83 Facts About Norman Dawe

Robert Norman Dawe was a Canadian sports executive.

Norman Dawe originated as an ice hockey referee for minor ice hockey games in Verdun, Quebec, before becoming involved in the administrative aspect of sports.

Norman Dawe was a member of the local YMCA executive, served as secretary of the Verdun Playgrounds Commission from 1923 to 1948, and organized the Verdun Hockey Board.

Norman Dawe served as a member of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association executive committee for 23 seasons, and helped establish a provincial referee's board in 1936.

Norman Dawe served as the Montreal Ladies' Major Softball League president from 1940 to 1945, then was president of the Verdun Ladies' Softball League from 1945 to 1947.

Norman Dawe began organizing Canadian football in 1945, when he established the Verdun Juvenile Football League and served as president.

Norman Dawe advocated for the development of minor hockey, welcomed the Montreal Minor Hockey Association into QAHA membership, and oversaw the establishment of a constitution to for minor hockey in Quebec.

Norman Dawe felt that retaining players in junior ice hockey until they were eligible to become professional was a primary issue for the QAHA, and oversaw the split of junior hockey into tiers to better identify the talent.

Norman Dawe encouraged leagues to support Canadian military hockey teams during World War II, and his financial management of the QAHA allowed the military teams to play without paying an entrance fee.

Norman Dawe worked with the Quebec Senior Hockey League to resolve disputes on player registrations, the sharing of gate receipts, and travel expenses in the playoffs.

Norman Dawe sought for the QAHA to have more say on the dates and locations of Allan Cup and Memorial Cup playoffs games were determined, and to be a voice for hockey in Eastern Canada.

Norman Dawe served as a vice-president of the CAHA from 1945 to 1948, and oversaw the national playoffs for Eastern Canada.

Norman Dawe led efforts to bolster the Ottawa RCAF Flyers in advance of ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics, who then won the gold medal representing Canada.

Norman Dawe remained active in hockey until his death from a heart attack at age 49, and was a candidate for the Verdun mayoral election later in 1948.

The Gazette wrote that Norman Dawe was, "one of the men who has done most for Canada's national sport"; and that he was "one of Montreal's best goodwill ambassadors".

Robert Norman Dawe was born on October 18,1898, in the Point Saint Charles neighbourhood of Montreal.

Norman Dawe had six sisters and was the son of Robert Dawe.

Norman Dawe's father originated from Newfoundland, and his grandfather was a part-owner of the Canada Leather Company.

Norman Dawe resided in Verdun from age four onward, worked for 30 years at the Canadian Car and Foundry, and had become the assistant manager of human resources.

Norman Dawe was married to Dorothy Mary Busby, the daughter of Montreal journalist Thomas H Busby.

Norman Dawe served as secretary of the Verdun Playgrounds Commission from 1923 to 1948, organized youth and amateur sports in Verdun, and advocated for programs to include both the adults and children in families.

In Montreal and Verdun, Norman Dawe was involved in girls' fastpitch softball.

Norman Dawe was an umpire in the Montreal Ladies' Major Softball League during the 1930s, served as the league's president from 1940 to 1945, then was president of the Verdun Ladies' Softball League from 1945 to 1947.

Norman Dawe oversaw upgrades to Viau Park in 1941, which included new dugouts and floodlights, higher fencing, and increased spectator seating.

Norman Dawe had the Woodland Park softball field reserved for the Verdun Women's Softball League; and led the league into an affiliation with the Women's Amateur Athletic Federation of Canada to maintain amateur status for players who participated in organized basketball.

In 1945, Norman Dawe began organizing Canadian football played in the autumn to fill the gap between the baseball and ice hockey seasons.

Norman Dawe established the Verdun Juvenile Football League, served as its president, had football goalposts and floodlights installed at Woodland Park for games, and affiliated the league and its four teams with the Quebec Rugby Football Union.

The league included four teams in both age groups for the 1947 season, and Norman Dawe presided over the juvenile division of the Quebec Rugby Football Union.

In politics, Norman Dawe was secretary of the Verdun Co-operative Commonwealth Federation association in 1942, and sat on the nominating committee of the Verdun Voters' League in 1946.

Norman Dawe was petitioned by 3,000 signatures to be a candidate in the Verdun mayoral election on April 1,1948.

Norman Dawe accepted the nomination but made no announcement of a platform.

Norman Dawe was an ice hockey referee for minor ice hockey games and struggled to officiate after the death of his son, and stated "every kid out there reminds me of my own boy".

Norman Dawe soon became involved in the administrative aspect of the game.

Norman Dawe organized the Verdun Hockey Board in 1923 to oversee local minor hockey, then served as a member of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association executive committee for 23 seasons.

The Gazette credited Norman Dawe for spending most of his time with the juvenile, midget and bantam age groups, and attending many minor hockey games played during the winter on outdoor rinks.

Norman Dawe sought to unify all officials in Quebec under a governing body to assign games in the provincial playoffs and establish a grading system for referees.

Norman Dawe was a regular delegate to Canadian Amateur Hockey Association general meetings, and presided over minor hockey within Quebec.

In 1938, Norman Dawe helped establish an inter-provincial playoff for the QAHA juvenile age group champion versus the Ottawa and District Amateur Hockey Association champion.

Registrations in minor hockey had increased to 200 teams by 1940, and Norman Dawe oversaw expansion of the provincial playoffs to include a championship for the midget age group.

Norman Dawe then scheduled provincial finals to be played at the Montreal Forum due to increased attendance for the minor hockey playoffs.

Norman Dawe was elected president of the QAHA on April 29,1940.

Norman Dawe had served as chairman of QAHA minor hockey for three years, which saw minor hockey in Quebec grow to its greatest registration at the time.

