Athlete, railwayman.
Born at Winnipeg on 28 November 1899, son of Simon Elliott (1856-1935) and Annie Elizabeth Ford (1859-1941), he attended Norquay School and St. John’s Technical High School, and learned to skate on river-rinks around the city. He was the alternate goalkeeper for the Ypres team in the Winnipeg Military Hockey League for the 1917-1918 season, the Winnipeg Monarchs in the 1918-1919 season, and the Winnipeg Falcons for the 1919-1920 season. He accompanied the team to the Allan Cup Championship in Toronto, Ontario against the University of Toronto squad. After Jacob Walter “Wally” Byron took a puck to the face in the second and deciding game of the Allan Cup Championship, he stepped in and backstopping the team to victory. On account of limited funding available to the Falcons team, he was amongst those who did not accompany the team to the 1920 Olympic Games at Antwerp, Belgium.
The next season, he left for Minnesota, playing as the primary netminder for the independent Minneapolis team (1920-1921) before joining the St. Paul Athletics Club for the 1921-1922 season. He continued with the club in the United States Amateur Hockey Association through the 1924-1925 season, before retiring. During that time, the team attained two Fellowes Cup appearances and he recorded 11 shutout performances in a 22 game season. During his time in Minnesota, he worked part time for the Northern Pacific Railway (NPR).
After retiring from competitive sports, he took full-time employment with the NPR in June 1925, working as a clerk at St. Paul, Minnesota. He moved to the passenger department at Detroit, Michigan through the end of 1925 then went to Chicago, Illinois where he was city ticket agent until February 1927. While at Chicago, he married Dorothy Crawley (c1900-?) of St. Paul, Minnesota on 14 December 1925. He transferred to Butte, Montana in February 1927 where he continued with the NPR, becoming City Passenger and Freight Agent then General Agent (1932). He was an ice sports official and President of the Butte Hockey Association and Montana Hockey Association. A sports booster, he served on a range of fundraising committees for the American Legion Baseball program and was a noted supporter of the Butte Copper League. He was a member of the Butte Chamber of Commerce, Masons (Summit Valley Lodge No. 123), and Echo Lake Recreation Association (President).
He died at the Northern Pacific Hospital at Missoula, Montana on 29 January 1950 and was buried in the Mount Moriah Cemetery.
Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Library and Archives of Canada.
1930 US census, FamilySearch.
“Kingly crew will keep other teams hustling, opine the rail birds,” Manitoba Free Press, 14 December 1918, page 41.
“Allan Cup comes back to Winnipeg - Falcons prepare for trip to Antwep,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 March 1920, page 12.
“American hockey teams sign up many Canadians,” The Quebec Daily Telegraph, 1 November 1922, page 3.
“St. Paul hockey team plays at Amph. tonight,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 November 1924, page 18.
“St. Paul and Falcon-Tiger teams battle to two-goal tie,” Manitoba Free Press, 22 November 1924, page 32.
“Jackets hope to advance,” The Pittsburgh Press, 11 March 1925, page 25.
“Ching Johnson will stay with Mill City team,” Manitoba Free Press, 4 November 1925, page 19.
““Babe” Elliot joins ranks of benedicts,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 December 1925, page 18.
“Funeral of Simon Elliott attended by many friends,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 September 1935, page 2.
“Montana sports tales of other days,” The Philipsburg Mail, 29 July 1938, page 2.
“Mrs. Simon Elliott dies, Friday, at 82,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 August 1941, page 2.
“W. B. Elliott, NP General Agent, dies in Missoula,” The Montana Standard, 30 January 1950, pages 1 and 5.
“Elliott funeral will be today,” The Montana Standard, 31 January 1950, page 5.
“Ex-goalie here, William B. Elliot dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 February 1950, page 18.
“Time out with Maurice Smith,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 February 1950, page 18.
Before the Stars: Early Major League Hockey and the St. Paul Athletic Club Team by Roger A. Godin, 2005.
Polk’s 1928 Butte City Directory, DistantCousin.com
William “Babe” Elliott, Hockey Players On The Railway.
Bullock/Lattemore/Davies/Smith Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 1 June 2014
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