Dan Bain
Encyclopedia
Donald Henderson "Dan" Bain (February 14, 1874 – August 15, 1962) was a Canadian athlete and merchant. He was an all-around athlete, competing in ice hockey
, roller skating
, gymnastics
, figure skating
, golf
, cycling
and shooting among other sports. He was a member of the Winnipeg Victorias
hockey team from 1894 until 1902 with whom he won the Stanley Cup
twice as champions of Canada. He was also the national trapshooting champion in 1903. Bain was an inaugural inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1945 and was also inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
, the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
. He was voted Canada's top athlete of the last half of the 19th century.
He was a prominent Winnipeg
businessman and community leader. He earned his fortune operating Donald H. Bain Limited, a grocery brokerage firm. Bain was an active member of numerous community associations, the president of the Winnipeg Winter Club and an avid outdoorsman. He built the Mallard Lodge, a building on the shores of Lake Winnipeg
that endures today as a research facility at the University of Manitoba
.
immigrants, Bain was born in Belleville
, Ontario
, but moved with his family to Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, as a young child. His father, James Henderson Bain, was a horse buyer for the British government and first lived in Montreal upon his arrival in Canada. His mother, Helen Miller, was a seamstress. Bain was the sixth of seven children, having four sisters and two brothers.
championship at the age of 13 by winning the three-mile race. He won the provincial gymnastics
competition at the age of 17, and at 20, won the first of three consecutive Manitoba cycling championships. Additionally, Bain was a top lacrosse
player in his home province.
Bain took up ice hockey in 1895 when he answered a classified ad placed by the Winnipeg Victorias
who were looking for new players. Though he played with a broken stick held together by wire, he made the team after only five minutes of his tryout. He quickly became a star centre
and leader for the Victorias, and scored the winning goal as Winnipeg were successful in their challenge against the Montreal Victorias
for the Stanley Cup
in February 1896. It was the first time a team outside of Quebec
won the trophy. The team was greeted by a huge crowd at the Canadian Pacific Railway
station when their train, decorated with hockey sticks and the Union Jack, returned to Winnipeg. They were led to a feast in their honour in a parade of open sleighs as fans gathered to celebrate the championship.
Bain and his teammates faced the Montreal Victorias in a return challenge in December 1896 that was described by the local press as "the greatest sporting event in the history of Winnipeg". Though Bain scored two goals in the game, Montreal recaptured the Cup with a 6–5 victory. The Victorias were involved in numerous further Stanley Cup challenges with Bain serving as the team's captain and manager. They again lost to their Montreal namesakes in 1898 before a record crowd of over 7,000 fans.
He scored four goals in three games in a 1900 challenge against the Montreal Shamrocks
, but Winnipeg again lost the title. The Victorias challenged the Shamrocks again in 1901 in a best-of-three series. They won the series in two games as Bain scored the clinching goal in overtime of the second game. It was the first time in Stanley Cup history that the winning goal was scored in extra time. He did so while playing with a broken nose that required him to wear a wooden face mask, earning the nickname "the masked man" as a result. He led the Victorias to a successful defence against the Toronto Wellingtons
in January 1902 before the team lost the Cup to the Montreal Hockey Club
in March of that same year. He retired from hockey following the loss.
Throughout his sporting career, Bain earned medals in lacrosse, snowshoeing and was a national trapshooting champion in 1903. He was an avid figure skater
throughout much of his life. He won over a dozen titles, the last of which came at the age of 56, and he continued to make appearances until the age of 70. He retired as a competitive athlete in 1930. "I couldn't see any sense in participating in a game unless I was good. I kept at a sport just long enough to nab a championship, then I'd try something else", said Bain of his accomplishments.
Bain was inducted as one of the inaugural 12 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
when it was founded in 1945. He was elected to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
in 1971 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
in 1981. He is also an honoured member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
and was voted Canada's top sportsman of the last half of the 19th century.
naval reserve division, and after World War II
he organized the current Winter Club. Bain was a member of many community groups and was the life governor of the Winnipeg General Hospital. He was also one of Western Canada's first automobile enthusiasts and owned many British vehicles.
