Coo Dion

Stephen Alphonse "Coo" Dion (December 23, 1886 – April 10, 1959) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player and soldier. Dion, a rover or a centre forward position wise, played two games for the Ottawa Hockey Club during the 1905–06 ECAHA season, scoring one goal.

Coo Dion
Born (1886-12-23)December 23, 1886
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died April 10, 1959(1959-04-10) (aged 72)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10[1] in (178 cm)
Weight 156[1] lb (71 kg; 11 st 2 lb)
Position Rover/Centre
Played for Ottawa Cliffsides
Ottawa Hockey Club
Ottawa Stewartons
Winnipeg Victorias
Playing career 1905–1913
Ottawa Cliffsides in 1909. Dion at center bottom.

Biography

Stephen Dion was born in 1886 in Ottawa, Ontario to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred A. Dion.[2]

Ice hockey

Between 1905 and 1911 Dion was a member of the Ottawa Cliffsides, famous as the first holders of the Allan Cup as 1909 champions of the IPAHU. He also played two games for the Ottawa Hockey Club during the 1905–06 ECAHA season, scoring one goal, thus being part of the team which held the Stanley Cup in February 1906.[3]

In February 1911 Dion was offered $1,000 by Montreal Canadiens manager George Kennedy to finish off the schedule (8 games) with the NHA club, but he promptly refused the offer claiming he was not for sale.[4] The next season Dion instead joined the Winnipeg Victorias of the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League, because he had been offered a job with the National Transcontinental Railway.[5] With the Victorias Dion would win his second Allan Cup as the Winnipeg side won the amateur trophy in 1911–12.

During the 1912–13 season Dion played with the Ottawa Stewartons in the IPAHU when another NHA club tried to recruit him. Martin Rosenthal and Pete Green of the Ottawa Hockey Club (Senators) witnessed Dion play in a game with the Stewartons and were so impressed by him that they talked Stewartons president Frank Ahearn into granting them permission to sign Dion, but the player himself still was not interested in turning professional.[6]

World War I

In 1915 Dion enlisted as a soldier in World War I where he held the rank of Lieutenant. He was severely wounded with shattered bones in his left forearm at Festubert in France when hit by a bullet.[7] When leaving Europe for Canada on S/S Hesperian, embarking from Liverpool to Montreal, the ship was hit by a German submarine outside the Irish coast on September 4, 1915.[7] Dion survived but 32 other lives were lost during unsuccessful attempts to tow the liner to port, and the ship eventually sunk.[8]

Dion died in Toronto, Ontario on April 10, 1959 after a short illness, aged 72.[2]

Achievements
  • Stanley Cup – 1906 (Ottawa Hockey Club)
  • Allan Cup – 1909 (Ottawa Cliffsides) & 1912 (Winnipeg Victorias)

References
  1. Winnipeg Tribune, Apr. 12, 1947
  2. "Stephen A. Dion Formerly of Ottawa Dies in Toronto". Ottawa Journal. April 11, 1959 (p. 3).
  3. Stanley Cup Annual Record 1906 (Feb) National Hockey League. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  4. "Dion not for Canadiens" The Gazette (Montreal). Feb. 6, 1911 (p. 12). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  5. ""Coo" Dion will play hockey in Winnipeg" Winnipeg Tribune. Oct. 12, 1911 (p. 6). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  6. ""Coo" Dion refused Ottawa's offer says he will remain amateur" Ottawa Citizen. Feb 3, 1913 (p. 9). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  7. "Feeling like before a big hockey game" Ottawa Citizen. Sept. 24, 1915 (p. 10). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  8. S/S Hesperian, Canadian Pacific Line Norway-Heritage (norwayheritage.com). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
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