Move over Jim Thorpe, Lionel Conacher Wants Part of the Spotlight Too

As fans, we marvel at how athletes perform. Whether they're scoring goals, catching touchdown passes, hitting home runs or dunking a basketball, we can't help but be impressed by how easy it is for them and how difficult it is for others.

Then, there are the athletes that are so exceptionally gifted they can excel at multiple sports.

Deion Sanders played football and baseball. He hit a home run and scored a touchdown in the same week (he's still the only person ever to do so) and played in both a Super Bowl and World Series during career as well (he's the only person ever to do that too).

Bo Jackson played in the MLB and the NFL, becoming the only player ever to be named an All-Star in both leagues.

There are others who have played multiple sports and have succeeded in both, but there are two that stand out from the rest.

Almost everyone has heard of Jim Thorpe. Winner of two Olympic Gold Medals in 1912, Thorpe played in the MLB for seven years and the NFL for nine. On top of that, Thorpe also played semi-professional basketball.

However, Canada has their own star multi-sport athlete as well. Meet Mr. Lionel Conacher, born in Toronto in the year 1900. Conacher excelled in hockey, baseball, football, lacrosse, wrestling and boxing.

As a 20 year old, Conacher won a Memorial Cup as a member of the top junior hockey team in Canada.

In 1921, he played for the Toronto Argonauts, winning the first ever Grey Cup. In 1922 he rushed for 950 yards in just six games (215 yards on eight carries). He also helped organize Canada's first professional football league.

In 1923, Conacher moved to the United States and in 1924 played football for Duquesne University. In 1927 he worked as an assistant coach for the Rutgers University football team.

In 1924 and 1925, while in Pittsburgh, he helped win his team consecutive United States Amateur Hockey Association titles. Also in 1925, he finally made the move up to the NHL and in 1934 won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Black Hawks and then another in 1935 with the Montreal Maroons. Twice he finished second in Hart Trophy voting, and he was named to three All-Star Teams during his time in the NHL.

In 1926, Conacher played for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International Baseball League (Triple A) helping his team win the pennant.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Conacher played professional lacrosse. One famous story describes Conacher hitting the game-winning home run to give his team the Toronto semi-pro baseball title, then jumping into a taxi to speed across the city to a lacrosse game, where he scored four goals for his team, who were losing 3-0 when he arrived.

At age 16, Conacher won the lightweight wrestling championship in Ontario, and he never lost a match in his wrestling career in Canada and the United States.

When he was 20, he won the amateur light heavyweight boxing title.

In 1937, Conacher was elected to Ontario's provincial government, where he served until 1943. In 1949, Conacher was elected to Canada's federal government and was re-elected in 1953.

He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (1955), the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1963), the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame (1966), and Hockey Hall of Fame (1994).

Conacher was named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century (1950) and the Canadian Press has named their Canadian Male Athlete of the Year award the Lionel Conacher Award in honor of his achievements.

To win that much in so many sports is astounding, and puts Conacher right there with the great Jim Thorpe among the best multi-sport athletes of all time. It's a shame that when you say the name 'Lionel Conacher', most people will most likely give you a blank stare.

-Mac D of the Mac App