Cyclone Taylor Hails from Tara, Ontario

Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, (June 23, 1884 - June 9, 1979) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and civil servant. Taylor was one of the earliest professional players. He played professionally for the Portage Lakes Hockey Club, the Ottawa Hockey Club and the Vancouver Millionaires (later named the Maroons) from 1905 to 1923. Acknowledged as one of the first stars of hockey, Taylor was one of the most prolific scorers of his era. He won several scoring championships, and won the Stanley Cup twice, once in 1909 with Ottawa and again in 1915 with Vancouver. While in Ottawa in 1907, Taylor joined the Canadian government, a profession he continued after his career in hockey, later becoming Commissioner of Immigration for British Columbia and the Yukon. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.

Frederick Wellington was born in Tara, Ontario, the second son and fourth of five children to Archie and Mary Taylor. Archie, the son of Scottish immigrants, was a traveling salesman who sold farm equipment. Mary, a devout Methodist, stayed at home and raised the children. At the age of six, Taylor moved with his family to Listowel, a town fifty miles south of Tara. In Listowel he played for the junior and intermediate teams in the Ontario Hockey Association. In the 1904-05 season, he joined a team in Thessalon, Ontario led by Grindy Forrester when a dispute broke out as to which team held his OHA rights. The OHA, led by secretary W. A. Hewitt, refused to grant Taylor a change of residence permit and banned him from playing in the OHA. He applied for reinstatement, but was denied, and remained in Thessalon through the winter. According to some sources, Hewitt wanted Taylor to play for the Toronto Marlboros and blocked his attempts to play for other teams.

There is a chain of popular hockey equipment stores in Greater Vancouver named "Cyclone Taylor Sports", which were started by Taylor's oldest son, Fred Taylor Jr., in 1957. His second son, John Taylor, was a lawyer in Vancouver who was involved in immigration law cases until his retirement in 1988. A grandson, Mark Taylor, played in the NHL with the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, from 1981 to 1986.

A hockey arena in Vancouver is named after Taylor. In his birth place of Tara, Ontario, the arena is named in his honor. Furthermore, in Ottawa, a street surrounding the Ottawa Senators arena, Scotiabank Place is named after Taylor.