Hugh John Plaxton (May 16, 1904 – December 1, 1982) was a Canadian

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 ...

player and politician. During his hockey career, he competed in the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1928 (; ), were an international winter multi-sport event that was celebrated from 11 to 19 February 1928 in St. Moritz, Swit ...

, winning a gold medal with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and later played 17 games in the

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 ...

with the

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924–25 NHL season, 1924 to 1937–38 NHL season, 1938, winning the Sta ...

during the 1932–33 season. In his political career, he served in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1935 to 1940, representing

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Playing career

In 1928 he was a member of the University of Toronto Grads, the Canadian team which won the gold medal with his brother

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

and cousin

Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

. He also played

NHL 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 ...

hockey for the

in the 1932–33 season.

Political career

After retiring from hockey, Plaxton qualified as a lawyer and entered politics. He was elected to parliament in the 1935 federal election as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

MP from the Toronto riding of

defeating

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and former

Toronto mayor The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

George Reginald Geary George Reginald Geary (August 12, 1872 – April 30, 1954) was a Canadian politician. He was a Conservative member of the House of Commons from 1925 to 1935. He also served as Mayor of Toronto from 1910 to 1912. Background Born August 12, ...

. He lost the Liberal Party nomination in 1940 federal election to former Ontario Attorney-General

Arthur Roebuck Arthur Wentworth Roebuck, , (February 28, 1878 – November 17, 1971) was a Canadian politician and labour lawyer. Background Roebuck was born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1878 and grew up on a farm in Wellington County, near Guelph. He worked as a ...

but attempted to return to Parliament in the 1945 federal election running in the riding of

Kingston City Kingston City was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Kingston riding. It consisted of the cit ...

where he was defeated by Conservative Thomas Kidd. In January 1937, Plaxton introduced a resolution in the

to propose establishment of a Canadian ministry for sport. He stated it had potential to take over administration of sports and eliminate "disputes over authority and jurisdiction".

Amateur Athletic Union of Canada The history of Canadian sports falls into five stages of development: early recreational activities before 1840; the start of organized competition, 1840–1880; the emergence of national organizations, 1882–1914; the rapid growth of both amateur ...

(AAU of C) president Jack Hamilton felt that a ministry might be beneficial, and that sport could be promoted with the help of the department of health and reach more areas of Canada. He wanted more discussion on what would happen to sports organizations if the government took control of or organized sports, but stated that the AAU of C would cooperate. Plaxton was one of two former hockey players to have been elected a Member of Parliament for Trinity, the other being

Lionel Conacher Lionel Pretoria Conacher ( ; May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed "the Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. ...

who was elected as a Liberal MP for the riding in 1949 and 1953.

Personal life

Plaxton lived in Mississauga's Port Credit area by 1948.David W. Small, David Brown,
Heritage Impact Statement, 1251 Stavebank Road, Mississauga ON L5G 2W1
, 2016. Submitted to the City of Mississauga Heritage Advisory Committee.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plaxton, Hugh 1904 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Canadian lawyers 20th-century Canadian sportsmen 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada Canadian ice hockey players Ice hockey people from Barrie Ice hockey players at the 1928 Winter Olympics Lawyers in Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Montreal Maroons players Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Toronto Varsity Blues ice hockey players Windsor Bulldogs (1929–1936) players