Lionel Conacher
The oldest boy of 10 siblings, Lionel Conacher saw sport as a way out of poverty for himself and his family.
He was a natural athlete, easily holding 200 pounds on his six-foot-one frame, but his nickname the “Big Train” came from the hard work he put into everything. In 1922, he led his baseball team to the Ontario championships, hitting a triple in the final inning, and then raced across town to play in the provincial lacrosse championships. His team was down three when he arrived and by the end, with his four goals and one assist, they won 5-3.
Football was his favourite sport and in the 1921 Grey Cup, his three touchdowns almost singlehandedly pulled the Toronto Argos ahead of the Edmonton Eskimos. But he knew hockey was the sport that would pay best so, at 16, he learned to skate and became a defenceman who made up for awkwardness with smarts, winning Stanley Cups with Chicago Blackhawks in 1934 and the Montreal Maroons in 1935.