James Lloyd Turner (August 9, 1884 – April 7, 1976) was a Canadian ice hockey manager and executive. He was born in Elmvale,

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 ...

Career

Turner's first real experience with hockey began in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He played on an amateur team with his three brothers. In his spare time, he worked at the local rink, managing it and making its ice. Despite becoming involved in hockey, Turner was still primarily a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. When he moved to

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

in 1907, Turner played as the

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the team in Calgary, where he was the only non-American player in the Western Canada Baseball League. However, this is where his reputation as a hockey promoter grew. At the time, hockey was still young throughout

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

, and one of his primary goals was to help establish the game. He met the task by converting a

roller skating Roller skating is the act of travelling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreation, recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on s ...

rink to a hockey rink, and followed through by establishing a team and league. When the arena burned down in 1915, he built a nearby outdoor facility so the team would not have to stop playing. 1924 Calgary Tigers

In what was arguably his most notable achievement, Turner started up two teams each in Calgary and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, two of which eventually became the foundation of the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921–22 WCHL season, 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. ...

. He personally managed the Calgary Tigers, who played so well in the WCHL that they challenged 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 ...

for the

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 ...

in 1924, albeit in a losing effort. Afterwards, he managed the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the American Hockey Association and led them to a championship in 1926. Soon after, he flew back to the west to manage the Seattle Eskimos of the

Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in three incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The fir ...

. In the 1930s, Turner changed his focus to senior amateur hockey. He wanted to raise the profile of the

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 ...

, so he promised to pay W. G. Hardy, then-president of the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...

(CAHA), $1,500 for every tournament finals game played in Calgary. By 2006 standards, this is about $20,000 per game. Turner paid to have fans shuttled in via train from as far as 150 miles away. Thanks to media coverage, the popularity of the tournament skyrocketed, and the CAHA raised a significant amount of funds. Turner created and managed several more leagues, teams, and tournaments throughout his life. He concentrated efforts on creating military and civilian tournaments, and he organized the Southern Alberta Indian Tournament, a competition for the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

tribes of Alberta. For this, he received the honorary title of ''Chief Sitting Bull.'' In 1958, Turner 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 ...

as a builder, and in 1980, he was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame for contributions to hockey. He was one of the first 25 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Lloyd 1884 births 1976 deaths Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Simcoe County Canadian sports executives and administrators