William R. Hodgson, also known as "WR" and Bill Hodgson (22 January 1926 – 9 December 1998) was a hotel magnate from

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

and was once the owner of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and the

Old Mill Inn & Spa The Old Mill Toronto is an event venue with a boutique hotel, spa and restaurant, in The Kingsway neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It includes facilities for business meetings, conferences, celebrations and weddings, with an on-site cha ...

Business

As a business man, in 1960, he founded Hodgson Hotels Corporation. Later he started Skyline hotels. In 1973, he bought the

in Etobicoke. He restored the building, saving it from destruction. In 1990, Hodgson purchased the Doctor's House in

Kleinburg, Ontario Kleinburg is an unincorporated village in the city of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, an art gallery with a focus on the Group of Seven, and the Kortright Centre for Conservation. In 2001, the vil ...

, and also completely restored and expanded the facility to include banquet facilities and a non-denominational chapel.

Horse Racing

Kingsbrook Farm was a 120-acre thoroughbred horse breeding farm and training facility founded by Hodgson in

Kettleby, Ontario Kettleby is an unincorporated community in the northeastern part of King Township in Ontario, Canada. It is located about east of Highway 400, north of Toronto, about south of Barrie, west of Newmarket, and about east of Orangeville. Ge ...

. The farm operated from 1981 to 1993 and produced standout winners including: Cool Halo, Perfect Player, O'Martin (nominated for

Sovereign Award {{refimprove, date=October 2021 The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing. The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Y ...

), and Blushing Katy who won the Sovereign Award as top three-year-old filly in 1989.

Politics

Hodgson was an Etobicoke Councillor.

Toronto Argonauts

On 27 February 1974, Hodgson bought the

from

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) ...

who owned

Baton Broadcasting Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports & ...

. He owned it outright until 25 June 1976 when he brought in

Carling O'Keefe Carling O'Keefe was a brewing company in Canada that is now part of Molson Coors. The company's origins can be traced to Canadian Breweries, which bought the Carling Brewery in 1930 and the O'Keefe Brewery in 1934. Canadian Breweries purchased ...

to run it jointly with him. This continued until when on 12 January 1979, he sold his remaining stake to Carling O'Keefe. Despite not winning a Grey Cup during his time, attendance was higher than it was in other trophy-winning periods. In 1976, attendance was around the 45,000 mark regularly selling out the

Exhibition Stadium Canadian National Exhibition Stadium (commonly known as Exhibition Stadium or CNE Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium that formerly stood on the Exhibition Place grounds, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally built for Canadian National E ...

Death

He died of cancer on 9 December 1998 at the age of 76.Former Argos owner Hodgson dead at 76
from ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' retrieved 8 February 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, William R. 1926 births 1998 deaths Toronto Argonauts owners Canadian sports businesspeople Businesspeople from Toronto