22 Facts About Conn Smythe Trophy

1. Conn Smythe Trophy began his professional managing the New York Rangers where he acquired Hall of Famers Bill Cook, Frank Boucher and Ching Johnson, the nucleus of the 1928 Stanley Cup championship squad.

2. Conn Smythe Trophy supervised the construction of the Hockey Hall of Fame building in Toronto in 1961.

3. Conn Smythe Trophy helped organize the financing and construction of their Variety Club Village complex in Toronto.

4. Conn Smythe Trophy was an NHL owner during the era before the advent of a players' union.

5. Conn Smythe Trophy suspected that MacBrien, a member of the board of directors, wanted to succeed Bickle as president and make Selke general manager in his own right.

6. Conn Smythe Trophy learned about the business and went into breeding, buying mares in foal from top thoroughbred lines, and hiring future Hall of Fame trainer Yonnie Starr.

7. In 1951, Conn Smythe Trophy bought land for a farm in Caledon, Ontario, originally looking for a new location for a gravel pit.

8. Conn Smythe Trophy was full of blind hope, and on the trainer's advice, entered her in the race.

9. Conn Smythe Trophy started owning horses in the late 1920s, but he rarely had any success.

10. Conn Smythe Trophy gave up the coaching position to concentrate on the arena project.

11. In 1929, Conn Smythe Trophy decided, in the midst of the Great Depression, that the Maple Leafs needed a new arena.

12. Conn Smythe Trophy turned Rickard down partly because of the disputed $2,500, although Rickard ordered Hammond to pay off the rest.

13. Conn Smythe Trophy refused to go when two Varsity Blues players he had promised could be part of the team were blocked by what he described as a "pressure play" from two Grads players to get relatives placed on the team instead.

14. Conn Smythe Trophy applied to coach the Toronto St Pats, but was rejected in favour of Mike Rodden.

15. Conn Smythe Trophy believed Hammond fired him because of his refusal to sign two-time NHL scoring champion Babe Dye, against Hammond's wishes.

16. Conn Smythe Trophy made two failed escape attempts and ended up in solitary confinement as a result.

17. Conn Smythe Trophy was shot down by the Germans and captured on October 14, 1917; he was imprisoned by the Germans at Schweidnitz in Upper Silesia.

18. At one point, Albert and Conn Smythe Trophy moved to a house in Scarborough while Polly and Mary stayed on North Street.

19. Conn Smythe Trophy started and ran a successful sand and gravel business.

20. Conn Smythe Trophy is known for having served in both World Wars, organizing his own artillery battery in the Second World War.

21. Conn Smythe Trophy was presented by Maple Leaf Gardens Limited in 1964 to honor Conn Smythe, the former coach, manager, president and owner-governor of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

22. Conn Smythe Trophy was introduced in 1964 by Maple Leaf Gardens Limited to honor Conn Smythe, the former owner, General Manager, and coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.