Claude Copeland Robinson (December 17, 1881June 27, 1976) was a Canadian ice hockey and sports executive. After winning an intermediate-level championship as captain of the Winnipeg Victorias in 1905, he served as secretary-treasurer and as vice-president of the Victorias. He coached the Victorias to a Manitoba Hockey League championship in 1909, and felt that his team could have competed for the newly established Allan Cup, despite that challenges from senior ice hockey teams were accepted only from Eastern Canada at the time. The Victorias won the Allan Cup by default in 1911, when the Toronto St. Michael's Majors refused to play, then successfully defended four challenges for the trophy.
Robinson arranged subsequent challenges for the Allan Cup as an executive for multiple leagues, including the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League. By the 1914 Allan Cup, multiple debates arose on the eligibility of players, and numerous challenges for the trophy were difficult to manage. After he suggested to establish a national body for governing hockey and advocated his ideas to amateur clubs across Canada, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) was founded on December 4, 1914, with Robinson elected as secretary. He also helped establish the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association in 1914, and later served as its vice-president. He remained a trustee for the Allan Cup until 1937, was a trustee of the Abbott Cup for junior ice hockey from 1919 to 1942, and was chairman of the CAHA finance committee from 1933 to 1937.
Robinson helped establish the Manitoba Amateur Athletic Association in 1907, and oversaw finances for the provincial track and field championships. He favoured an alliance between the CAHA and the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAU of C), and opposed former professionals competing in amateur sports. He disagreed with the CAHA changing its definition of an amateur, which led to separating from the AAU of C in 1937. He served as treasurer of the AAU of C from 1919 to 1940, and was treasurer of the Manitoba Citizens' Olympic Committee to fund local athletes. He was the honorary assistant manager of the Canadian delegation to the 1932 Winter Olympics, and oversaw travel arrangements as the associate manager of the Canada men's national ice hockey team.
Robinson became the first life member of the CAHA in 1925, and was a life member of the AAU of C. When the CAHA had its silver jubilee in 1939, he was appointed to oversee the celebration, and Winnipeg was chosen as host in recognition of his work to establish the CAHA. In 1945, he was among the inaugural group inducted into the builder category of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, and posthumously into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.
Early life and family
Claude Copeland Robinson was born on December 17, 1881, in Harriston, Ontario.Ferguson, Bob (2005), pp. 378–379 His parents Thomas D. Robinson and Elizabeth Copeland, had one daughter and four sons, and moved the family to Winnipeg in 1888. The elder Robinson was a businessman in coal and lumber industries, and established the T. D. Robinson and Sons Coal Company.;
Playing and refereeing career Robinson earned a degree from Wesley College at the University of Manitoba in 1902. While a student, he played university hockey for the Manitoba Bisons, and Canadian football for Wesley College; and also refereed inter-collegiate hockey and football games.
Robinson played cover-point and rover for the intermediate-level Winnipeg Victorias from 1901 to 1905,; and served as the team captain during the 1903–04 and 1904–05 seasons. Despite that he missed part of the 1904–05 season due to typhoid fever, the Victorias won the intermediate league. During the summers, Robinson rowed in the Winnipeg Rowing Club regatta in 1903 and 1904.; ;
Robinson refereed inter-collegiate and intermediate-level hockey in Winnipeg .; ; ; ; He also refereed in the Winnipeg Mercantile Hockey League and the Winnipeg Bankers' Hockey League from 1907 to 1909.; ; During the 1908–09 season, he refereed games in the Manitoba Professional Hockey League,; and the Fit-Reform Cup for the Western Canada championship.
Ice hockey executive Early career
The Western Canada Amateur Intermediate Hockey League elected Robinson its president for the 1903–04 season, while he played on the Winnipeg Victorias in the same league. At the 1904 annual meeting of the Victorias, Robinson was elected to the club's executive committee and delegated to establish an intermediate team in a local league. The club supported the intermediate team playing an exhibition tour in Western Canada on route to Edmonton. Robinson helped establish the Manitoba Amateur Intermediate Hockey League for the 1904–05 season, and was appointed its temporary secretary. He was subsequently elected president of the league, which adopted a two-referee system for its games.
Robinson was elected secretary-treasurer of the Victorias in 1905, then served for six seasons in the role until 1912. He represented the Victorias at Manitoba Hockey League meetings, and argued in favour of maintaining the league's amateur status instead of embracing professionalism for the 1906–07 season.; Robinson subsequently represented the Victorias in the Western Canada Amateur Hockey Association, which declined further competition for the Stanley Cup and established residency rules for players as of 1906. In April 1907, he represented the Victorias at meetings which established the Manitoba Amateur Athletic Association, and set the requirements for amateur athletes in the province. Despite the new amateur sports organization, the Victorias did not play the 1907–08 season when professional hockey expanded in Winnipeg.
