Dan Bain

Donald Henderson Bain, known as Dan or DH, was a Canadian amateur athlete and businessman. Born in Belleville, Ontario, to Scottish immigrants, he was the sixth of seven children. His father worked as a horse buyer for the British government, and his mother was a seamstress. The family moved west to Winnipeg when Bain was young, where he attended school and earned a bachelor’s degree from Manitoba College.

Sporting career

Bain’s athletic career began early: in 1887, he won the Manitoba roller skating title in a three-mile race. At 17, he took the provincial gymnastics championship; at 20, he claimed the first of three straight Manitoba cycling titles. He also excelled at lacrosse. In 1895, he answered a newspaper ad from the Winnipeg Victorias hockey team.

Despite using a broken stick held together with wire, he made the team within five minutes of the tryout. As a star centre and leader, he helped the Victorias win the Stanley Cup twice. On February 14, 1896, he scored in a 2–0 Cup win over Montreal. A rematch later that year saw him score two goals, but Montreal reclaimed the Cup 6–5.

Bain served as captain and manager for later challenges, including losses in 1898 and 1900. In 1901, playing with a broken nose and a wooden face mask—earning the nickname “the masked man”—he scored the overtime winner in a best-of-three series against the Montreal Shamrocks, the first Cup-winning goal in extra time. His hockey career ended after a March 1902 loss. He later served as honorary president of the Victorias when they won the Allan Cup in 1911 and 1912.

Beyond hockey, Bain won medals in lacrosse and snowshoeing, became Canadian trapshooting champion in 1903, and claimed over a dozen figure skating titles—his last at age 56. He kept skating until 70.

Professionally, Bain started as a bookkeeper’s apprentice for a grocery broker, rising to junior partner. By 1905, the firm became Nicholson and Bain, with offices across Western Canada.

Personal life

After a split in 1917, he founded Donald H. Bain Limited, amassing a fortune and buying several Winnipeg properties. He helped establish the Winnipeg Winter Club, later organizing its post-war iteration. He belonged to the Freemasons, served as life governor of Winnipeg General Hospital, and was an early car enthusiast who owned British vehicles and once led the Winnipeg Automobile Club.