Alexander Edward "Porky" Romeril (December 29, 1893 – May 17, 1968) was a Canadian amateur

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player, football player,

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

referee, and the first coach of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Career

Romeril played junior hockey with the Toronto Canoe Club, winning the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

championship in 1912 with Romeril playing

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

. He was offered $70 a week to turn professional with the

Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was 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 1912 ...

in 1912–13, but declined and played for the TCC senior team. During the First World War, Romeril played senior hockey with the

Winnipeg 61st Battalion Winnipeg 61st Battalion was a Canadian ice hockey team. Composed of players from the 61st Battalion (Winnipeg), CEF, 61st Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force created to participate in World War I, the team won the Pattison Trophy in 1 ...

, winning the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

in 1916. After the war, Romeril played left wing for the senior OHA team from the

Toronto Granite Club The Granite Club (founded as the Toronto Granite Curling Club) is a private social and athletic club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1875, it has a long history of sports competition. It is located at 2350 Bayview Avenue, north of mid ...

, called the

Toronto Granites The Toronto Granites were an amateur senior ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario. The Granites were Allan Cup champions in 1922 and 1923. They were chosen to represent Canada at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. The Granites won the s ...

. Led by centre Harry Watson, the Granites won the Allan Cup in 1922 and 1923 (Romeril was injured and couldn't play in the 1923 series). In 1923–24, Romeril played for

Toronto Aura Lee The Toronto Aura Lee Hockey Club operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1916 to 1926. They played at Arena Gardens in Toronto. In January 1925, the trustees of the Aura Lee Athletic Cl ...

, and then played for the Parkdale Canoe Club team in 1924–25. At the same time, Romeril was playing football before the start of hockey season for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. He played from 1920 to 1922 and then returned to manage the team in 1924. In February 1927, Romeril was named head coach of the

of the National Hockey League after the

Toronto St. Patricks The Toronto St. Patricks (colloquially known as the St. Pats) were a professional ice hockey team which began playing in the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1919. The Toronto NHL franchise (league membership) had previously been held by the Arena ...

were acquired by a group headed by

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

and renamed the Maple Leafs. He coached the team through the rest of the 1926–27 season. Romeril then became an NHL referee until retiring in 1934. He was also a strong golfer, competing in Toronto-area tournaments and serving as captain at the Rosedale Golf Club. Romeril is buried at

Park Lawn Cemetery Park Lawn Cemetery is a large cemetery in the Etobicoke district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It currently has around 22,000 graves. It is managed by the Park Lawn Limited Partnership, which also runs five other cemeteries in Toronto. The cemetery ...

in Toronto.Park Lawn: Alex Romeril
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Coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romeril, Alex 1893 births 1968 deaths National Hockey League officials Sportspeople from Ontario Players of Canadian football from Ontario Ice hockey people from Ontario Toronto Argonauts players Toronto Maple Leafs coaches