John Chester PORTER

An all-around athlete, John “Red” Porter played golf (and helped his team win intercollegiate championships in 1924 and 1925) and rugby, but he is best known for his tenure with the Toronto Graduates who won the senior amateur men’s ice hockey competition in 1927, earning not only that year’s Allan Cup, but also the right to represent Canada at the 1928 Winter Olympics. A defenseman, he was selected not only as the team captain, but as the flagbearer for Canada in the opening ceremonies. Canada took the gold medal at the tournament and Porter played in three games, scoring just as many goals. His hockey career had begun at the age of 17, when he joined a junior level team of the Ontario Hockey Association, and in 1926 he joined the Toronto Graduates. After the Olympics, he coached the University of Toronto’s hockey team from 1928 through 1931 and captured intercollegiate titles in his first two seasons. He was inducted into the University of Toronto Hall of Fame in 2004.