Conacher, Lionel Pretoria 'Big Train' National Historic Person
Toronto, Ontario
Lionel Conacher, 1948
(© Arthur Roy / Library and Archives Canada | Bibliothèque et Archives Canada / PA-047102)
Address :
80 Cottingham Street, Toronto, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1976-06-15
Life Date:
1900 to 1954
Event, Person, Organization:
Other Name(s):
-
Conacher, Lionel Pretoria 'Big Train'
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Male Athlete of the Half-century (1900-50), 1921 Grey Cup, National Hockey League (1925-37)
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 80 Cottingham Street, Toronto, Ontario
Lionel Conacher, the "Big Train," was voted Canada's All-Round Male Athlete of the Half-century in 1950. He excelled at six professional sports. Particularly gifted in football and lacrosse, he was a key participant in many championships including the 1921 Grey Cup. Between 1925 and 1937 Conacher concentrated on a career in the National Hockey League during which he pioneered many modern defensive techniques and was a member of two different Stanley Cup-winning teams. On his retirement from sports in 1937 Conacher was elected to the Ontario Legislature and in 1949 to the House of Commons.