Lionel Conacher Lionel Pretoria Conacher , ( May 24 , 1900 – May 26 , 1954 ) , nicknamed " The Big Train " , was Canada ' s top all - around athlete in the 1920s , excelling in Canadian football , ice hockey , lacrosse , baseball , boxing and wrestling . Early life . Conacher was born in Toronto , Ontario in 1900 . He grew up in poverty and was one of ten children . His father was a Toronto teamster . Lionel quit school after the 8th grade to help support his family . He soon realized that sports offered a way out of poverty . He then pursued athletic success . Hockey career . From 1925 to 1937 , Conacher played in the National Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Pirates , New York Americans , Chicago Blackhawks , and Montreal Maroons . He won the Stanley Cup in 1934 with the Chicago Blackhawks , and 1935 with the Montreal Maroons . Amateur hockey . Hockey was Conacher ' s weakest sport . Conacher didn ' t start skating until he was 16 years old . However he quickly learned the skill while with the Toronto Century Rovers and the Toronto Aura Lee . He then joined the Toronto Canoe Club juniors in 1919 - 20 . The club captured both the Ontario Hockey Association junior crown and the Memorial Cup that season . Conacher then returned to Toronto Aura Lee to play for their senior team for two years . In 1922 , Conacher played hockey for the North Toronto and he was in the line - up on February 8 , 1923 , in the first hockey match ever broadcast on radio . At this stage , Conacher was so highly regarded that the Toronto St . Pats and Montreal Canadiens both invited him to play in the NHL . That year while still active in amateur baseball , hockey and lacrosse , Lionel turned down an offer by Montreal Canadians manager , Leo Dandurand , to turn pro . Dandurand is reported to have offered Conacher $ 5 , 000 plus help in setting up his own business . In late 1922 , Conacher rejoined Toronto Aura Lee . That season he and a teammate were accused of point shaving in a hockey game . The Ontario Amateur Athletic Union suspended his entire team . However the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union would later absolve the players of any wrong - doing . In 1924 and 1925 , Conacher then captained the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets as they won consecutive United States Amateur Hockey Association titles . The following year the Yellow Jackets became the expansion Pittsburgh Pirates of the NHL . He was instrumental in keeping most of the Yellow Jackets together when the team went professional . Pittsburgh Pirates . Conacher went professional when he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925 . He was soon named the team ' s captain and scored the first goal in franchise history , against the Boston Bruins on November 26 . On December 2 , in front of 8 , 200 fans , Lionel also scored the Pirates first goal in Pittsburgh . New York Americans . In 1927 Conacher was traded to the New York Americans , where he played four seasons and played alongside defencemen Leo Reise and Bill Brydge . In 1929 until 1930 , Conacher served as the Americans player - coach . Montreal Maroons and Chicago Blackhawks . Conacher joined the Montreal Maroons for the 1931 season . His time with the team included a career - best 28 points in 1932 - 33 . He then joined the Chicago Blackhawks for the 1933 season , and was a key figure in the club ' s first - ever Stanley Cup victory that season . He finished second to the Canadiens ' Aurel Joliat in the voting for the Hart Trophy and earned a spot on the NHL ' s First All - Star Team . The next season , Conacher returned to the Maroons , where he ' d spend his last three NHL seasons and won his second Stanley Cup in 1935 . He ended his hockey career after the Maroons were eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Rangers on April 23 , 1937 . That final year he was runner - up to Babe Siebert in the 1937 Hart Trophy voting and was placed on the NHL Second All - Star Team .