Lionel Pretoria 'Big Train' Conacher

Lionel Conacher, the “Big Train,” was voted Canada’s All-Round Male Athlete of the Half-century in 1950. He excelled at six professional sports. Particularly gifted in football and lacrosse, he was a key participant in many championships including the 1921 Grey Cup. Between 1925 and 1937 Conacher concentrated on a career in the National Hockey League during which he pioneered many modern defensive techniques and was a member of two different Stanley Cup-winning teams. On his retirement from sports in 1937 Conacher was elected to the Ontario Legislature and in 1949 to the House of Commons.

Lionel Conacher, nommé en 1950 l’athlète masculin canadien du demi-siècle, a excellé dans six sports professionnels, en particulier le football et la crosse. Il a mené ses coéquipiers à de nombreux championnats, dont la coupe Grey, en 1921. De 1925 à 1937, il a évolué dans la Ligue nationale de hockey, où il a lancé nombre de techniques défensives modernes et fait partie de deux clubs qui remportèrent la coupe Stanley. A sa retraite de la vie sportive, en 1937, il fut élu à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario et, en 1949, il remporta un siège à la Chambre des communes.