W. F. Taylor
{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey administrator (1877–1945)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = W. F. Taylor
| image = Doctor William Franklin Taylor photo circa 1912.png
| alt = Black and white photo of W. F. Taylor
| birth_name = William Franklin Taylor
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1877|5|16}}
| birth_place = Campbellford, Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1945|4|12|1877|5|16}}
| death_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| resting_place = Cathedral of St. John Cemetery
| alma_mater = University of Toronto
| occupation = Dentist
| years_active = 1898{{spnd}}1945
| known_for = Founding president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association
| awards = Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
}}
William Franklin Taylor (May 16, 1877{{spnd}}April 12, 1945) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He was the founding president of both the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) and the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association in 1914, and also served as president of the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League. He sought for the Allan Cup to be symbollic of the amateur hockey championship of Canada, and to establish a national authority to oversee competition for the trophy. He allied the CAHA with the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada against professionalism and to promote amateur sport and expand hockey in Canada. He supported a desire by the players to govern their own affairs, to standardize ice hockey rules and ice hockey rink dimensions, and recognition of the authority and judgment of on-ice officials. Taylor assisted with patriotic fundraising to contribute to the World War I effort in Canada, and served the community in Winnipeg as a leading member of the Elks and the Shriners. He sat on the board of governors for The Children's Hospital of Winnipeg and the local Children's Aid Society, and was posthumously inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.
Early life and education
William Franklin Taylor was born on May 16, 1877, in Campbellford, Ontario.{{Citation|last=Skinner|first=Hy E.|title=Schedule A, County of Northumberland Births, Division of Campbellford|place=Trent Hills, Ontario|publisher=Archives of Ontario|year=1878|page=159}} He grew up in a family that included four boys and two girls, to parents Jane Fraser and dentist John Taylor.{{cite news|title=Dr. William F. Taylor, Dentist, Succumbs|date=April 13, 1945|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=4|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-13-1945-1470268/}} Taylor graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Dentistry and was admitted to the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario.{{cite news|title=Dentistry|date=September 12, 1899|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-sep-12-1899-1881235/}}
Taylor relocated to Winnipeg in 1898, and practiced dentistry there for the remainder of his life along with his brother J. F. Taylor.{{cite news|title=Dentist Dies Suddenly At Home|date=April 13, 1945|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=43|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-13-1945-1905599/}} Taylor was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the ruler of the Winnipeg lodge. In January 1908, he was appointed deputy supreme exalted ruler for Western Canada.{{cite news|title=Local Items|date=January 23, 1908|newspaper=Brandon Weekly Sun|location=Brandon, Manitoba|page=16|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-23-1908-1881255/}}
Early Winnipeg hockey career
Taylor was elected president of the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League on November 14, 1912, as a compromise to have an outside person settle internal disagreements. The Winnipeg Monarchs led by Fred Marples had made their own arrangements to play and practice at the Winnipeg Amphitheatre, whereas the league had an agreement for teams to use the Winnipeg Auditorium which was preferred by the Winnipeg Hockey Club and the Winnipeg Victorias.{{cite news|title=Monarchs Cause Commotion In Winnipeg Hockey League|date=November 14, 1912|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-14-1912-1904470/}}; {{cite news|title=Monarchs Cause Commotion In Winnipeg Hockey League (Continued From Page Six)|date=November 14, 1912|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=7|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-14-1912-1904476/}} Teams also disagreed on the cost of ice time, the amount of practice time and heating for the spectators in the seating area. Taylor cast a tie-breaking vote to uphold a decision by the previous executive to play all league games at the Auditorium.{{cite news|title=Winnipeg Hockey League Stands by Auditorium Rink|date=November 21, 1912|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-21-1912-1904488/}}
Taylor was re-elected president in November 1913 by acclamation, and thanked all players in the league who had declined professional contracts to remain as amateurs.{{cite news|title=Winnipeg Hockey League Re-elects The Old Officers|date=November 10, 1913|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=12|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-10-1913-1904538/}} Disagreements persisted between the teams over the location of games and the league agreed to allow teams to choose their own home ice location.{{cite news|title=Hockey League Troubles Seem Drawing To End|date=October 28, 1913|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=8|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-28-1913-1904528/}} Taylor released the 1913–14 season schedule which included games at both the Amphitheatre and Auditorium, and reached an agreement where season tickets were sold to give spectators access to both rinks.{{cite news|title=Senior Hockey Season to Open Here December 18|date=November 14, 1913|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-14-1913-1904543/}}
In January 1914, the league debated whether players from leagues from elsewhere in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario were eligible to be a reserve player in the Winnipeg league. Debate focused on whether these leagues were an equal level of senior hockey, or a lower level of intermediate hockey. The issue was temporarily resolved by asking permission from the other league for the player to be a reserve in another league.{{cite news|title=Questions That Are Giving Big League Food For Thought|date=January 12, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=8|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jan-12-1914-1906371/}} The issue resurfaced again in the national playoffs for the 1914 Allan Cup. Trustees for the Allan Cup struggled to determine player eligibility since there was no authoritative national body to classify leagues by the level of play, and determine who was a senior level player compared to an intermediate level player.{{cite news|title=Fate of Allan Cup Will Not Be Known Until This Morning|date=March 9, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-09-1914-1906385/}}
