John Purcell Quinn (January 9, 1876 – October 28, 1944) 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 ...

athlete, businessman, sports executive and politician. He was an owner and president of the

Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, were a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 191 ...

, winners of 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 1914. He was a member of the world champion Montreal Shamrocks

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

team in 1896. From 1927 to 1932 and from 1937 to 1942, he served as alderman on Toronto City Council. His brother

Emmett Quinn Thomas Emmett Quinn (September 10, 1877 – February 9, 1930) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, coach and referee. Quinn served as president of the National Hockey Association (NHA), the predecessor of today's National Hockey League (NHL). Hi ...

was also an

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.

Personal life

Born in

Montreal 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 ...

, Quinn had three brothers: Emmett, Fred and Raphael. Quinn played hockey and lacrosse as a youth. He joined Queen Insurance at the age of 14 and was transferred to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

in 1902. He became local manager of the renamed Royal Insurance office in Toronto in 1906. Because of ill health after a heart attack in 1942, he lived in Toronto until his death in 1944. He married Louise Reeves. Quinn did not have any children.

Ice hockey

Quinn was first involved in hockey as a coach and a referee in the early 1900s. He was referee of the Stanley Cup challenge series between the

Winnipeg Victorias The Winnipeg Victorias were an amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Victorias won the ...

and the

Montreal Hockey Club The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team ...

in 1903. When professional hockey was just beginning, Quinn was the owner and manager of the first professional ice hockey team in Toronto, the

Toronto Professional Hockey Club The Toronto Professional Hockey Club was a professional ice hockey team in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was Toronto's first professional ice hockey team, founded in 1906. The team played the 1906–07 season in exhibition games against other profe ...

, which operated from 1906 to 1909. In 1911, he, along with

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...

and other investors, purchased a franchise in 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) to play in the new

Arena Gardens An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances or sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators, and may ...

of Toronto as the Toronto Blueshirts. The arena was not ready for the 1911–12 season, and the team began play in 1912–13. In only its second season, the Blueshirts would win the NHA championship and the Stanley Cup. Quinn sold his share of the Blueshirts, turning the club over to Eddie Livingstone. Quinn and Livingstone knew each other from managing the Toronto Amateur Athletic Club's ice hockey team in previous years. In 1918, Livingstone and Quinn would team up against the owners of the NHA, now operating as 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). Together, they attempted to overthrow the NHL and resurrect the NHA but were unsuccessful as the rinks were controlled by the NHL or its partners. Quinn bought an option for the dormant Quebec city franchise of the NHA/NHL and was named a director of the NHL. However, the franchise option was bought only to provide a Quebec club for the resurrected NHA league or a new league. When the NHA plan failed and Quinn did not commit to operating the team in the NHL, the franchise was transferred to Mike Quinn (no relation) of Quebec City. The franchise operated as the

Quebec Athletics The Quebec Bulldogs () were an ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The team was officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club (), and later as the Quebec Athletic Club (). One of the first organized ice hockey clubs, the club debuted in 1878 with ...

in the 1919–20 season and then moved to

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. In 1920, Quinn became managing director of the Arena Gardens. In this position, he along with Livingstone attempted again to form a new league, one that would have two teams in Toronto, one in Hamilton and one possibly in the United States; either in Boston, Cleveland or Detroit. However, the Arena was placed into bankruptcy and Quinn was replaced by a receiver. The NHL placed the Quebec team in Hamilton to counter the threat. The NHL would eventually expand to Boston and Detroit in the 1920s.

Lacrosse

Quinn was a member of the Montreal Shamrocks team that won the world championship in 1896. He later was president of the Winnipeg Lacrosse Club and president of the Dominion Lacrosse Association.

Politician

Quinn became a city councillor for the City of Toronto in 1927. As a politician, he acted in humanitarian causes to improve life in Toronto. He is credited with getting Toronto public libraries open on Sundays. He worked to improve conditions in the Toronto Don Jail.

References

* * ; Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Percy 1876 births 1944 deaths Ice hockey people from Montreal Stanley Cup champions Toronto Blueshirts Toronto city councillors Canadian lacrosse players Ice hockey executives Canadian sports executives and administrators Canadian sportsperson-politicians 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors

Personal life

Ice hockey

Lacrosse

Politician

See also

References