As a result of his trap-shooting career, Bain gained an appreciation for nature. He bought an ownership share of the Portage Country Club, on the Delta Marsh
near the south shore of Lake Manitoba
, and later donated the land to Ducks Unlimited
. He built the Mallard Lodge as a personal retreat on land adjacent to the club. He strictly enforced his privacy, even building a road to his lodge that he allowed no one else to use. Members of the Portage Country Club were required to take a different route. Bain intended to donate his lodge to the government of Manitoba for preservation, though he died before doing so. The lodge passed into the control of the government anyway, and was donated to the University of Manitoba
as a research facility in 1966 that remains active today. He was a member of the Manitoba Game and Fish Association and the Winnipeg Humane Society.
He never married and had no children. Bain was fond of his pets, in particular his Curly Coated Retriever
dogs that he was said to value above human company. He died August 15, 1962, in Winnipeg at the age of 88. Bain left behind an estate in excess of C$
1 million, the majority of which he donated to charity and former employees.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, roller skating
Roller skating
Roller skating is the traveling on smooth surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. Skates generally come in two basic varieties: quad roller skates and inline skates or blades, though some have experimented with a...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, figure skating
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
and shooting among other sports. He was a member of the Winnipeg Victorias
Winnipeg Victorias
The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
hockey team from 1894 until 1902 with whom he won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
twice as champions of Canada. He was also the national trapshooting champion in 1903. Bain was an inaugural inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1945 and was also inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
, the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1985 when the first honoured members were named and plaques were erected in their honour. The first group of inductees was large in order to recognize the accomplishments of Manitoba players, coaches, builders and teams at the...
and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, dedicated to the history of sport in Manitoba and honouring the best in sport. The organization began in 1980 and in 1993, a museum was opened in The Forks...
. He was voted Canada's top athlete of the last half of the 19th century.
He was a prominent Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
businessman and community leader. He earned his fortune operating Donald H. Bain Limited, a grocery brokerage firm. Bain was an active member of numerous community associations, the president of the Winnipeg Winter Club and an avid outdoorsman. He built the Mallard Lodge, a building on the shores of Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...
that endures today as a research facility at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
.
Early life
The son of ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
immigrants, Bain was born in Belleville
Belleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, but moved with his family to Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, as a young child. His father, James Henderson Bain, was a horse buyer for the British government and first lived in Montreal upon his arrival in Canada. His mother, Helen Miller, was a seamstress. Bain was the sixth of seven children, having four sisters and two brothers.
Sporting career
In 1887, Bain captured the Manitoba roller skatingRoller skating
Roller skating is the traveling on smooth surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. Skates generally come in two basic varieties: quad roller skates and inline skates or blades, though some have experimented with a...
championship at the age of 13 by winning the three-mile race. He won the provincial gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
competition at the age of 17, and at 20, won the first of three consecutive Manitoba cycling championships. Additionally, Bain was a top lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
player in his home province.
Bain took up ice hockey in 1895 when he answered a classified ad placed by the Winnipeg Victorias
Winnipeg Victorias
The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
who were looking for new players. Though he played with a broken stick held together by wire, he made the team after only five minutes of his tryout. He quickly became a star centre
Centre (ice hockey)
The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...
and leader for the Victorias, and scored the winning goal as Winnipeg were successful in their challenge against the Montreal Victorias
Montreal Victorias
The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating...
for the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
in February 1896. It was the first time a team outside of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
won the trophy. The team was greeted by a huge crowd at the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
station when their train, decorated with hockey sticks and the Union Jack, returned to Winnipeg. They were led to a feast in their honour in a parade of open sleighs as fans gathered to celebrate the championship.
Bain and his teammates faced the Montreal Victorias in a return challenge in December 1896 that was described by the local press as "the greatest sporting event in the history of Winnipeg". Though Bain scored two goals in the game, Montreal recaptured the Cup with a 6–5 victory. The Victorias were involved in numerous further Stanley Cup challenges with Bain serving as the team's captain and manager. They again lost to their Montreal namesakes in 1898 before a record crowd of over 7,000 fans.
He scored four goals in three games in a 1900 challenge against the Montreal Shamrocks
Montreal Shamrocks
The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900...
, but Winnipeg again lost the title. The Victorias challenged the Shamrocks again in 1901 in a best-of-three series. They won the series in two games as Bain scored the clinching goal in overtime of the second game. It was the first time in Stanley Cup history that the winning goal was scored in extra time. He did so while playing with a broken nose that required him to wear a wooden face mask, earning the nickname "the masked man" as a result. He led the Victorias to a successful defence against the Toronto Wellingtons
Toronto Wellingtons
The Toronto Wellingtons were one of the first amateur men's ice hockey teams in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They were active around 1900, and are notable for challenging for the Stanley Cup as Ontario champions of 1902....
in January 1902 before the team lost the Cup to the Montreal Hockey Club
Montreal Hockey Club
The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...
in March of that same year. He retired from hockey following the loss.
