James Cooper Smeaton (July 22, 1890 – October 3, 1978) 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 ...

professional

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,

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 ...

and

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

. He served referee-in-chief of 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 ...

(NHL) from 1917 until 1937. Smeaton served as a

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 ...

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

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1961.

Biography

Smeaton was born in

Carleton Place, Ontario Carleton Place is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in Lanark County, about west of downtown Ottawa. It is located at the crossroads of Ontario Highway 15, Highway 15 and Ontario Highway 7, Highway 7, halfway between the towns of Perth, Ontario, ...

. When he was three years of age, his family moved to the

Westmount Westmount () is a city on the Island of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is an enclave of the city of Montreal, with a population of 19,658 as of the 2021 Canadian census. Westmount is home to schools, an arena, a pool, a public li ...

suburb of

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. During his youth, Smeaton played baseball, football and ice hockey for the Westmount Amateur Athletic Association. By 1908, he had started refereeing ice hockey games, including those of the Montreal Insurance Hockey League. 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 Stan ...

, while working for Spalding Sporting Goods. On the New York Wanderers team he played alongside fellow Montreal Westmount products Sprague and

Odie Cleghorn James Albert Ogilvie "Odie" Cleghorn (September 19, 1891 – July 13, 1956) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, linesman and referee. His brother Sprague Cleghorn also played professional ice hockey and the two played several sea ...

. 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 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) as a referee. In his first game in 1913, between the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

and the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

, he was confronted by

Newsy Lalonde Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887 – November 21, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and a professional lacrosse player. Lalonde is regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse ...

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 The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defence Act'', t ...

to serve in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He served with the 11th Canadian Siege Battery in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and was awarded the Military Medal for his service. Smeaton was later active in the Norman Mitchell VC Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in

Mount Royal Mount Royal (, ) is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The city's name is derived from the mountain's name. The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentian M ...

, 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. He was offered the general manager's job of the expansion

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

in 1926, but turned it down to remain in Montreal. He served as referee until 1930 when he became the

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 The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. It was most recently won by the Wentworth Gryphins ...

finals, was 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. He continued working at Sun Life until retiring in 1954. Smeaton also served as president of the Montreal Life Insurance Underwriters Association. P. D. Ross appointed Smeaton

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the

on February 24, 1946, replacing the late

William Foran William Michael Foran (February 4, 1871 – November 30, 1945) was an ice hockey executive, Stanley Cup trustee and government official. For over 50 years, he was secretary of the Board of Civil Service Examiners and its follow-up organization ...

. 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. He died on October 3, 1978, at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, survived by his wife Victoria. Smeaton is buried in

Mount Royal Cemetery Mount Royal Cemetery ( French: Cimetière Mont-Royal) is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened in 1852. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, ...

in Montreal.

NHL coaching record

References

;General references * * *

External links

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