James Wallace Conant

James Wallace Conant was an amusement manager who later became the manager of the Schenley Park Casino, as well as the first manager of the Duquesne Gardens, the first indoor ice rinks in the city of Pittsburgh. Conant is credited with bringing the sport of ice hockey to Pittsburgh, since the indoor ice rinks lured many Canadian players to the city. Over time several of the Canadian players were actually paid to play hockey first at the Casino, and later at the Gardens. He was also the founder of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, the first hockey league to openly hire and trade players.

Conant was born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1862. At the age ofhe moved with his mother to Pittsburgh. Once he arrived, Conant took an interest in the citys rivers and he eventually took a job as a steward on a river steamer. He made his home near the bluff above the Monongahela River in the citys Hill District.

Source: Wikipedia