Conn Stafford Smythe (March 15, 1921 – October 13, 1971) was the son of
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 president of
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
Ltd. and 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 ...
hockey team from 1961–1969 and from 1970 until his death.
Early years
Born in
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 ancho ...
, Smythe played hockey for
Upper Canada College
Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...
and
Runnymede Collegiate Institute
Runnymede Collegiate Institute (colloquially known as Runnymede CI, RCI, or Runnymede) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school first opened in 1927 and is operated by the Toronto District School Board. Runnymede has a pop ...
in the 1930s and then went to the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
where he graduated with an engineering degree. He played one season with the
Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team
The Toronto Varsity Blues men's ice hockey team is an ice hockey team operated by the Toronto Varsity Blues, Varsity Blues athletics program of the University of Toronto. They are members of the Ontario University Athletics conference and compete ...
. In the 1940–41 season, he briefly played with the
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...
, managed by
Harold Ballard
Harold Edwin Ballard (born Edwin Harold Ballard, July 30, 1903 – April 11, 1990) was a Canadian businessman and sportsman. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as their home arena, Maple ...
, whom Smythe had known since he was a young boy.
Smythe enlisted in the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
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 opposin ...
. After the war, he became a partner in his father's gravel business. In the late 1940s, he was hired as coach of the Marlboros by Ballard, the team president. Smythe was later promoted to managing director.
Managing the Maple Leafs
In March 1957, Smythe became chairman of a seven-person committee appointed by his father to run hockey operations for the Leafs. He had been a critic of assistant
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Hap Day
Clarence Henry "Happy" Day (June 14, 1901 – February 17, 1990), later known as Hap Day, was a Canadian professional hockey player who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans. Day enjoye ...
, who had run the Leafs' hockey operations from 1955 to 1957 while Conn Smythe retained the title of
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
. Stafford accused Day of mismanaging younger players, especially those coming up from the Marlboros, and of sticking with an outdated defensive style of hockey. Smythe's committee became known as the Silver Seven. Initially, all members were in their 30s or early 40s, but before the end of the year, 54-year-old Ballard was appointed to the committee to fill a vacancy.
The committee hired
Howie Meeker
Howard William Meeker (November 4, 1923 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian professional hockey player in the National Hockey League, youth coach and educator in ice hockey, and a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. He became best ...
as general manager, but fired him before the start of the season,
leaving the Leafs without a general manager for the
1957–58 season. Smythe, as committee chairman, was effectively the team's general manager that year. In 1958, they hired
Punch Imlach
George "Punch" Imlach (March 15, 1918 – December 1, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and t ...
to run hockey operations while the committee focused on the business side.
Stafford frequently clashed with his father over the next few years. However, in November 1961, along with partners Ballard and
John Bassett
John White Hughes Bassett, (August 25, 1915 – April 27, 1998) was a Canadian media proprietor.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the son of John Bassett (1886–1958), publisher of the ''Montreal Gazette'', and Marion Avery (née Wright). ...
—both members of the Silver Seven—Stafford Smythe bought control of the Maple Leafs from his father, paying $2.3 million for 45,000 of his father's 50,000 shares. Conn later claimed that he believed he was only selling the team to his son, but it is not likely that Stafford would have been able to raise the money on his own. Stafford succeeded his father as president of
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
and governor of the Maple Leafs. Ballard, who had fronted most of the purchase money, became executive vice-president and alternate governor. Bassett became vice-chairman of the Gardens board of directors.
The Leafs, who had gone 11 years without winning a
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 ...
, won the trophy four times in their first six seasons under the new owners. Profitability was increased through expanded seating capacity at Maple Leaf Gardens and the sale of advertising to sponsors throughout the building.
Stafford Smythe name appears on the Stanley Cup 5 times - 1932 (as Mascot), 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967 (as President) all with Toronto. In 1932 Smythe became youngest person engraved on the Stanley Cup at age 11.
Scandal and arrest
Following an
RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
raid at the Gardens in 1968, Smythe was charged with income tax evasion and accused, along with Ballard, of illegally taking money from Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. to pay for renovations of their houses and other personal expenses.
Just before the charges were laid, Bassett, who had succeeded Conn Smythe as chairman of the board in 1962, argued to the board that Smythe and Ballard should be removed from their posts. Following an 8–7 vote of the board of directors on June 26, 1969; Smythe and Ballard were both fired, and Bassett was appointed president of the Gardens. The move came just a couple of months after Smythe had fired Imlach after an unimpressive season from the Leafs.
However, Bassett did not force Smythe and Ballard to sell their shares, and both men remained on the board. This proved to be a serious strategic blunder; Smythe was the largest single shareholder in Maple Leaf Gardens, and he and Ballard controlled almost half the company's stock between them. They were thus able to stage a proxy war and regain control of the board in 1970. Smythe was once again appointed president. Facing an untenable situation, Bassett sold his shares in the Gardens to Smythe and Ballard for $6 million in 1971. Ballard would be convicted of tax evasion, but Smythe died of a bleeding ulcer at age 50 just before his trial was scheduled to begin. Ballard took control of the Leafs in 1972, winning a battle with members of Smythe's family for ownership of Smythe's shares.
The
Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy
The Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy is a Canadian Hockey League (CHL) trophy, awarded to the most valuable player in the annual Memorial Cup Tournament. The trophy was first awarded in 1972 and won by Richard Brodeur of the QMJHL's Cornwall Royals. ...
, awarded annually to the MVP of the
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
tournament, is named in his honour.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smythe, Stafford
1921 births
1971 deaths
Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II
Canadian people of English descent
Canadian people of Northern Ireland descent
Deaths from ulcers
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
National Hockey League executives
National Hockey League owners
Stanley Cup champions
Toronto Maple Leafs executives
University of Toronto alumni
Upper Canada College alumni
20th-century American businesspeople