Joseph Cattarinich

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Joseph Cattarinich (born November 13, 1881 in Levis, Quebec - December 7, 1938), was a professional hockey player, horse race track entrepreneur and co-owner of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League.

Cattarinich grew up near Quebec City and played hockey and lacrosse as a young man. He is most known as the first goaltender of the professional Le Canadien club which was the forerunner of the Montreal Canadiens. He reputedly retired after Georges Vézina shut out Cattarinich's club in a game with Vézina's amateur Chicoutimi team. (He recommended the Canadiens sign Vézina.)

With longtime business partner Leo Dandurand, Cattarinich become prominent in the Montreal tobacco wholesaling business, but it was their popularization of the pari mutuel system at local tracks that provided their greatest commercial success. With the re-introduction of race track betting in the United States after the Great War, the pair, known popularly as "Catta-Léo", extended their activities to tracks in Chicago, New Orleans, St. Louis, and further afield.

In 1921, along with Dandurand and Louis Létourneau, Cattarinich purchased the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. Although Dandurand was the active partner during their tenure (Cattarinich was known as "The Silent One" and Létourneau sold his stake in 1930), the Canadiens won three Stanley Cups with players such as Howie Morenz, Aurel Joliat, and Georges Vezina. After a series of losses (amounting to $40,000 for the 1934-35 season alone), Cattarinich and Dandurand sold the club to a syndicate comprised of J.-Ernest Savard, Maurice Forget, and Louis Gélinas in 1935.

In 1932, Cattarinich, Dandurand, and Letourneau purchased Blue Bonnets Raceway. Cattarinich and Dandurand continued their betting business throughout the challenging economic environment of the 1930s. Despite several attempts, they did not succeed in acquiring another NHL club.

While recovering from an eye operation, he suffered a heart attack and died on December 7, 1938.

He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted 1977.