1899.[2] It was while at Queen's that Elliott earned his nickname Chaucer, afterGeoffrey Chaucer due to his expansive vocabulary.[3][4] However, he left the university before graduating to organize a semi-professional baseball club in Kingston, Ontario.[2]
In 1903, Elliott joined a Toronto baseball team that played within theEastern League, and later moved to play in theNew England League.[5] While playing minor league baseball, he also began his career as a hockey referee with theOntario Hockey Association.[6] By 1906, Elliott began coaching theORFU'sToronto Argonauts, where he was later appointed manager.[7] The following year, he was hired as the coach for theMontreal AAA'sWinged Wheelers and an advisor for the organization.[6] He also managed the Oswego baseball team in the Empire League and attempted to organize an international baseball league.[8]
Elliott resigned from the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers position in 1911 to manage theSt. Thomas Saints of theCanadian Baseball League.[6] He also managed theToronto Blueshirts of theNational Hockey Association.[9] This was shortlived however as he was diagnosed with an irreversible form of cancer in 1913 and died in his hometownKingston at the age of 34.[10]
In 1961 he was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame.
