Samuel Edward Lichtenhein (October 24, 1870 – June 21, 1936) was an American-Canadian businessman and sports executive. He was the owner and president of the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

ice hockey team of the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially 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 Lea ...

(NHA), later

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). As such, he was one of the founders of the NHL. He also owned the minor league

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; p ...

baseball team.

Personal life

Lichtenhein was born in Chicago, Illinois, as one of four children - two boys and two girls. The family moved to

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 ...

after the

Chicago fire of 1871 The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

destroyed his parents' business. He attended Loyola College and later became a successful businessman. He was president of Cotton and Wool Waste of Montreal and International Wool Waste Co. of Boston at his death. He married Huldah Lewin and they had one son. Lichtenhein died after a six-month illness at this home at 3540 Mountain Street. He was interred at Mount Royal Cemetery.

Sports career

Lichtenhein was the owner of two Montreal sports teams. He bought the

baseball team in 1910, which upon its revival became the Brooklyn Dodgers' principal farm team. It folded in 1917. Lichtenhein bought a share of the

from Eddie McCaffery in December 1910, and became its president.

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

came in 1914, and the Wanderers team declined. Lichtenhein had trouble icing a full team as players enlisted to fight. This was compounded in 1917 when Lichtenhein and the other NHA owners folded the league and founded the NHL. Lichtenhein demanded that the other owners contribute players to his team. Finally, the end came after the

Montreal Arena The Montreal Arena, also known as Westmount Arena, was an indoor arena located in Westmount, Quebec, Canada on the corner of St. Catherine Street and Wood Avenue. It was likely one of the first arenas designed expressly for hockey, opening in 1 ...

, home of the Wanderers and the rival

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, burned down on January 2, 1918. Lichtenheim folded the club a few days later, after his demands for players were not met. Lichtenhein cited losses of over $30,000 in 1918 due to the fire. Lichtenhein was later quoted as stating that he lost over $150,000 in the last five years of owning the Royals and Wanderers. Lichtenhein was essential in changing

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 ...

from a seven-man to a six-man game. The change was proposed at a meeting of the NHA. To pass, it required the approval of every owner. Initially, Lichtenhein was opposed to the move. He was convinced to agree to change after a fellow owner pointed out that he would have to pay one less salary. In 1917, he led the campaign to kick

Eddie Livingstone Edward James Livingstone (September 12, 1884 – September 11, 1945) was a Canadian sports team owner and manager. He was the principal owner of the Toronto Shamrocks and the Toronto Blueshirts professional ice hockey clubs of the National Hocke ...

and his

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 ...

out of the NHA for "unethical business practices". The NHA owners then founded the NHL, leaving Livingstone without a league. The move led to years of legal wrangles for the NHL. Lichtenhein suffered four fires during his lifetime. One of his father's department stores was destroyed in the

1871 Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

, after which the family moved to Montreal. As well as the fire that destroyed the Wanderers' arena, fires twice destroyed ballparks of the Royals. Another fire destroyed one of his businesses.

References

External links

Sam Lictenhein's profile from the A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice HockeyJews in sports entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichtenhein, Sam 1870 births 1936 deaths 19th-century Canadian businesspeople 20th-century Canadian businesspeople American emigrants to Canada Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian ice hockey owners Jewish American sportspeople Jewish Canadian sportspeople Montreal Wanderers Sportspeople from Montreal Sportspeople from Chicago Anglophone Quebec people Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery