| Frank Patrick | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1950 (Builder) | |||
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Frank_Patrick,_Vancouver_Millionaires.jpg) Patrick while a member of the Vancouver Millionaires, 1913–14 | |||
| Born |
December 21, 1885 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
June 29, 1960 (aged 74) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Vancouver Maroons (PCHA) Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) Nelson Hockey Club (WKHL) Renfrew Creamery Kings (NHA) Montreal Victorias (ECAHA) | ||
| Playing career | 1904–1924 | ||
Francis Alexis Patrick (December 21, 1885 – June 29, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, head coach, manager, and executive. Along with his brother Lester, he founded the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the first major professional hockey league in Western Canada. Patrick, who also served as president of the league, took control of the Vancouver Millionaires, serving as a player, coach, and manager of the team. It was in the PCHA that Patrick would introduce many innovations to hockey that remain today, including the blue line, the penalty shot, and tracking assists, among others.
Born in Ottawa and raised in Montreal, Patrick first played hockey there along with his brother Lester. In 1904 he made his debut in the top Canadian league, though was limited as he attended McGill University and then moved west to British Columbia with his family in 1907 to establish a lumber company. The Patrick brothers returned to Central Canada in 1909 when they signed with the Renfrew Creamery Kings for one season. The Patrick family sold their lumber company in 1910 and used the proceeds to establish the PCHA, setting up teams in Vancouver, Victoria, and New Westminster. The league soon established itself as a legitimate enterprise, and their champions played for the Stanley Cup starting in 1915. Patrick played for, coached, and managed the Vancouver Millionaires, which won the Cup in 1915, the first team west of Manitoba to do so, and played for the Cup again in 1918, 1921, and 1922, losing each time. Patrick also served as president of the PCHA for nearly its entire existence, and in this role introduced many rules that helped modernize the game, making it both faster and more entertaining.
In 1926 the PCHA, which had since merged with the Western Canada Hockey League and was later renamed the Western Hockey League, was sold to the eastern-based National Hockey League (NHL). Patrick would later join the NHL in 1933, serving first in an executive role for the league and then as coach for the Boston Bruins from 1934 to 1936, and worked with the Montreal Canadiens from 1940 to 1941 in a business management role. Outside of hockey he faced financial difficulties, and died in 1960, four weeks after Lester. In recognition of his role in establishing modern hockey, Patrick was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1950.