It is better to be an outcast, a stranger in one’s own country, than an outcast from one’s self. It is better to see what is about to befall us and to resist than to retreat into the fantasies embraced by a nation of the blind.
Chris Hedges

Saturday, October 13, 2007

The Big Train

Lionel Pretoria Conacher was born in Toronto in 1900 and was a most incredible athlete, excelling in Professional Football, Professional Hockey, Professional Baseball, Lacrosse, Wrestling and lord knows what else.
In one day he played a game of Professional Football with the Toronto Argonauts, played a professional baseball game with the Toronto team and later that night suited up to play a game of professional ice hockey. He is a member of the Football Hall of Fame, Hockey Hall of Fame, Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Wrestling Hall of Fame, and probably a couple of others. He retired and became a Member of Parliament, being elected twice. At 54, he was playing a game of softball and suffered a heart attack and died. What I marvel at is that at 51 I have not done a smidgen of what The Big Train accomplished. His son Brian went on to play professional ice hockey and was a member of the last Toronto team to win the Stanley Cup in 1967.

No comments: