Cooper Smeaton

Who was Cooper Smeaton?

James Cooper Smeaton was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee and head coach. He served as the National Hockey League's referee-in-chief from 1917 until 1937. Smeaton served as a Stanley Cup trustee from 1946 until his death in 1978. Smeaton was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.

Smeaton was born in Carleton Place, Ontario. When he was three years of age, Smeaton's family moved to the Westmount suburb of Montreal, Quebec. During his youth, Smeaton played baseball, football and ice hockey for the Westmount Amateur Athletic Association. By 1908, Smeaton had started refereeing ice hockey games, including those of the Montreal Insurance Hockey League.

Smeaton moved to New York in 1910 and played one season of point for the New York Wanderers, while working for Spalding Sporting Goods. Smeaton returned to Montreal for family reasons and joined Sun Life Insurance and started refereeing amateur games as a sideline. In 1913, he joined the National Hockey Association as a referee. In his first game in 1913, between the Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Wanderers, he was confronted by Newsy Lalonde after calling an offside. Smeaton promptly fined Lalonde $5.