In November 1908, Robinson helped establish a senior amateur hockey league in Winnipeg affiliated with the Manitoba Amateur Athletic Association, and negotiated for ice time with local arena operators. Along with Victorias's Jack Pratt, he reached an agreement with the Winnipeg Auditorium to grow amateur hockey in Winnipeg. Robinson coached the Victorias to a Manitoba Hockey League championship for the 1908–09 season, and felt that his team could have competed for the newly established Allan Cup, although challenges from senior ice hockey teams were accepted only from Eastern Canada at the time. He sought to reduce in-season expenses, to have money for an end-of-season trip for the players. To uphold the principles of amateurism, he did not provide players with any spending money on sightseeing trips to New York City and Boston.
When the Manitoba Hockey League declined to admit the Winnipeg Monarchs for the 1909–10 season based on expected calibre of play, Robinson then recommended that each team play exhibition games versus the Monarchs. During the 1910–11 season, Robinson served as secretary of the Manitoba Hockey League.
1911 and 1912 Allan Cups Allan Cup trustees accepted the challenge from Robinson and the Victorias, to play the Toronto St. Michael's Majors for the trophy, in Winnipeg from February 20–25, 1911. When the Majors refused to play by the deadline given, trustees awarded the 1911 Allan Cup to the Victorias by default.; The Winnipeg Tribune wrote that the Majors had refused since the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) executive wanted the games to be played in March, and that the OHA initially refused to surrender the trophy despite instructions from the trustees.
Robinson was asked by Allan Cup trustee William Northey, to schedule dates and referees to defend a challenge by the Kenora Thistles. The Victorias defeated Kenora by a combined score of 16–10 in a two-game series. The series profited approximately , which were donated by cup trustees to charities in Winnipeg chosen by Robinson. No further Allan Cup challenges were arranged for the season, despite proposals to play the Calgary Athletic Club and the Ottawa New Edinburghs.
In 1912, Robinson was named a trustee for the Allan Cup in Western Canada to oversee challenges for the trophy, and remained a trustee of the cup until 1937.
The New Edinburghs announced that the OHA agreed to return the Allan Cup to its trustees, and that the New Edinburghs would travel to Winnipeg to challenge for the 1912 Allan Cup. Robinson was surprised by the announcement, and had expected to arrange exhibition games with the New Edinburghs. No challenge from the New Edinburghs was approved for 1912, since the Ottawa district playoffs took too long to complete ruling out to travel to Winnipeg.
The Victorias won the 1911–12 Manitoba Hockey League regular season, then defended the Allan Cup in three challenges. Robinson's team defeated the Calgary Athletic Club by 11–0 and 8–6 scores in a two-game series, defeated Toronto Eaton's by 8–4 and 16–1 scores in a two-game series, and the Regina Capitals by a 9–3 score in a one-game challenge. In 1942, Robinson described the victory versus Toronto Eaton's as redemption for winning the trophy by default from the OHA.
1912–13 and 1913–14 seasons
Robinson resigned as secretary-treasurer of the Victorias after seven seasons, due to time commitments and his business career, but remained the club's delegate to hockey league meetings. He was appointed to the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League executive, and represented league at Manitoba Amateur Athletic Association meetings.
Contrary to the league's agreement to play all games at the Winnipeg Auditorium, the Winnipeg Monarchs led by Fred Marples sought to use the Winnipeg Amphitheatre as their home rink, claiming it had better amenities for players and spectators. Robinson noted that Auditorium's management agreed to make changes to suit the league's needs, and that all teams had signed the agreement to play there. He felt that it was too late to change venues, and suggested the Monarchs withdraw from the league if they disagreed.; The Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League later voted in favour of keeping the arrangement with the Auditorium.
Robinson was elected vice-president of the Victorias in October 1913, serving in the executive role until 1917. He represented the Victorias at Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League meetings, and was re-elected to the league's executive which chose to operate with games at both the Auditorium and the Amphitheatre.;
In January 1914, the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League debated the status of the independent hockey leagues in Western Ontario and Manitoba, as to whether they were intermediate or senior-level leagues, and whether players in those leagues were eligible to be called-up to play. The issue stemmed from determining eligibility of reserve players for the Monarchs, who also played in those independent leagues.
1914 Allan Cup
By the 1914 Allan Cup, the numerous challenges for the trophy by league champions across Canada were difficult to manage. Robinson worked with Northey to schedule challenges, and decided that the defending champions would play a maximum of three challenges for the trophy per season. Robinson scheduled referees for Allan Cup games in Winnipeg, including a two-game total-goals series as the first challenge for the cup, by the Kenora Thistles versus the Winnipeg Monarchs.