Norman Dawe wanted the QAHA to support hockey teams composed of Canadian servicemen during the war, and appointed a committee to liaise with military leaders on how the QAHA could provide a place to play or provide financial assistance.

Norman Dawe helped arrange a game between alumni of the Montreal Maroons and Montreal Canadiens in February 1942, to further contribute to victory bond fundraising.

Norman Dawe remained involved with the QAHA minor hockey board as an ex-officio member.

Norman Dawe sought for teams from Eastern Canada to have more home games during the Memorial Cup and Allan Cup playoffs.

The QSHL proposed forming an Eastern Canada Hockey Association in May 1941, which Norman Dawe supported for the sake of the Allan Cup playoffs.

Norman Dawe denied that it was the QAHA's responsibility to provide expenses, or that any communication had been received from Halifax or the CAHA on the matter.

Norman Dawe was named to the minor ice hockey committee at the 1942 CAHA general meeting, which recommended to increase grants to each branch for the promotion of minor hockey and to oversee how the money was spent.

The QAHA had purchased almost $7,000 in victory bonds by 1942, permitted teams composed of military servicemen to play without paying an entrance fee or annual dues, and Norman Dawe urged for more support of military sports organizations.

The QAHA wanted to prevent stacked teams in its senior leagues, limited teams to signing a maximum of four former National Hockey League players, and Norman Dawe urged the CAHA to enact a similar rule.

Norman Dawe sought for the QAHA to do everything in its power to promote junior ice hockey.

Norman Dawe felt that junior leagues would suffer since professional teams wanted to sign younger players to contracts, due to the shortage of older players during the war.

Norman Dawe planned to expand minor hockey in Quebec by targeting ages 10 to 17, and assist the players to be part of a team outside of a school program.

Norman Dawe aimed to register 5,000 players in the bantam, midget, juvenile age groups, and the expansion to younger age groups resulted in 1,000 schoolboys registered from Verdun.

Norman Dawe was returned to the CAHA minor hockey committee, which increased grants to $1,500 to each branch to develop minor hockey.

Norman Dawe advocated for more rulebooks to be printed, and education sessions for coaches and managers to reduce the number of protests in a season.

Norman Dawe suggested dividing the Eastern Canada junior playoffs into A and B tiers in co-operation with the CAHA, and felt that it would give the lower calibre teams an opportunity to have longer playoffs.

Norman Dawe felt that the QAHA's future depended on retaining its talent from minor hockey programs, and that the tiers helped identify junior hockey talent, and would retain the graduates of the juvenile age group instead of those players accepting offers in the United States.

Norman Dawe proposed that military teams be grouped into their own league, since they had dominated the senior hockey leagues in competition with the civilian teams.

Norman Dawe was returned to the CAHA minor hockey committee, which increased grants for the development of minor hockey.

Norman Dawe sat on the resolutions committee and advocated for stricter enforcement of transfer regulations for amateurs who became professional or moved internationally.

Norman Dawe felt that young men who signed professional contracts did not fully understand the significance, and that remaining in junior hockey longer would allow players to become fully developed and have longer professional careers.

Norman Dawe remained willing to co-operate with the QSHL as long as a settlement could be reached with the ODAHA that allowed the teams to play under the jurisdiction of the QAHA.

Norman Dawe attempted to mediate the dispute by allowing the ODAHA to keep the five per cent share of gate receipts for the Ottawa and Hull teams, instead of the funds being paid to the QAHA.

Norman Dawe was re-elected to a sixth consecutive term on May 22,1945, the longest tenure at the time for any QAHA president.

Norman Dawe felt that if the QSHL became professional, then the QAHA would lose most of its income from gate receipts and consequently amateur hockey in Quebec would suffer.

Norman Dawe felt that senior teams had an obligation to support amateur hockey which was the source of senior players.

Norman Dawe stated that Lester Patrick of the New York Rangers, and Art Ross of the Boston Bruins, wanted to see the QSHL and other CAHA senior leagues become professional for the best interests of the other NHL teams.

Norman Dawe served as an ex-officio member of the committee, and sought for more consistency in the interpretation of rules during the national playoffs.

Norman Dawe wanted to stop the abuse of referees by players, and give indefinite suspensions to any offender.

Norman Dawe received a gladstone bag, electric clock, marble desk set, a silver vase and other gifts.

The QAHA hosted the 1947 CAHA general meeting in Quebec City, then Norman Dawe withdrew as a candidate to be re-elected.

Norman Dawe was made a life member after seven years as the QAHA president, and was succeeded by Azarie Choquet at the 1947 general meeting.

Norman Dawe served as second vice-president of the CAHA for two years beginning in April 1945.

Norman Dawe sat on the CAHA committee to publish the first common hockey rulebook with the NHL, and to find ways to speed up the game by eliminating delays.

Norman Dawe oversaw the junior and senior playoffs in Eastern Canada in 1946 and 1947.

Norman Dawe was elected first vice-president of the CAHA at the general meeting in May 1947, but delegates voted against his suggestion for a college or university all-star team to represent Canada at the Olympics instead of a senior team.

Norman Dawe announced that the RCAF team would be bolstered from the best available players, and retain the RCAF identity after six civilian players were added from the Ottawa Senior Hockey League.

Norman Dawe recruited defenceman Henri-Andre Laperriere from the Universite de Montreal, in addition to two more players from Toronto recruited by George Dudley.

Norman Dawe died from a heart attack on January 4,1948, at Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal.

Norman Dawe remained active in hockey until his death, and his efforts to bolster the Ottawa RCAF Flyers resulted in the team winning every game at the Olympics and the gold medal.

Norman Dawe became the namesake of the Dawe Memorial Rink in Verdun, and on Woodland Road in Verdun.