Stephen Alphonse "Coo" Dion (December 23, 1886 – April 10, 1959) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player and soldier. Dion, a rover or a centre forward position wise, played two games for the Ottawa Hockey Club during the 1905–06 ECAHA season, scoring one goal.
Biography Stephen Dion was born in 1886 in Ottawa, Ontario to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred A. Dion."Stephen A. Dion Formerly of Ottawa Dies in Toronto". Ottawa Journal. April 11, 1959 (p. 3).
Ice hockey Between 1905 and 1911 Dion was a member of the Ottawa Cliffsides, famous as the first holders of the Allan Cup as 1909 champions of the IPAHU. He also played two games for the Ottawa Hockey Club during the 1905–06 ECAHA season, scoring one goal, thus being part of the team which held the Stanley Cup in February 1906.Stanley Cup Annual Record 1906 (Feb) National Hockey League. Retrieved 2021-01-22. Dion was the first player to win both the Stanley Cup and the Allan Cup.
In February 1911 Dion was offered $1,000 by Montreal Canadiens manager George Kennedy to finish off the schedule (8 games) with the NHA club, but he promptly refused the offer claiming he was not for sale."Dion not for Canadiens" The Gazette (Montreal). Feb. 6, 1911 (p. 12). Retrieved 2021-01-20. The next season Dion instead joined the Winnipeg Victorias of the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League, because he had been offered a job with the National Transcontinental Railway.""Coo" Dion will play hockey in Winnipeg" Winnipeg Tribune. Oct. 12, 1911 (p. 6). Retrieved 2021-01-20. With the Victorias Dion would win his second Allan Cup as the Winnipeg side won the amateur trophy in 1911–12.
During the 1912–13 season Dion played with the Ottawa Stewartons in the IPAHU when another NHA club tried to recruit him. Martin Rosenthal and Pete Green of the Ottawa Hockey Club (Senators) witnessed Dion play in a game with the Stewartons and were so impressed by him that they talked Stewartons president Frank Ahearn into granting them permission to sign Dion, but the player himself still was not interested in turning professional.""Coo" Dion refused Ottawa's offer says he will remain amateur" Ottawa Citizen. Feb 3, 1913 (p. 9). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
World War I
In 1915 Dion enlisted as a soldier in World War I, where he would hold the rank of Lieutenant. He was severely wounded on May 24 with shattered bones in his left forearm at Festubert in France when hit by bullets."Feeling like before a big hockey game" Ottawa Citizen. Sept. 24, 1915 (p. 10). Retrieved 2021-01-20. When leaving Europe for Canada on the S/S Hesperian, embarking from Liverpool to Montreal, the ship was hit by a German submarine outside the Irish coast on September 4, 1915. Dion survived but 32 other lives were lost during unsuccessful attempts to tow the liner to port, and the ship eventually sank.S/S Hesperian, Canadian Pacific Line Norway-Heritage (norwayheritage.com). Retrieved 2021-01-20.
Dion instead reached Canada with the Allan Line steamship Corsican on September 21, 1915."Coo Dion arrives on the Corsican" Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 21, 1915 (p. 3). Retrieved 2022-07-24.
Death Dion died in Toronto, Ontario, on April 10, 1959, after a short illness, aged 72.
Achievements Stanley Cup – 1906 (Ottawa Hockey Club) Allan Cup – 1909 (Ottawa Cliffsides) & 1912 (Winnipeg Victorias)
References Notes