Early career Born in
Berlin,
Ontario, Selke was managing the Iroquois Bantams in his hometown at the age of 14. He coached the Berlin Union Jacks
junior team in the
Ontario Hockey Association from 1912 to 1915, reaching the finals of the league championship in his final season. In
1919, he coached the
University of Toronto Schools hockey team to the first
Memorial Cup title. He coached the St. Mary's junior OHA team to its third-straight SPA junior championship in the 1924–25 season, with a team that included future
Toronto Maple Leafs star
Joe Primeau. In 1926–27, the team became the
Toronto Marlboros, and again won the junior SPA championship. Eventual
Hall of Famer Red Horner was a star defenceman on the Toronto team. During his time with the organization, Selke also coached the Marlboros senior team. In 1927–28, Selke became coach and manager of the
Toronto Ravinas of the
Canadian Professional Hockey League, with Primeau as the team's leading scorer. The team was bought by the
Toronto Maple Leafs and renamed the Toronto Falcons mid-season. Late in the year, the team played some home games in
Brantford,
Ontario, after drawing poor crowds in Toronto. Rejoining the Marlboros in 1928–29, Selke helped lead the team to the
1929 Memorial Cup championship.
Toronto Maple Leafs Selke became the top assistant to Maple Leafs managing director
Conn Smythe in September 1929 — a position he would hold until 1946. He helped raise funds for the construction of
Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931. While Smythe served in
World War II, Selke filled in as acting manager of the Leafs and Maple Leaf Gardens. He did such a good job in that role that some of the directors of the company wanted him to remain in charge after Smythe returned. Selke and Smythe clashed when Selke traded
Frank Eddolls to the
Montreal Canadiens for the rights to
Ted Kennedy in 1943. Though Kennedy would go on to become one of Smythe's favourite Leafs, Smythe strongly supported Eddolls at the time and was upset that Selke had not consulted with him before making the deal. Once Smythe returned to Toronto, there was tension between the two, particularly after Selke refused to back Smythe's bid to become president of
Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. With his working conditions becoming intolerable, Selke submitted his resignation in May 1946.
Montreal Canadiens Two months after resigning from the Leafs, Selke was hired as manager of the
Montreal Forum and became general manager of the
Montreal Canadiens. He took over a team that had just come off two
Stanley Cup championships in the previous three seasons but was in financial trouble. Regardless, he signed a great deal of players and created an extensive
farm system. Anchored by Hall of Famers
Maurice Richard,
Elmer Lach,
Doug Harvey and
Jacques Plante, Selke won his first
Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in
1953. In December 1946, Selke proposed that the NHL sponsor
junior ice hockey teams under the
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association jurisdiction. The plan implemented a farm system composed of professional prospects spread out across Canada, as opposed to the strongest players being concentrated on all-star teams in Ontario.
Last years By the mid-1950s, the farm system that Selke had established began to put life into the Canadiens, producing additional Hall of Famers
Jean Béliveau,
Dickie Moore,
Tom Johnson and
Henri Richard. After falling to the rival
Detroit Red Wings in seven games in consecutive years,
1954 and
1955, the Canadiens won a record five consecutive Cups from 1956 to 1960. Selke retired after the
1963–64 season, turning the reins over to
Sam Pollock. He died in 1985 at the age of 92 in
Rigaud, Quebec. ==Honours==