Founding of a Manitoba hockey body
Members of the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League met on June 23, 1914, and agreed to form a commission to oversee hockey in Manitoba. Taylor was appointed chairman of the provisional Manitoba Hockey Commission, which sought to merge into a national commission when such a body became established.{{cite news|title=Winnipeg Takes Initial Step Toward Hockey Commission|date=June 23, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jun-23-1914-1904561/}}{{cite news|title=Another Step Nearer Hockey Commission|date=June 23, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=22|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jun-23-1914-1904566/}}
The Allan Cup trustee in Western Canada, Claude C. Robinson, suggested that a governing body be formed for hockey in Canada, which was echoed by similar calls from The Winnipeg Tribune and the Winnipeg Free Press. The proposal was backed by clubs in Western Canada and letters were sent to all amateur hockey clubs in Canada to attend a national meeting.{{cite web|url=http://allancup.ca/allanhistory.htm|title=The History of the Allan Cup|website=Allan Cup|publisher=Hockey Canada|access-date=July 15, 2020}} The stated purpose of a national commission was to discuss revisions to the Allan Cup competition format and deadlines, to standardize ice hockey rules and ice hockey rink dimensions, and to establish regular annual meetings for national hockey issues.
Taylor was elected the first president of the Manitoba Hockey Commission on July 7, 1914. Recommendations were taken to form a constitution by July, then delegates would to be chosen to attend the meeting to establish a national body.{{cite news|title=Would Organize Canadian Body|date=July 7, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=17|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jul-07-1914-1906394/}} In October 1914, athletic organizations in Manitoba combined to form an Athletic Patriotic Committee to support the World War I effort in Canada. Taylor was named an executive member to arrange sporting events for patriotic fundraising.{{cite news|title=Athletic Organizations Of Manitoba Will Unite In Helping Patriotic Fund|date=October 2, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-02-1914-1904629/}}{{cite news|title=Athletic Events To Add Thousands To Patriotic Fund|date=October 14, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=13|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-14-1914-1906415/}}
The Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League met for its annual meeting in November 1914, and questioned if enough teams would exist for the upcoming season due to a shortage of players during World War I. Taylor stated his willingness to step down as president but would accept another term to perpetuate the league.{{cite news|title=Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League Convenes Tonight|date=November 10, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-10-1914-1904660/}} He supported a desire by the players to govern their own affairs and league officers that were open-minded.{{cite news|title=Peace In Sight For Strathcona Players And Management|date=November 11, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-11-1914-1904661/}} He was re-elected to a third term and the league endorsed donating a portion of profits towards patriotic funds.{{cite news|title=Winnipeg Hockey League Plan Successful Season|date=November 11, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-11-1914-1904662/}}
The Manitoba Hockey Commission met later in November to discuss additional recommendations for a national meeting, and sought for the Allan Cup to be recognized as the championship trophy for amateur hockey in Canada, and that the national commission be the authority to decide on which leagues and players were eligible.{{cite news|title=Manitoba Hockey Commission Discuss Recommendations For Meeting at the Capital|date=November 19, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-19-1914-1904667/}}; {{cite news|title=Manitoba Hockey Commission Discuss Recommendations (Continued)|date=November 19, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-19-1914-1904668/}} Manitoba clubs planned to send their own delegates to the national meeting, although Taylor was designated as the only spokesperson to speak for Manitoba.{{cite news|title=Local Hockey Men Strongly In Favor Of National Body|date=November 21, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=26|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-21-1914-1906420/}} He was tasked with convincing other teams and associations to accept the proposal, despite reports from the Winnipeg Free Press that Eastern Canada and the Ontario Hockey Association did not show much interest in founding a national body.{{cite news|title=President Taylor Will Travel East|date=November 24, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-24-1914-1904672/}}
Founding of a Canadian hockey body
File:Hotel Château Laurier in Ottawa.jpg
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) was founded on December 4, 1914, at the Hotel Château Laurier in Ottawa, with Taylor elected as its first president.McKinley, Michael (2014), p. 5{{cite news|title=Dominion Amateur Hockey Commission Is Now A Reality|date=December 5, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=28|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-05-1914-1904968/}}{{cite news|title=Amateur Hockey Body Formed At Great Ottawa Conference|date=December 5, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-05-1914-1904970/}}; {{cite news|title=Amateur Hockey Body Formed At Great Ottawa Conference (Continued From Page Six)|date=December 5, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=7|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-05-1914-1904971/}} The CAHA adopted a constitution, drafted by-laws and registration rules for players, and planned to organize eight branches across the nine provinces of Canada. The Allan Cup was chosen to represent the CAHA championship of a provincial playoffs system, although the cup remained under the control of its trustees according to the deed of gift from H. Montagu Allan. Taylor reached an agreement with Allan Cup trustee William Northey, that the CAHA could manage Allan Cup games on a temporary basis and be the beneficiary of profits overseen by the trustees.
Taylor recommended at the meeting for the CAHA to apply for articles of alliance with the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada (AAU of C).McKinley, Michael (2014), p. 7 The CAHA was accepted as an affiliate two days later and abided by AAU of C policies against professionalism and to promote amateur sport in Canada.{{cite news|title=Tom Boyd Elected New President of A.A.U. in Canada|date=December 7, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=10 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-07-1914-1904980/}} Taylor was subsequently named to the affiliations and alliances committee of the AAU of C.{{cite news|title=Personnel of A.A.U. of C Committees Selected For Year|date=December 29, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-29-1914-1904986/}}
Taylor presided over the first annual meeting of the Manitoba Hockey Commission on December 26, 1914, which saw its named changed to become the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) to align with the CAHA. The MAHA ratified the player registration rules put in place by the CAHA to maintain amateurism and exclude professionals, and sought to expand within Manitoba by recruiting existing leagues to join.{{cite web|url=http://www.hockeymanitoba.ca/information/about-hockey-manitoba|title=About Hockey Manitoba|year=2020|website=Hockey Manitoba|access-date=July 16, 2020}}
Taylor determined the 1915 Allan Cup playoffs format by having names drawn out of a hat by Winnipeg mayor Richard Deans Waugh.{{cite news|title=Easterners Get The First Bat At Cup|date=February 25, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=46|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-feb-25-1915-1906840/}} Taylor called an emergency meeting of the CAHA on March 15, to resolve registration and rules inconsistencies and to prevent protests during Allan Cup competition. The CAHA resolved that the constitutions and by-laws for all of its branches must be in accordance with those of the CAHA, and requested copies of all such constitutions and by-laws to be submitted for approval at the next general meeting.{{cite news|title=Vexed Questions Amicably Settled|date=March 16, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-16-1915-1906877/}} The CAHA also decided to centralize the final three series for the 1916 Allan Cup, where the three challengers would meet the reigning champion in Winnipeg.{{cite news|title=Allan Cup Finals Will Be Staged In Winnipeg|date=March 16, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-16-1915-1906878/}}
World War I and patriotic hockey
File:Winnipeg 61st Battalion, 1915–16.png
Taylor expected hockey as usual for the 1915–16 season and stated that teams in Winnipeg planned to play despite decreased talent being available due to enlistments to serve in World War I.{{cite news|title=Hockey as Usual Next Winter|date=August 23, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune |location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-aug-23-1915-1905245/}} He chose to retire in November 1915 after three seasons as the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League president.{{cite news|title=Winnipeg Hockey League Prepares|date=November 4, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=10 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-04-1915-1905255/}} He was succeeded by Robert McKay as president.{{cite news|title=Local Hockey League Favors Suspension of Allan Cup Contests|date=November 15, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-15-1915-1905293/}} Taylor was re-elected president of the MAHA in November 1915 and sought to continue hockey for the patriotic fund while temporarily suspending the Allan Cup competition as recommended by the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League.{{cite news|title=Patriotic Hockey Endorsed By Athletic Association|date=November 17, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-17-1915-1905309/}}{{cite news|title=Dr. W. F. Taylor Will Again Lead Manitoba Hockey Association|date=November 26, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=13|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-26-1915-1905393/}}
Following a recommendation by the AAU of C, Taylor asked the CAHA branches for a mail-in vote on whether or not to hold an annual meeting in December 1915. He was in favour is having the meeting since the association was only a year old and that continued communication was necessary for the CAHA to grow in its formative years. He suggested that the AAU of C and the Canadian Amateur Lacrosse Association hold their annual meetings concurrently to reduce costs.{{cite news|title=Mail Vote on Annual of Canadian Hockey Ass'n|date=November 5, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-05-1915-1905258/}} When the mail-in vote was inconclusive, Taylor asked those against a meeting to reconsider and suggested that the furthest branches send a proxy vote.{{cite news|title=Pres. Taylor Wants Hockey Meeting|date=November 23, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press |location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-23-1915-1905363/}} The meeting went ahead as Taylor planned on December 10, 1915, in Winnipeg.{{cite news|title=Canadian Hockey Body to Meet Here|date=November 30, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-30-1915-1906913/}} The CAHA decided to have Allan Cup competition as usual which was supported by the cup's trustees. Taylor was named to the committee to review the constitutions of each branch of the CAHA, and was succeeded as president by Captain James T. Sutherland, the president of the Ontario Hockey Association.{{cite news|title=Allan Cup Hockey As Usual This Winter Is Decision|date=December 11, 1915|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=19|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-dec-11-1915-1905398/}}
Taylor remained involved with the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League which had renamed itself the Patriotic Hockey League, and was appointed to the discipline committee. He felt that a referee's decision should be final and had no sympathy for teams protesting the judgment of on-ice officials.{{cite news|title=League Will Probe Penalty Box Scrap|date=February 8, 1916|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=7|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-feb-08-1916-1906934/}}{{cite news|title=Dispute Over Monarch-Sixty-First Contest to Be Settled Today|date=March 1, 1916|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-01-1916-1905430/}} He assisted in overseeing finances for the league which raised C$4,000 for the patriotic fund.{{cite news|title=Local Hockey Players Raised $4,000 for Hero Funds This Season|date=March 8, 1916|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=11|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-08-1916-1906995/}} He represented the CAHA in presenting the Allan Cup trophy to the Winnipeg 61st Battalion who played the season in the Patriotic Hockey League.{{cite news|title=Allan Cup Team Highly Honored|date=March 20, 1916|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=6|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-20-1916-1907012/}}
Taylor supported having an annual CAHA meeting in 1916 to promote the game and to perpetuate the national association. He also advocated for someone to fill the president's position since Sutherland had been deployed to Europe to serve in the war.{{cite news|title=C. A. H. A. Boosts Game|date=November 11, 1916|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=79 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-11-1916-1905455/}} Taylor was succeeded as president of the MAHA by W. M. Noble in November 1916.{{cite web|url=http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/wp-content/uploads/history/ManitobasHockeyInfluence-byEdSweeney.pdf|title=Manitoba's Hockey History|last=Sweeney|first=Ed|year=2007|website=Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame|access-date=April 18, 2025}} MAHA officers then favoured not to have a CAHA meeting in 1916, and Ontario Hockey Association vice-president J. F. Paxton was named acting president of the CAHA.{{cite news|title=Hockey Officials Only to Plan for Season Tonight, Annual Meeting Next Week|last=Ching|first=Tim|date=November 28, 1916|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=14|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-28-1916-1990602/}}
Later life and community service
File:Children's Hospital of Winnipeg Complex.jpg
Taylor represented the CAHA at a banquet for the Winnipeg Falcons in May 1920, after the team became the first gold medalists in ice hockey at the Olympic Games.{{cite news|title=City Presents Falcon Players With Watches At Elaborate Banquet|date=May 25, 1920|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=15|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-may-25-1920-1885370/}} He became involved in community service as a freemason in the Scottish Rite Prince Rupert Lodge AF and AM, and was a potentate of the Shriners in the Khartum Temple of the Shrine. The Shriners established a facility for crippled children as part of The Children's Hospital of Winnipeg in 1925.{{cite web|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/shrinershospital.shtml|title=Historic Sites of Manitoba: Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children|last=Goldsborough|first=Gordon|date=December 21, 2019|website=Manitoba Historical Society|access-date=August 12, 2020}} The new wing included 20 beds and was funded by the Khartum Temple to care for children from the Canadian Prairies.{{cite news|title=New Shriners' Hospital To Open Monday|date=March 14, 1925|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=1|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-14-1925-1885337/}} Taylor served on the board of governors for the hospital, and was named to the dental board of the Children's Aid Society of Winnipeg in 1936.{{cite news|title=Children's Aid Committees For Year Are Named|date=November 13, 1936|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=2|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-nov-13-1936-1881532/}}
