Lionel Conacher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lionel Pretoria Conacher, MP (May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed The Big Train, was Canada's top all-around athlete in the 1920s, excelling in Canadian football, ice hockey, lacrosse, baseball, boxing and wrestling. He later became a politician and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the Canadian House of Commons.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Conacher played for the Toronto Argonauts, and was part of the 1921 Grey Cup winning team. From 1925 to 1937, he played in the National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Americans, Chicago Blackhawks, and Montreal Maroons. Winning the Stanley Cup in 1934 with the Chicago Blackhawks, and 1935 with the Montreal Maroons.
Conacher was a Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for the Toronto riding of Bracondale, from October 6, 1937 until June 30, 1943. He was elected in 1949 as a Liberal Member of Parliament in the Toronto riding of Trinity and re-elected in 1953.
On May 26, 1954, Conacher was playing softball when he suddenly suffered a heart attack and died. He was named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century (1950). He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (1955), the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1955), the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1966), and Hockey Hall of Fame (1994). The award for the Canadian Press Canadian male athlete of the year is called the Lionel Conacher Award.
Conacher's younger brothers, Charlie Conacher, and Roy Conacher, were also Hall of Fame hockey players. His son, Brian Conacher, played for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League & won the Stanley Cup with them in 1967.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Lionel Conacher's biography at Legends of Hockey
- Lionel Conacher's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Argonauts Hall of Famers
- History by the Minute Video
- Find-A-Grave profile for Lionel Conacher
- "Big Train" Lionel Conacher Called Greatest Male Athlete of the Half Century, The Historica Foundation of Canada
- The Canadian Encyclopedia article on Conacher
- Canada Sports Hall of Fame page
- Canadian Football Hall of Fame page
| Preceded by Hooley Smith |
Montreal Maroons captains 1936–37 |
Succeeded by Stewart Evans |
