Flanagan, J. C. (James Cyril), 1897-1994

Dr. James Cyril (Flin) Flanagan was born on September 27, 1897, in Thorne, Quebec.

Left for dead on the battlefield in a blood bath at Passchendale in World War I, he miraculously recovered and went on to study dentistry at McGill. He became known as "Flin" Flanagan and starred at McGill for four brilliant years (1919-23) in both football and hockey despite having shrapnel in his legs and torso. He captained the hockey team in 1922-23 and scored 50 percent of the team's goals that season (11 of 22) in only six games. An ardent believer in the sanctity of amateur status, he declined a $4,000 contract to play for the Montreal Canadiens in 1922. After graduating in 1923, Flanagan opened two dental clinics in Montreal, including the first free dental clinic for the poor in the east end. His other clinic catered to rich Westmount clientele, which he charged double the going rate. Flanagan, who was quoted in the 1923 Old McGill yearbook as saying, "My hobby is everything except physics", practiced dentistry until the age of 88. He was a founding member of the NDP (New Democratic Party) formerly CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation). In 1997, he was inducted into McGill Hall of Fame for Football and Ice Hockey.

In 1926, he married Elizabeth Randall Baile (d. 1952). In 1957, he married Lorna Rosalind Haines. He died on March 12, 1994, in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec.