Thomas Emmett Quinn (September 10, 1877 – February 9, 1930) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

executive, coach and

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 title ...

. Quinn served as president of the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), initially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Leagu ...

(NHA), the predecessor of today's

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). His brother Percy Quinn was also an ice hockey executive. At the time of his death, Quinn was a Fire Commissioner in Montreal.

Ice hockey career

Quinn first became notable in the field of ice hockey as a coach of the Montreal Shamrocks in the 1906–07 season. He was replaced after the season and worked as a referee for the 1907–08 season. He was the referee of the game, in

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the U.S. state of New York (state), New York converge. It is Ontario's easternmost city. Although it is the seat of the United ...

in February, 1907 in which Owen McCourt died as a result of his on-ice injuries. He returned to coaching, for the Quebec Bulldogs of the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECHA) in 1908–09. He also served as the ECHA's secretary-treasurer. In 1909, he was part of the dissolution of the ECHA. He became the Canadian Hockey Association's secretary-treasurer. When that league dissolved, he joined the

(NHA) as secretary-treasurer. In 1910, he was appointed president of the NHA. He held the position until October 18, 1916 when he resigned. During his tenure, the league moved into

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, relocating franchises in northern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

that had been members of the Temiscaming Professional Hockey League. Under his tenure, the league imposed a salary cap on its players. The

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in Western Canada and the Western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was cons ...

(PCHA) was founded in 1911, and it became the NHA's major competitor, albeit in western cities, while the NHA operated in eastern cities. Quinn negotiated agreements between the leagues for the first regular

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () 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, and the International Ic ...

playoffs, holding finals between the two leagues for the Cup, ending the time period of Stanley Cup "challenges" under the control of the Cup's trustees. He also negotiated agreements to respect each league's player contracts and a controlled draft for the transfer of players between the leagues. Quinn resigned from his position as president of the NHA after the 1915–16 season. He was rewarded with a silver tea service from the NHA in October 2016. He ended his involvement with hockey entirely.

Personal

Quinn had three brothers Fred, Percy and Raphael. Quinn married May Kiely. They had three children: Richard Francis Quinn, Robert Emmett Quinn and Millicent Quinn. Quinn was in the insurance business, as was his brother Percy. Quinn was nominated to the Fire Commissioner's Court in 1924 for his experience in fire hazards. He died in 1930 at 52 years of age.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Emmett 1877 births 1930 deaths Canadian ice hockey coaches Ice hockey people from Montreal Ice hockey executives Canadian sports executives and administrators