James Cooper Smeaton (July 22, 1890 – October 3, 1978) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player,

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

and head coach. He served as the National Hockey League (NHL)'s referee-in-chief from 1917 until 1937. Smeaton served as a

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

trustee from 1946 until his death in 1978. Smeaton was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

in 1961.

Biography

Smeaton was born in Carleton Place, Ontario. When he was three years of age, Smeaton's family moved to the Westmount suburb of Montreal, Quebec. During his youth, Smeaton played baseball, football and ice hockey for the Westmount Amateur Athletic Association. By 1908, Smeaton had started refereeing ice hockey games, including those of the Montreal Insurance Hockey League. New York Wanderers, 1909 1910

Smeaton moved to New York in 1910 and played one season of point for the

New York Wanderers The New York Wanderers were an amateur ice hockey team from Manhattan, New York City. The New York Wanderers played seven seasons in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1903 and 1914 and won the championship title in 1903–04. 1896 Sta ...

, while working for Spalding Sporting Goods. On the New York Wanderers Smeaton played alongside fellow Montreal Westmount products Sprague and Odie Cleghorn. Although praised by the ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' after the season as the best point player in the league ( AAHL) the newspaper also pointed out that the Wanderers were involved in many rough house incidents and that Smeaton's "principal fault lies in the fact that he is inclined not only toward dirty play, but also left a poor impression upon many of the spectators through his actions on the ice." Smeaton returned to Montreal for family reasons and joined Sun Life Insurance and started refereeing amateur games as a sideline. In 1913, he joined the National Hockey Association (NHA) as a referee. In his first game in 1913, between the Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Wanderers, he was confronted by Newsy Lalonde after calling an offside. Smeaton promptly fined Lalonde $5 (Lalonde, known as a bit of a "tightwad", never repeated the incident). Grand Mere HC 1914

In 1914, Smeaton joined the Canadian military to serve in the First World War. Smeaton served with the 11th Canadian Siege Battery in France. He was awarded the Military Medal for his service. Smeaton would later be active in the Norman Mitchell VC Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Mount Royal, where he lived. In September 1959, Smeaton organized a fund-raising intra-squad game by the Montreal Canadiens to benefit the branch's welfare fund. Smeaton became the NHL's first referee in chief when the NHL formed in 1917. Smeaton was offered the general manager's job of the expansion New York Rangers in 1926, but turned it down to remain in Montreal. He served as referee until 1930 when he became the head coach of the Philadelphia Quakers. The Quakers played only one season, 1930–31, finishing out of the playoffs. The following season, Smeaton resumed refereeing. He refereed in the NHL until 1937 when he retired. Smeaton, who officiated numerous

and Allan Cup finals, would be inducted as an on-ice official into the

in 1961. Part of the reason Smeaton retired from hockey was to attend to his business career. He retired to accept a promotion to assistant branch manager at Sun Life. Smeaton later became Ottawa branch manager before returning to Montreal to become Montreal branch manager in 1944. Smeaton would continue at Sun Life until retiring in 1954. Smeaton served as president of the Montreal Life Insurance Underwriters Association.

P. D. Ross Philip Dansken Ross (January 1, 1858 – July 5, 1949) was a Canadian journalist, newspaper publisher, and ice hockey administrator. Early life Philip Dansken Ross was born in Montreal to parents Christina Chalmers Dansken and Montreal accountan ...

appointed Smeaton trustee of the

on February 24, 1946, replacing the late William Foran. During his term as trustee, the NHL was given control over the Stanley Cup, allowing the league to reject challenges for the Cup from other leagues. As part of his duties Smeaton would, on occasion, present the Cup to the Stanley-Cup winning championship team. Smeaton remained active in retirement with golf. Smeaton died on October 3, 1978 at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. He was survived by his wife Victoria. Smeaton is buried in

Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. Th ...

in Montreal.

NHL coaching record

References

;General references * * *

External links

* *
National Hockey League Official Association biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smeaton, J. Cooper 1890 births 1978 deaths Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey officials Canadian military personnel of World War I Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery National Hockey League officials People from Carleton Place Philadelphia Quakers (NHL) coaches Sportspeople from Ontario Canadian recipients of the Military Medal