IMAGE INFORMATION
EditSamuel "Sam" Rothschild - Born October 16, 1899 in Sudbury, Ontario – Died April 15, 1987 was a Ice Hockey left winger and coach.
Rothschild was the 1st Jewish Hockey player in the National Hockey League / NHL, and was also the first Sudburian to play on a Stanley Cup winning team.
After high school in Sudbury, Rothschild went to McGill University in Montreal, playing for the Redmen, also playing Hockey in the Montreal area for Montreal Harmonia and the Montreal Stars.
Rothschild returned to Sudbury upon graduation, playing for the junior Sudbury Wolves in 1919, and the next four seasons with the senior Sudbury Wolves.
Cecil Hart (Jewish) remembered seeing Rothschild play in the Montreal area, and signed him for the expansion NHL Montreal Maroons in 1924. Rothschild received a $1000 signing bonus and his two year contract was set at $3500 a year. He played three seasons with the Maroons, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926.
Rothschild was sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1927, and finished the 1927–28 season with the New York Americans after being traded by the Pirates in December 1927. Sam suffered a knee injury in 1927, which ultimately ended his Hockey career. It was his last season in the NHL.
Following his retirement from the NHL Rothschild took up coaching, and coached the junior Sudbury Wolves / Sudbury Cub Wolves to the 1932 Memorial Cup championship. He married Eva Yackman on July 11, 1933.
Rothschild was the last surviving member of the 1926 Stanley Cup champion Maroons.
During the 1950's and 1960's, Rothschild played a prominent role in advancing the interests of Sudbury and Northern Ontario on a national curling scale. As a representative of Seagram's Distilleries, Rothschild encouraged his company to sponsor sporting events on a regional level.
In 1953, Sam Rothschild was instrumental in making Sudbury the first Northern Ontario city to host the Brier Championships, and in 1958, he was elected president of the Dominion Curling Association. During this time, he worked to secure Northern Ontario's "special status" in the Brier when other provinces wanted the region stripped of its status.
Rothschild was actively involved in community life. He served as the president of the Northern Ontario Curling Association, as president of the Chamber of Commerce, and as a community alderman for two years.
In 1973, Sam Rothschild was nominated to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame, making him the first and only Sudburian to receive this honour.