Ken McKenzie (August 19, 1923April 9, 2003) was a Canadian newspaper publisher and sports journalist. He served as publicity director of the

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 ...

(NHL) from 1946 to 1963. In 1947, he published the first NHL press and radio guide, and co-founded ''

The Hockey News ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a readers ...

'' with Will Cote and C$383.81. McKenzie bought out his partner and later sold an 80 per cent share of ''The Hockey News'' for a reported $4-million in 1973. He stayed on as its publisher and a columnist until 1981. He also published ''Canadian Football News'', ''Ontario Golf News'', and the magazines ''Hockey Pictorial'' and ''Hockey World''. McKenzie is the namesake of three separate ice hockey awards; the

Ken McKenzie Trophy The Ken McKenzie Trophy was awarded annually to the Central Hockey League's leading points scorer in the regular season. The award was named for Ken McKenzie, the co-founder and longtime president and publisher of ''The Hockey News''. Previously ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

, the

of the International Hockey League, and the Ken McKenzie Award of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

. He received the

Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award The Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award is an accolade presented annually to a print newspaper columnist or reporter in recognition of their achievements covering the game of ice hockey. The award is "to recognize distinguished members of the newspaper ...

from the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997, for recognition of his contributions to journalism in

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 h ...

. He was inducted into both the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

and the

Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a Canadian museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, dedicated to honoring the history and achievements of sports in Manitoba. The organization began in 1980, and then opened a museum in The Forks in 1993. Afte ...

in 1999.

Early life

McKenzie was born on August 19, 1923, in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

. He played junior ice hockey as a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

on the

St. James Canadians The St. James Canadians were a Canadian junior hockey team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League until 2003, folding officially in 2004. The Canadians played out of the St. James Civic Centre, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As the Winnipeg Braves, the ...

, then joined the ''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'' at age 17. He began as a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the '' Herald Sun'' who began work ther ...

then became a weekly

sports columnist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

. He enlisted in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF) then was stationed in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was hired by the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' after the end of war, and reported on the sport of

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

Hockey publisher

McKenzie's idea to publish a hockey newspaper began while he served in the RCAF. When he asked his friends if they would buy a paper he wrote, "they all cheered" according to him. He presented a mock up of the paper to

(NHL) president

Red Dutton Norman Alexander Dutton (July 23, 1897 – March 15, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive. Commonly known as Red Dutton, and earlier by the nickname "Mervyn", he played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey ...

in 1945. Dutton did not give approval for the paper at the time, but instead hired McKenzie to organize league statistics on a part-time basis. When

Clarence Campbell Clarence Sutherland Campbell, (July 9, 1905 – June 24, 1984) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier. He refereed in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1930s, served in the Canadian Army during World War II, th ...

became president in 1946, McKenzie was hired as a full-time

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

director for the NHL. Campbell approved the paper a year later, providing that it cost nothing to the NHL or have an impact on public relations duties. McKenzie and Will Cote co-founded ''

'' with C$383.81 in 1947. Initial copies were printed on

mimeograph A mimeograph machine (often abbreviated to mimeo, sometimes called a stencil duplicator) is a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The process is called mimeography, and a copy made by the proc ...

at the NHL office. McKenzie also began the first NHL press and radio guide in 1947, which later became part of the ''

NHL Official Guide & Record Book The ''NHL Official Guide & Record Book'' was the complete statistical record of the National Hockey League, published annually by the league until the league ended its production after the publication of the book following the 2017-18 season. An a ...

''. He used the mailing list for the guide to sell advance subscriptions for ''The Hockey News'', priced at $2 in Canada or $3 in the United States. The first issue of ''The Hockey News'' was published on October 1, 1947, with at least 3,000 subscriptions, and circulation increased to 20,000 after one year. McKenzie operated ''The Hockey News'' on a tight budget and kept few employees. The paper used content from writers in each city which the NHL had a team, and paid each writer a minimal rate. McKenzie told his writers, "You weren't going to get rich in this business". He recruited contributors with the promise of name recognition and said, "You may be big in Calgary or

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, but if you write for this paper, they'll know you all across Canada". McKenzie resigned as publicity director of the NHL to focus full-time on his publications in 1963, which then included the ''Hockey Pictorial'' and ''Canadian Football News''. McKenzie purchased Cote's share of ''The Hockey News'' in the mid-1960s. After the 1967 NHL expansion, the paper began to feature content from its own editors. ''The Hockey News'' briefly had competition from ''The Hockey Spectator'', published by the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

from 1972 to 1974. McKenzie said of his competition in 1975, "The guys who ran ''The Hockey Spectator'' were stupid, because they were doing too many other things and not concentrating on the paper. I've given every ounce of my energy and blood, sweat and tears ever since I started Hockey News and I still sell $40,000 worth of advertising each month". As of 1975, ''The Hockey News'' had a weekly circulation of 130,000, and McKenzie also published ''Hockey Pictorial'' and ''Hockey World'' as monthly magazines. Despite the success of ''The Hockey News'', the paper was criticized by sports columnists and journalists. Trent Frayne of the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'' said, "The establishment is always right in Hockey News. As for objectivity, it’s nothing but a

house organ A house organ (also variously known an in-house magazine, in-house publication, house journal, shop paper, plant paper, or employee magazine) is a magazine or periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simp ...

or the NHL. Red Fisher of the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the domi ...

'' felt that, "Ken cKenziecomes on as strong as a crate of garlic". McKenzie insisted that, "We're going to hire the best writers and report the facts as they are".

Stan Fischler Stan Fischler (born March 31, 1932) is a historian of hockey and the New York City Subway, as well as a broadcaster, author, and professor. During his career, Fischler was best known for covering the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and New ...

stated that was "difficult to imagine" considering the influence the NHL had on its circulation in arenas, but still referred to McKenzie as "undisputed emperor of hockey publishing". McKenzie sold an 80 per cent share of ''The Hockey News'' to Whitney Communications for a reported $4-million in 1973. He moved the paper's offices from Montreal to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, stayed on as its publisher and a columnist until 1981, then sold his remaining share.

Later life

McKenzie acquired ''Ontario Golf News'' in 1987, and operated the paper for the remainder of his life. He was a recreational golfer and member of several private clubs. He was married and had four children. He died on April 9, 2003, in Mississauga, due to septic shock from surgery for colon cancer. His funeral was scheduled for April 14, at St. Luke's Anglican Church in Mississauga. His remains were cremated.

Honours and legacy

McKenzie became the namesake of three separate ice hockey awards in 1977. The

was awarded by the

to its rookie of the year. The

was awarded by the International Hockey League to its American-born rookie of the year. The Ken McKenzie Award was awarded by the

in recognition of accomplishments in promoting a team in the league. McKenzie was a recipient of the

from the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997, in recognition of hockey journalism as selected by the

Professional Hockey Writers' Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey sports journalism, journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 vot ...

. The award was given on the 50th anniversary of the founding of ''The Hockey News''. McKenzie was inducted into both the

and the

in 1999. McKenzie was posthumously made the namesake of the Ken McKenzie Award from the Golf Association of Ontario, after his estate donated $75,000 towards a scholarship to fund access to the game for junior golfers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Ken 1923 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Canadian journalists 20th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian male journalists Canadian newspaper founders Canadian public relations people Canadian sports journalists Deaths from cancer in Ontario Elmer Ferguson Award winners Ice hockey people from Manitoba Journalists from Manitoba Montreal Gazette people National Hockey League executives Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Winnipeg