Lyle Zealand Wright (September 28, 1898 – May 23, 1963) was a

Canadian-American Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship. The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadia ...

ice hockey executive and businessman. He managed the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

for more than 20 seasons, was president of the Minneapolis Arena, and promoted entertainment events in Minneapolis including the ''

Ice Follies The Ice Follies, formerly known as the Shipstads & Johnson Ice Follies, is a touring ice show featuring elaborate production numbers, similar in concept to Ice Capades. It was founded in 1936 by Eddie and Roy Shipstad, and Oscar Johnson. In later ...

''. He was instrumental in growing the game of

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 ...

in its early days in Minnesota and was inducted in the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

Early life

Lyle Zealand Wright was born on September 28, 1898, 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, ...

, Manitoba, Canada. He served in the

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

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 ...

, then moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1919. He moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

because his father had been appointed Canadian consul in Minneapolis. He married Georgia E. Dolan in 1923. They settled at 3121 East Calhoun Boulevard, on the east side of

Lake Calhoun Bde Maka Ska (, previously named Lake Calhoun, its former official designation) is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking tra ...

in the Uptown area of Minneapolis, and had two sons and two daughters.

Hockey business

Wright's hockey career began by managing the

in the American Hockey Association (AHA) from 1928 to 1931. He spent one year as the business manager for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

in the 1931–32 NHL season. He returned to managing the Millers in 1933, and worked his way up to be president of the Minneapolis Arena. Notable players signed by Wright during his time with the Millers include,

Taffy Abel Clarence John "Taffy" Abel (May 28, 1900 – August 1, 1964) was an American professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks between 1926 and 1934. Born in 1900 in Sault ...

, Stewart Adams,

Ching Johnson Ivan Wilfred "Ching" Johnson (December 7, 1897 – June 17, 1979) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the New York Rangers and New York Americans in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1926 and 1938. He was an or ...

, and

Tiny Thompson Cecil Ralph "Tiny" Thompson (May 31, 1903 – February 9, 1981) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), first for the Boston Bruins, and later for the Detroit Red Wings. ...

. Wright later became acting president of the AHA, and on September 23, 1942, he announced that the league was suspending operations, due to

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 ...

. The Millers went on hiatus until the AHA resumed play as the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

(USHL) in the 1945–46 season. After four more seasons in Minneapolis, Wright made the decision to relocate the team to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, becoming the state's first professional ice hockey team. He continued his role as manager of the Denver Falcons for one season, until the team folded along with the USHL in 1951. Wright's other interests in hockey included helping to establish an annual

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

hockey tournament in Minneapolis in 1930, and establishing the International Amateur Hockey League in 1936. He also cooperated with the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

to foster the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey program in its early days, and promoted high school hockey in the state of Minnesota.

Other businesses

Wright was a self-made millionaire from promoting events, including ice shows. Wright made the Minneapolis Arena the home rink for the ''

'', and also booked various figure skating acts to perform. He estimated that events at the arena drew 80,000 visitors annually, which was also used in the summer for roller skating and dance nights. In 1943, he took over the operation of the ''Aqua Follies'' with business partner Al Sheehan, and made it into a profitable business within the annual summer Minneapolis Aquatennial.

Death and legacy

Wright was reported to be very ill in April 1963. He died on May 23, 1963, in Minneapolis, and was interred at Lakewood Cemetery. He was a posthumous recipient of the USA Hockey, AHAUS Citation Award in 1963. The

enshrined him in its inaugural class of 1973, for his determination to grow hockey in Minneapolis.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Lyle 1898 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American ice hockey administrators Burials at Lakewood Cemetery Businesspeople from Minneapolis Businesspeople from Winnipeg Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian sports executives and administrators Chicago Blackhawks executives Ice hockey people from Manitoba Ice hockey people from Minnesota Sportspeople from Minneapolis Sportspeople from Winnipeg United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees