| Lionel Conacher MP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1994 | |||
 | |||
| Born |
May 24, 1900 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
May 26, 1954 (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 for Trinity | |||
| In office June 27, 1949 – May 26, 1954 | |||
| Preceded by | Larry Skey | ||
| Succeeded by | Donald Carrick | ||
| Member of Provincial Parliament | |||
| In office October 6, 1937 – August 3, 1943 | |||
| Preceded by | Arthur Russell Nesbitt | ||
| Succeeded by | Rae Luckock | ||
| Constituency | Bracondale | ||
| 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 Conacher MP (/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 was Canadian football; he was a member of the 1921 Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts. He was also 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. He is one of three players, including Joe Miller and Carl 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 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 a member 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 the Royal 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 of Parliament 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 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, the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.[3] Additionally, the Canadian Press gives the Lionel Conacher Award to its male athlete of the year.
- ^ "Lionel Conacher Named Air Force Sports Head". The Evening Citizen. Ottawa. July 9, 1942. p. 13.
- ^ Frank Cosentino; Don Morrow (1981), Lionel Conacher, Don Mills: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, ISBN 0-88902-679-3
- ^ "Lionel Conacher". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.