Edward Lyman Abbott


Captain Edward Lyman Abbott was a Canadian multisport athlete, civil servant, and later a soldier. Abbott was considered a fine sportsman in Regina, Saskatchewan, and won national championships in ice hockey, and rugby football. He is the namesake of the Abbott Cup, and is honoured in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. Abbott was a decorated officer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and died in action during World War I in France.

Early life

Abbott was born on May 1, 1891, in Lovering, Ontario, the son of James Henry Abbott and Mary Ann Jackson. He moved with his family to Saskatchewan in 1897, and acquired the nickname "Hick," short for hickory. Abbott played hockey in high school, and developed into a fast-skating right-winger, with a knack for scoring. As a member of the Regina Shamrocks, and the Regina Bees, he won the Valkenburg Cup in 1911 and 1912, as champion of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League. He was captain of the Regina Victorias that won the 1914 Allan Cup, and was a member of the Regina Rugby Club from 1913 to 1915, that won the Canadian Football League West Division each year. Abbott was a law student, and senior civil servant for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan before joining the military.

Military career

Abbott enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on September 23, 1915 in Regina. He completed officer training in Winnipeg, and was assigned to the 68th Battalion as a Lieutenant. He was deployed for duty on April 28, 1916, from Halifax Harbour, aboard the RMS Olympic. Abbott was promoted to Captain of the 52nd Battalion on October 30, 1916. In combat, he suffered gunshot wounds to his shoulder, and shrapnel in his eye, but continued to serve. Abbott was awarded a Military Cross in July 1917, for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, and a Medal Bar was added three months later after he led a raid on enemy trenches despite being outnumbered. During the Battle of Amiens on August 14, 1918, Abbott was killed in action, by a sniper's bullet to the head. Abbott was interred in the New British Cemetery in Roye, France, grave reference I.B.13.

Legacy

Captain Abbott is listed on page 357 of the Book of Remembrance for World War I. Joe Potts of the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association offered a memorial trophy to the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, in memory of Abbott. The Abbott Cup was founded in 1919 in his honour, and was awarded for the Western Canada junior hockey championship, and a berth in the Memorial Cup. The Abbott Cup, and his war medals are displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame, as an exhibit on World War I. Abbott was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.