Thomas D. Green

Who was Thomas D. Green?

Thomas Daniel Green was an early Canadian amateur ice hockey player, ice hockey executive, engineer and surveyor. He was a Mohawk, possibly the first Mohawk accredited land surveyor in Canada. Because of his Mohawk status, he faced discrimination seeking full-time work with the Canadian federal government.

Born outside of the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation lands, he attended regular schools in Brantford, graduating from high school in 1876. He tutored other students to raise money to attend McGill College in Montreal, Quebec. He is first noted playing hockey for the 1883 Montreal Winter Carnival Tournament winners McGill, where he was studying engineering. After completing his studies in Montreal, he moved to Ottawa, Ontario seeking work with the Canadian federal government.

In Ottawa, he joined the Ottawa Hockey Club in time to play in their first competitive season of 1883–1884. In 1886, he became the first president of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, considered the first organized ice hockey league.