Charles Graham Drinkwater (February 22, 1875 – September 27, 1946) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player, businessman and philanthropist. Drinkwater played for the

Montreal Victorias The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. ...

in the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) in the early era before professionalism. He had the ability to play both forward and defence with equal skill. Drinkwater was a member of five Stanley Cup winning teams during his career. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950. After hockey, Drinkwater became a partner in a stock-broker business and a supporter of several orchestras in Montreal.

Early life

Drinkwater was born and raised in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. He was educated at the

High School of Montreal The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...

and McGill University. Drinkwater was an accomplished hockey and

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

player in his teens. He starred with the

Montreal Hockey Club The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team was ...

junior team in 1892–93, the same year, the senior team won the first Stanley Cup. Drinkwater also played a prominent role on McGill's

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

Hockey career

After graduating from McGill in 1895, Drinkwater joined the Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal. He scored nine goals in eight contests, helping the Victorias win the Stanley Cup. Drinkwater would also win the Cup in 1896, 1897, 1898 and 1899 (as Captain). His excellent skating made him one of the best players early in the game of hockey. After retiring as a player, Drinkwater continued in the game as referee. He was named one of the original trustees of the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

by donator H. Montagu Allan in 1909. Drinkwater was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.

Business and music involvement

Drinkwater became a stock-broker and rose to partner of the firm Oswald & Drinkwater, later to become Drinkwater Weir & Company. Along with his wife Muriel Greenshields, he became a supporter of music in the city. He was the organizer of a February 11, 1934 benefit concert of the then Montreal Orchestra that cleared all of its debts and provided a surplus for future efforts. Drinkwater was vice-president of the Orchestra until it suspended in 1941. He continued supporting music as a director of Les Concerts Symphoniques (later known as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra) and a supporter of the Montreal Little Symphony until his death in 1946 at his home at 3511 Peel Street in Montreal. He was survived by his wife, a brother and a sister.

Hockey statistics

* Stanley Cup Champion.

References

* ;Notes *Kings of the Ice

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drinkwater, Graham 1875 births 1946 deaths Canadian ice hockey forwards High School of Montreal alumni Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Quebec McGill University alumni Montreal Victorias players Sportspeople from Montreal Stanley Cup champions