Throughout his sporting career, Bain earned medals in lacrosse, snowshoeing and was a national trapshooting champion in 1903. He was an avid figure skater
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
throughout much of his life. He won over a dozen titles, the last of which came at the age of 56, and he continued to make appearances until the age of 70. He retired as a competitive athlete in 1930. "I couldn't see any sense in participating in a game unless I was good. I kept at a sport just long enough to nab a championship, then I'd try something else", said Bain of his accomplishments.
Bain was inducted as one of the inaugural 12 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
when it was founded in 1945. He was elected to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
in 1971 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
The Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, dedicated to the history of sport in Manitoba and honouring the best in sport. The organization began in 1980 and in 1993, a museum was opened in The Forks...
in 1981. He is also an honoured member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1985 when the first honoured members were named and plaques were erected in their honour. The first group of inductees was large in order to recognize the accomplishments of Manitoba players, coaches, builders and teams at the...
and was voted Canada's top sportsman of the last half of the 19th century.
Personal life
Bain was a well known businessman in Winnipeg. He was the president of Donald H. Bain Limited, a grocery brokerage firm headquartered in Winnipeg and operated in numerous cities. It was through his firm that he amassed a large fortune. He was a community leader. He helped found the old Winnipeg Winter Club on land that is now the HMCS ChippawaHMCS Chippawa
HMCS Chippawa is a Canadian Naval Reserve division in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.-Formation:The division was originally formed on 19 March 1923 as the Winnipeg Company, and later renamed The Winnipeg Division in 1936...
naval reserve division, and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he organized the current Winter Club. Bain was a member of many community groups and was the life governor of the Winnipeg General Hospital. He was also one of Western Canada's first automobile enthusiasts and owned many British vehicles.
As a result of his trap-shooting career, Bain gained an appreciation for nature. He bought an ownership share of the Portage Country Club, on the Delta Marsh
Delta Marsh
Delta Marsh consists of an extensive open marsh located near the south shore of Lake Manitoba, approximately 24km north of the town of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The marsh extends for nearly 30 km along the shore of the lake, and has a breadth of up to 4km...
near the south shore of Lake Manitoba
Lake Manitoba
Lake Manitoba is Canada's thirteenth largest lake and the world's 33rd largest freshwater lake. It is in central North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, which is named after the lake...
, and later donated the land to Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...
. He built the Mallard Lodge as a personal retreat on land adjacent to the club. He strictly enforced his privacy, even building a road to his lodge that he allowed no one else to use. Members of the Portage Country Club were required to take a different route. Bain intended to donate his lodge to the government of Manitoba for preservation, though he died before doing so. The lodge passed into the control of the government anyway, and was donated to the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
as a research facility in 1966 that remains active today. He was a member of the Manitoba Game and Fish Association and the Winnipeg Humane Society.
He never married and had no children. Bain was fond of his pets, in particular his Curly Coated Retriever
Curly Coated Retriever
The Curly Coated Retriever is a breed of dog originally bred in England for upland bird and waterfowl hunting. It is the tallest of the retrievers and is easily distinguishable by the mass of tight curls covering its body...
dogs that he was said to value above human company. He died August 15, 1962, in Winnipeg at the age of 88. Bain left behind an estate in excess of C$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
1 million, the majority of which he donated to charity and former employees.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Stanley Cup Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug... Finals |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1894–95 | Winnipeg Victorias Winnipeg Victorias The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association in the late 19th and early 20th centuries... |
MHL Sr. | 3 | 10 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1895–96 | Winnipeg Victorias | MHL Sr. | 5 | 10 | 3 | 13 | — | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | ||
| 1896–97 | Winnipeg Victorias | MHL Sr. | 5 | 7 | 1 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1897–98 | Winnipeg Victorias | MHL Sr. | 5 | 13 | 1 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1898–99 | Winnipeg Victorias | MHL Sr. | 3 | 11 | 1 | 12 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1899–1900 | Winnipeg Victorias | MHL Sr. | 2 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — | ||
| 1900–01 | Winnipeg Victorias | MHL Sr. | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | ||
| 1901–02 | Winnipeg Victorias | MHL Sr. | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 27 | 66 | 7 | 73 | — | 11 | 10 | 0 | 10 | — | ||||