Philip Dansken Ross (January 1, 1858 – July 5, 1949) was a Canadian journalist, newspaper publisher, and

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 ...

administrator.

Early life

Philip Dansken Ross was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

to parents Christina Chalmers Dansken and Montreal accountant Philip Simpson Ross. Ross studied at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

as a science major in 1875. At McGill, Ross played for the football and rowing clubs, later captaining the McGill football club to victory against Harvard University in the first Canada-U.S. international football game in 1878. He was provincial single

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champion twice. He also played lacrosse and founded several golf clubs. He graduated from McGill in 1875, with honours.

Career

Upon graduation, Ross worked for the Montreal Harbour Commission. He left the Commission and joined the staff at 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 dominan ...

in 1880. He joined the Toronto Daily Mail as a journalist. He returned to Montreal and joined the Montreal Star in 1885, eventually becoming its managing editor. In 1886, Ross became co-owner of the near-bankrupt Ottawa Evening Journal newspaper. In 1891 he bought out his partner and made it into a highly successful and respected paper. He served as its president for 60 years during which time he helped found the

Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

newspaper association. He was a builder and sometimes player of the Ottawa Hockey Club, later to be known as the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. With this club, he befriended the sons of

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, the Governor-General of Canada. In 1892, Lord Stanley appointed him to be a trustee for his championship

trophy, known today as the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) 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, an ...

. He helped found 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 ...

in 1890. He played in the first Ontario championship game in 1891 at the

Rideau Rink The Rideau Skating Rink was an indoor skating and curling facility located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Consisting of a curling rink and a skating rink, it was one of the first indoor rinks in Canada. The Rideau Rink was scheduled to open on Janu ...

in Ottawa, helping Ottawa win 5-0 over Toronto St. George's. Ross was one of the two original Trustees of the Stanley Cup named by Lord Stanley in 1894, and so served for 56 years until his death. He also served as trustee for the

Minto Cup The Minto Cup is awarded annually to the champion junior men's box lacrosse team of Canada. It was donated in 1901 by the Governor-General, Lord Minto. Originally restricted to amateurs, within three years the first under-the-table professional ...

of lacrosse. He turned down the trusteeship for the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

of Canadian football. He was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

in 1976.

Politics

He also went into politics. In 1912, Ross was nominated by the Civic Improvement League to be their mayoral candidate. This upset

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, publisher of the

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

, who disliked that Ross and the League promoted "compulsory vaccination and elitism." Ross would end up losing in the election. In 1928, Ross served as president of the Liberal-Conservative Association of Ottawa. On September 10, 1929, Ross was elected chairman of the Ontario Royal Commission on Public Welfare "to investigate provision of services in hospitals, prisons and other provincial institutions." In 1931, he turned down the opportunity to be appointed

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of Ontario. In 1933, he served as president of McGill's Graduate Society.

Legacy and personal life

The

Ontario Heritage Foundation The Ontario Heritage Trust (french: link=no, Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien) is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural herita ...

erected a plaque commemorating Philip Dansken Ross 1858–1949 at the Journal Towers, Kent Street between Laurier and Slater, Ottawa. "A distinguished journalist widely admired for his candour of expression and depth of knowledge, P.D. Ross was publisher-owner of the Ottawa Journal and one of the founders of the Canadian Press". Ross married Mary Littlejohn in 1891. Ross died on July 5, 1949, in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. He was interred at

Beechwood Cemetery Beechwood Cemetery, located in the former city of Vanier in Ottawa, Ontario, is the National Cemetery of Canada. It is the final resting place for over 82,000 Canadians from all walks of life, such as important politicians like Governor Genera ...

in Ottawa.Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid
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References

General * * * Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Philip Dansken 1858 births 1949 deaths 19th-century Canadian journalists Burials at Beechwood Cemetery (Ottawa) Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian male journalists Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian sportsperson-politicians Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Journalists from Montreal McGill University Faculty of Science alumni Ottawa Senators (original) personnel Ottawa Senators (original) players Ottawa city councillors