- Sam Lichtenhein
Samuel "Sam" Edward Lichtenhein (October 24. 1870 – June 21, 1936) was the owner and president of the
Montreal Wanderers of theNational Hockey Association , laterNational Hockey League .Lichtenhein was born in
Chicago ,Illinois , and moved toMontreal as a child. He became a successful businessman in Montreal, and bought two sports teams, theMontreal Royals , which upon its revival became theBrooklyn Dodgers ' principal farm team, and the Wanderers. When Lichtenhein took over the Wanderers, the team was in financial trouble. He had trouble icing a team, and in 1918, theMontreal Arena , home of Wanderers' and theMontreal Canadiens , burnt down, the team folded. The decision was influenced by Lictenhein citing losses over $30,000 in 1918 money due to the fire.cite web|url=http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/monwan/wanderers.html |title=Montreal Wanderers|accessdate=2007-07-09|publisher=sportsecyclopedia.com]Lichtenhein was essential in changing
ice hockey from a seven-man to a six-man game. The change was proposed at a meeting of theNational Hockey Association ; to pass, it required the approval of every owner. Initially, Lictenhein was opposed to the move. He was convinced to agree to change after a fellow owner pointed out that he would have to pay one less salary. He also led the campaign to kickEddie Livingstone and hisToronto Blueshirts out of theNational Hockey Association for "unethical business practices".Lichtenhein is most known for being unlucky with fires, which destroyed the arenas of two of his sports teams, one of his father's and one of his businesses. One of his father's department stores were destroyed in the
1871 Great Chicago Fire , after which the family moved toMontreal ,Quebec . The Wanderers' arena, theWestmount Arena , burnt down in 1918. Another fire destroyed Lictenhein's baseball stadium, and another fire destroyed another one of his businesses.References
External links
* [http://www.azhockey.com/Li.htm Sam Lictenhein's profile from the A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey]
* [http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=hockey&ID=16 Jews in sports entry]
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