Weldy Young Explained

Weldy Young
Birth Date:4 October 1871
Birth Place:Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Death Place:Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
Position:Defence
Played For:Ottawa Hockey Club
Dawson City Nuggets
Career Start:1890
Career End:1905

Weldon "Weldy" Champness Young (October 4, 1871 – October 27, 1944) was a Canadian businessman and athlete. Young was an ice hockey player for the Ottawa Hockey Club, playing in its founding years in the 1880s and in the 1890s. Young later became a member of the Dawson City Nuggets which played against Ottawa in the 1905 Stanley Cup challenge. His older brother George Young (1865–1926) was one of the original Ottawa players and the two played together for Ottawa from 1889 to 1891.[1] Young later became an investor and executive in mining in the Cobalt, Ontario area.

Playing career

Young, a defenceman, first played for Ottawa Hockey Club in 1890 and played for the team until 1899. The team won the Ontario championship from 1891 through 1893. The team also held the AHAC title for most of the 1891–92 season. Young was present at the dinner where Lord Stanley announced the Stanley Cup. Young would play in the Stanley Cup title game in 1894 versus the Montreal Hockey Club.

In the early 1900s, Young moved out west, finding work in Dawson City, Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush. He was recruited by the Dawson City Nuggets which challenged Ottawa for the Stanley Cup in the 1904–05 season, although he was unable to participate in the series due to his duties as a federal civil servant during a federal election at the time. He also found work as a referee in the Timiskaming League after retiring as a player.[2]

When the National Hockey Association (NHA) was holding merger talks with the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), Young was the representative of the Haileybury club, although the club was owned by Ambrose O'Brien.[3]

Mining career

After leaving Ottawa, Young joined the mining business in Dawson City, Yukon Territory. By 1911, he was back east in Haileybury, Ontario during the "silver rush" in the area and he became an investor in several mines.[4] Young later became the president of Young-Davidson mines, Weldon Coal Mines and vice-president of Matachewan-Hub Pioneer Mines Limited.[5]

Young died at his home in Collingwood, Ontario on October 27, 1944. He was survived by his wife Jessie Williams. Young was buried in the Trinity United Church cemetery in Collingwood.[5]

References

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Kitchen(2008), pp. 340–341
  2. News: The Globe . February 20, 1908 . 9 . Toronto Pros at Haileybury.
  3. Book: Cosentino, Frank . Renfrew Millionaires . 1990 . General Store Publishing House . 0-919431-35-6 . 89.
  4. Book: Mining and Engineering World . 1911 . Mining World Co. Inc . Mining and Engineering World . 983.
  5. News: Toronto Star . October 28, 1944 . Weldon C. Young, 72, Mining Head Dies . 2.