William Foran

William Michael Foran (February 4, 1871 – November 30, 1945) was an ice hockey executive, Stanley Cup trustee and government official. For over 50 years, he was secretary of the Board of Civil Service Examiners and its follow-up organization, the Civil Service Commission of the Government of Canada.

Mr. Foran served as the secretary for the Board of Civil Service Examiners for the Government of Canada from 1896 to 1908. In 1908 the Board was re-organized and Mr. Foran was the founding secretary of the Civil Service Commission, (CSC) the branch of government in charge of civil service appointments through competitive examinations. He served for over 30 years in the post, and was responsible for negotiations between the CSC and parliament over civil service reform in the Civil Service Act of 1918.

In 1915 he was elected vice-president of the Civil Service Assembly of the United States and Canada, and in the following year became its president. The Assembly during those years served as a medium for the spread of ideas of civil service reform and scientific management. He was secretary of the CSC until 1939, when he retired.

He was the president of the Ottawa Capitals hockey club and the Federal Amateur Hockey League when he was named Stanley Cup trustee on May 6, 1907. He succeeded John Sweetland who had served as trustee from the trophy's commissioning in 1893. He served as trustee for the Stanley Cup until his death on November 30, 1945. In 1929, he became president of the Ottawa Senators.

In 1907, while acting trustee for P. D. Ross and John Sweetland, Mr. Foran became involved in the challenge series between the Montreal Wanderers and the Kenora Thistles. The Thistles had won the Cup from the Wanderers in a January challenge. The Wanderers would win their league and intended to challenge Kenora for the Cup. As the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) season was over, two players from Ottawa, Rat Westwick and Alf Smith were signed by Kenora, and used in the final playoff for the Manitoba Pro Hockey League. Mr. Foran ruled that both players were ineligible for play in the challenge against Montreal. The series went ahead anyway, with Mr. Foran threatening to take back the Cup, but rescinded his threat as Montreal won the series "under protest."

...
Wikipedia