Frank Calder Frank Calder ( November 17 , 1877 - February 4 , 1943 ) was an executive , a journalist and athlete . He is most notable for serving as the last president of the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) professional league and the first president of its successor , the National Hockey League ( NHL ) from 1917 until 1943 . He was instrumental in the transition from the NHA to the NHL , a transition made to expel a franchise owner . He presided over the expansion of the league into the United States , and the fending off of rivals to the NHL ' s status as the premier ice hockey league . Biography . Frank Calder was born to Scottish parents in Bristol , England on November 17 , 1877 . Calder participated in many sports as a youth , including rugby , handball , golf , and football . As a young man , he immigrated to Canada and became a teacher at a private school . Before leaving the United Kingdom , he flipped a coin to decide whether to immigrate to Canada or the United States . He married a fellow teacher , Amelia Cole , and they had three daughters and one son . Early career . Calder worked as a sports editor at the " Montreal Witness " . From there , he jumped to the " Montreal Herald " and " Daily Telegraph " . After that , he left Elmer Ferguson to be sports editor and moved on to the financial editor ' s chair which covered what was then Canada ' s largest market , the Montreal Stock Exchange . He also kept on with sports , creating the Montreal School Rugby League and was secretary of a soccer league . On November 15 , 1914 , Mr . Calder was appointed secretary - treasurer of the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) . He served as secretary - treasurer until 1916 when Frank Robinson resigned as president of the NHA . Formation of NHL . In 1917 , the NHA ' s owners decided to drop Eddie Livingstone ' s Toronto Blueshirts franchise and took his players . The NHA ' s president , Frank Robinson , seeing he was as powerless as his predecessor Emmett Quinn was , resigned as NHA president and here was Calder ' s opportunity as the league ' s secretary . He decided that the NHA owners allied against Eddie Livingstone needed someone to represent them , and , in effect , Calder was - - - at least for all practical purposes - - - the new president of the NHA . He arranged meetings between the NHA ' s owners to figure out how to get rid of Livingstone . They decided to form a new league , the National Hockey League , in the NHA ' s place , and then revive the NHA once Livingstone was squeezed out . Calder was elected president of the new league , formed on November 26 , 1917 . Meanwhile , the owners could not bring back the NHA , as Livingstone made it impossible with his firm stand . Presidency . Calder wielded his power as president with such authority that there was no getting cross - ways with him . If he ordered the Quebec Bulldogs franchise forfeited to Hamilton , as happened in 1920 , one never was to challenge him . A good example of his authority was when the Hamilton Tigers went on strike in 1925 . Rather than talk to the players , he suspended and fined them $ 200 each . Calder was adamant about not restricting minorities into the NHL . During the 1927 – 28 season , upon hearing of the Boston Black Panthers , the first all - Black hockey team , he remarked , " Pro hockey has no ruling against the colored man , nor is it likely to ever draw the line , " a reference to the segregation in baseball . Only one attempt to remove Calder as president of the NHL was made . This was in 1932 – 33 when the owner of the Chicago Black Hawks , Frederic McLaughlin , circulated a letter to the NHL board of governors to remove him . The board rejected the motion . Commencing with the 1932 – 33 season , Calder named the top rookie in the NHL . Starting in 1936 – 37 , he got the NHL ' s board of governors to let him buy a trophy to give to the league ' s top rookie and he did this until 1941 – 42 . After his death , the trophy was made permanent as the Calder Memorial Trophy . Calder received a silver service in 1937 – 38 for his 20 years as president of the NHL and the league extended their appreciation . Death . Calder was presiding over a meeting of the NHL ' s board of governors on January 25 , 1943 when he suffered a heart attack , followed by another in a Toronto hospital . On February 3 , he felt well enough to travel and returned to Montreal the next day , checking into Montreal General Hospital upon arrival . There he suffered the fatal heart attack that claimed his life that morning . On his passing , Frank Calder was interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal , Quebec . Legacy . He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947 as a builder . Two trophies in professional hockey are named for him - - the NHL Calder Memorial Trophy for NHL rookies and the Calder Cup for the American Hockey League ( AHL ) championship . He originated the rookie of the year award , and the NHL decided to continue awarding it after Calder died , renaming it from the Calder Trophy to the Calder Memorial Trophy .