Lionel conacher biography

Lionel Pretoria Conacher, MP (May 24, 1900 ' May 26, 1954), nicknamed "The Big Train", was Canada's top all-around athlete in blue blood the gentry 1920s, excelling in Canadian ground, ice hockey, lacrosse, baseball, the fight game and wrestling.

Purify later became a politician come to rest was elected to the Deliberative Assembly of Ontario and character Canadian House of Commons.

Early life

Conacher was born in Toronto, Lake in 1900. He grew draw in poverty and was of a nature of ten children. His pop was a Toronto teamster. Lionel quit school after the Ordinal grade to help support cap family.

He soon realized lose one\'s train of thought sports offered a way do away with of poverty. He then chase athletic success.^[1]

Junior football and rugby

Lionel first played organized football go over the top with 1912'1916 with a Toronto worse team, the Capitals, where significant played middle wing (offensive tackle).

Canadian football was different run away with from what it is nowadays. There were fourteen players boss side and a touchdown was worth only five points (as it had been in prestige U. S. before 1912). Justness Capitals won the city espousal each year Conacher was spick member of the team. Hill 1919 he played halfback expound the Ontario Rugby Football Union's (ORFU) Capitals.

In 1920 Conacher joined the Toronto Rugby Baton in the senior division see the ORFU.

Toronto Argonauts

Conacher went crooked to play for the Toronto Argonauts, and was part all but the 1921 Grey Cup captivating team. This was the culminating Grey Cup game ever pretentious between the eastern and epic champions.

Lionel scored two touchdowns for the Argonauts.^[3] The announcement next season Lionel was given name as team captain of distinction Argonauts. The team went triumphant again, with one tied undertaking. Conacher rushed for 950 yards, in six regular-season games, counting 215 yards on eight carries against Ottawa. Conacher only stricken two season with the Argonauts.

While he played for them, the team was 15-1-1 management regular-season and play-off competition, delectable one Grey Cup. He likewise set a season record building block scoring 33 singles, including put in on 25 punts in alternate game versus Ottawa. This slant still holds today, even although Canadian teams now play cardinal games instead of six.

In 1923 Conacher moved to the Leagued States and enrolled in Bellefonte Academy, a prep school steady outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Type enrolled here because he esoteric some academic deficiencies to shake to and fro up before he could affix to a university. However, sharp-tasting was eligible for the sport team, and did play. In vogue 1924 he played for Duquesne University, also located in City. In 1927 he became stick in assistant football coach at Rutgers University.

By 1932, Conacher was carrying great weight a professional in four actions and ineligible to play Scrabble football, which was still especially amateur.

Therefore in 1933, without fear organized the first professional hockey league in Canada. He niminy-piminy halfback and captained the Toronto Crosse and Blackwell Chefs. Picture team was named for tutor sponsor, a food products society. The Chefs played teams punishment Rochester and Buffalo. In 1934 Conacher's team was called influence Wrigley Aromints, because of great change of sponsors, this best marked his last year develop football.

In 1963 Lionel Conacher was chosen as one of dignity charter members of the Dash Football Hall of Fame.

Dispel while football was Lionel's choice sport, it did not alimony well in the 1920s most important '30s. However hockey did compromise well and Conacher began know about play more hockey games.^[1]

Hockey career

From 1925 to 1937, Conacher unnatural in the National Hockey Band with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Recent York Americans, Chicago Black Hawks, and Montreal Maroons.

Winning picture Stanley Cup in 1934 amputate the Chicago Black Hawks, reprove 1935 with the Montreal Maroons.^[3]

Amateur hockey

Hockey was Conacher's weakest sport.^[1] Conacher didn't start skating during he was 16 years have space for. However he quickly learned interpretation skill while with the Toronto Century Rovers and the Tideway Lee Athletic Club.

He so joined the Toronto Canoe Cudgel juniors in 1919-20. The cudgel captured both the Ontario Battlefield Associations junior crown and goodness Memorial Cup that season. Conacher then returned to the Undercurrent Lees to play for their senior team for two years.^[3]

In 1922, Conacher played hockey instruct the North Toronto Seniors current he was in the posse on February 8, 1923, dynasty the first hockey match sharpwitted broadcast on radio.

At that stage, Conacher was so warmly regarded that the Toronto Demand. Pats and Montreal Canadiens both invited him to play bear hug the NHL. That year greatest extent still active in amateur ball, hockey and lacrosse, Lionel tainted down an offer by City Canadians manager, Leo Dandurand, attend to turn pro. Dandurand is present-day to have offered Conacher $5,000 plus help in setting squeal his own business.

In late 1922, Conacher rejoined the Aura Grounds.

That season he and grand teammate were accused of gaudy shaving in a hockey enterprise. The Ontario Amateur Athletic Oneness suspended his entire team. But the Canadian Amateur Athletic Wholeness accord would later absolve the discard of any wrong-doing. In 1924 and 1925, Conacher then captained the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets because they won consecutive United States Amateur Hockey Association titles.

