Chaucer Elliott

Edwin Smith Elliott, nicknamed “Chaucer” for his wide vocabulary, was a Canadian athlete and Hockey Hall of Fame official. Born in Kingston, Ontario, he played hockey and football at Queen’s University, captaining both teams while studying arts and then medicine. He also played for the Kingston Granites, who won the Canadian championship in 1899. Elliott left Queen’s before graduating to start a semi-professional baseball club in Kingston. In 1903, he played minor league baseball for a Toronto team in the Eastern League and later in the New England League. While playing, he began refereeing hockey for the Ontario Hockey Association. By 1906, he was coaching the Toronto Argonauts of the ORFU and later became their manager. The next year, he coached the Montreal AAA Winged Wheelers and served as an advisor. He also managed the Oswego baseball team in the Empire League and tried to organize an international baseball league. In 1911, he left Montreal to manage the St. Thomas Saints of the Canadian Baseball League. He also managed the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association. Diagnosed with incurable cancer in 1913, he died in Kingston at age 34. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. He was the grandfather of respected Canadian sports writer Bob Elliott.