Taylor attended the silver jubilee of the MAHA on October 22, 1938, at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg,{{cite news|title=Snapshots on Sport|last=Allen|first=W. G.|date=October 20, 1938|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=16|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-20-1938-1881565/}} where five of six past presidents were guests of honour.{{cite news|title=Helped Make Many Wheels Go Round|date=October 25, 1938|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=17|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-oct-25-1938-1881572/}} The CAHA chose to hold its silver jubilee on April 11, 1939, in Winnipeg, to recognize the contributions of Taylor and other Manitoba officials in founding the CAHA in 1914.{{cite news|title=Honor Winnipeg – Hockey Association Will Meet In City for Silver Jubilee|last=Coo|first=A. E. H.|author-link=A. E. H. Coo|date=April 18, 1938|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=16|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-18-1938-1881552/}} Taylor was one of six persons in attendance at the silver jubilee who had attended the original meeting of the CAHA in 1914, and was one of the 11 former CAHA presidents to be honoured.{{cite news|title=Eleven Former C.A.H.A. Presidents Coming Here|date=April 8, 1939|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=26|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-08-1939-1881579/}} In his address to the delegates at the silver jubilee, Taylor told a story of humble beginnings of the CAHA.{{cite news|title=C.A.H.A. Celebrates 25th Year|date=April 11, 1939|newspaper=Lethbridge Herald|location=Lethbridge, Alberta|page=10|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-11-1939-1881589/}}
{{blockquote|"At that first meeting we had the ideal of serving the youth of Canada but we started in a small and inauspicious way. Today, I am proud to say, the CAHA is the strongest organization in sport in Canada, the strongest, in fact, in the world".|source=W. F. Taylor—April 10, 1939}}
{{multiple image|align=right|total_width=320|image1=Taylor family plot at St. John Anglican Cathedral cemetery.jpg|alt1=Tall rectangular grey granite marker inscribed with the family name, with ferns growing at the bottom, and four individual grave markers in the foreground|image2=William Franklin Taylor grave marker.jpg|alt2=Flat grey granite marker engraved with the name William F, and the years 1877–1945|footer=Taylor's grave markers at Cathedral of St. John Cemetery}}
Taylor was married to Nancy Taylor and had two daughters. He died at home in Winnipeg on April 12, 1945, and was interred in the family plot at the Cathedral of St. John Cemetery in Winnipeg.
Legacy and honours
The Winnipeg Free Press credited Taylor for handling contentious hockey issues in a business-like manner, making impartial rulings and being a peacemaker. The Winnipeg Tribune credited his efforts for retaining on-ice officials amid growing hooliganism by spectators.{{cite news|title=Sport Suffers From Too Much Rowdyism|date=June 13, 1914|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=59 |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-jun-13-1914-1906391/}} He was named honorary president of the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League immediately upon his retirement. He was the honorary president of the CAHA from 1915 to 1919,{{cite web|url=https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/corporate/contact/board-of-directors/past-officers|title=Past Hockey Canada Officers|year=2020|website=Hockey Canada|access-date=July 14, 2020}} and was presented with an engraved medal as its past-president when the CAHA established the practice in March 1925.{{cite news|title=S. P. "Silver" Quilty Re-elected Leader|date=March 25, 1925|newspaper=Winnipeg Tribune|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=12|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-mar-25-1925-1885342/}} He was also the honorary president of the MAHA from 1916 to 1934.{{cite web|url=http://www.mbhockeyhalloffame.ca/people/dr-william-taylor/|title=Taylor, Dr. William|year=1992|website=Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame|access-date=July 11, 2020}}
After Taylor's death, the CAHA observed a moment of silence for him at its annual meeting in April 1945.{{cite news|title=Would Eliminate Red Centre Line|date=April 16, 1945|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|location=Winnipeg, Manitoba|page=14|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/sports-clipping-apr-16-1945-1881502/}} The Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children in Winnipeg which he helped establish, was replaced by a new facility in June 1949. He was posthumously inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. The CAHA merged into Hockey Canada in 1994,McKinley, Michael (2014), p. 286 and the MAHA evolved into Hockey Manitoba. He was since made the namesake of the Dr. W. F. Taylor Memorial Scholarship maintained by Hockey Manitoba.{{cite web|url=http://www.hockeymanitoba.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Hockey-Manitoba-Scholarship-Application.pdf|title=Hockey Manitoba Scholarship Application|year=2020|website=Hockey Manitoba|access-date=July 23, 2020}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last=McKinley|first=Michael|title=It's Our Game: Celebrating 100 Years Of Hockey Canada|publisher=Viking Press|date=2014|location=Toronto, Ontario|isbn=978-0-670-06817-3}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, William Franklin}}
Category:Canadian Amateur Hockey Association presidents
Category:Canadian hospital administrators
Category:Canadian sports builders
Category:Canadian sports executives and administrators
Category:Ice hockey people from Northumberland County, Ontario
Category:Ice hockey people from Winnipeg
Category:Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association executives