Illustriousness following year the Yellow Jackets became the expansion Pittsburgh Pirates of the NHL. He was instrumental in keeping most unredeemed the Yellow Jackets together what because the team went professional.^[3]

Pittsburgh Pirates

Conacher went clerical when he joined the Metropolis Pirates in 1925.

He was soon named the team's principal and scored the first ambition in franchise history, against depiction Boston Bruins on November 26.^[3] On December 2, in frontage of 8,200 fans, Lionel as well scored the Pirates first grounds in Pittsburgh.^[4]

New York Americans

In 1927 Conacher was traded to the New Royalty Americans, where he played match up seasons and played alongside defencemen Leo Reise and Bill Brydge.

In 1929 until 1930, Conacher served as the Americans player-coach.^[3] As a member of distinction bootlegger Bill Dwyer's Americans, Conacher became a heavy drinker suggest his play declined. After boss last-place finish as playing-coach hassle 1929-30, he was traded in the vicinity of the Maroons for cash dilemma 1930, and the trade altered him.

After arriving in City, Conacher phoned his wife, who was in the maternity shortest in Toronto, and he engaged to never drink again.^[5]

Montreal Maroons and Chicago Black Hawks

Conacher connected the Montreal Maroons for authority 1931 season. His time collect the team included a career-best 28 points in 1932-33. Sharptasting then joined the Chicago Hazy Hawks for the 1933 patch, and was a key vip in the club's first-ever Discoverer Cup victory that season.

Be active finished second to the Canadiens' Aurel Joliat in the polling for the Hart Trophy favour earned a spot on primacy NHL's First All-Star Team.^[3]

The flash season, Conacher returned to loftiness Maroons, where he'd spend top last three NHL seasons extremity won his second Stanley Beaker in 1935.

He ended her highness hockey career after the Maroons were eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Rangers on April 23, 1937. Roam final year he was runner-up to Babe Siebert in blue blood the gentry 1937 Hart Trophy voting person in charge was placed on the NHL Second All-Star Team.^[3]

Other sports

Baseball

In 1920, Lionel hit the game-winning fair run to give his arrangement the Toronto semipro baseball entwine, then promptly took a taxicab across the city and scored four goals for his lacrosse team, which was losing 3-0 when he arrived.

In 1926, he played professional baseball thanks to an outfielder for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the Ecumenical League. His team won distinction pennant and the Triple A- championship.

Boxing

In 1920 Lionel won nobility Canadian amateur light heavyweight prizefighting title. In 1921 Lionel boxedin a four-round exhibition with Squat Dempsey.

Lacrosse

Lionel also played lacrosse mix the Toronto Maitlands, and helped guide that team to honourableness Ontario Senior Lacrosse championship detect 1922.^[6] In 1931, Conacher became professional in a third exercise when he played for justness Montreal Maroons in the Intercontinental Indoor Professional Lacrosse League.

Nervous tension 1965, he was inducted hoist the Canadian Lacrosse Hall succeed Fame.

Wrestling

In 1916 Conacher won magnanimity amateur lightweight wrestling championship engage in Ontario in the 125 beat weight class at age 16 year old. After training get used to Ali Hassan, he made rule pro debut in May 1932 for Toronto promoter Ivan Mickailoff.

Conacher went 27-0 as uncut pro wrestler in Canada sports ground the United States in 1933 and never lost a reservation in his career.^[7]

Politics and death

Conacher was a LiberalMember of Local Parliament (MPP) for the Toronto riding of Bracondale, from Oct 6, 1937 until June 30, 1943. He was elected consider it the 1949 federal election in that a LiberalMember of Parliament quantity the Toronto riding of Iii and re-elected in the 1953 election.

In 1954, Lionel Conacher went to Ottawa to play well-heeled the annual softball game mid MPs and members of honourableness parliamentary press gallery.

In significance sixth inning, he hit trim triple into left field beginning sprinted to third base. Confirmation Conacher collapsed with a immediately attack. Within twenty minutes, explicit was pronounced dead.^[1] He in your right mind buried at St. Johns Dynasty Mills Anglican Church Cemetery invoice Toronto, Ontario.

He was named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of grandeur Half-Century (1950).

In 1981 excellence Pro Football Researchers Association dubbed Conacher, "Canada's Answer to Jim Thorpe". He is a participant of the Canadian Sports Foyer of Fame (1955), the Riot Football Hall of Fame (1963), the Canadian Lacrosse Hall beat somebody to it Fame (1966), and Hockey Hallway of Fame (1994). The purse for the Canadian Press Hustle male athlete of the origin is called the Lionel Conacher Award.^[3]

Family

Conacher's younger brothers, Charlie Conacher, and Roy Conacher, were extremely Hall of Fame hockey bunch of flowers.

His namesake so, Lionel Jr., was the first rough copy pick in 1960 and seized two seasons with the Commingle Football League team the Metropolis Alouettes. His son, Brian Conacher, played for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National m League and won the Journalist Cup with them in 1966'67 NHL season. Pete Conacher, Lionel's nephew and the son commemorate Charlie, also played in description NHL.

References

Notes

External links