Background
He was born in Montreal, the son of Christina Chalmers Dansken and Montreal accountant Philip Simpson Ross (1827–1907) who was the founder of the Order of Chartered Accountants of Quebec and a member of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
He was born in Montreal, the son of Christina Chalmers Dansken and Montreal accountant Philip Simpson Ross (1827–1907) who was the founder of the Order of Chartered Accountants of Quebec and a member of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
Philip Dansken Ross studied at McGill University and Queen"s University. At McGill, Ross studied engineering and played for the football and rowing clubs.
Ross captained the McGill football club to victory against Harvard University in the first Canada-United States. international football game in 1878. He also played lacrosse and founded several golf clubs. Upon graduation, Ross worked for the Montreal Harbour Commission.
He left the Commission and joined the staff at the Montreal Star in 1880.
He joined the Toronto Daily Mail as a journalist. He returned to Montreal and joined the Montreal Star in 1885, eventually becoming its managing editors
In 1886, Ross became co-owner of the near-bankrupt Ottawa Evening Journal newspaper. In 1891 he bought out his partner and made it into a highly successful and respected paper.
He served as its president for 60 years during which time he helped found the Canadian Press newspaper association.
He was a builder and sometimes player of the Ottawa Hockey Club, later to be known as the Ottawa Senators. With this club, he befriended the sons of Lord Stanley, the Governor-General of Canada. He helped found the Ontario Hockey Association in 1890.
He also served as trustee for the Minto Cup of lacrosse.
He was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1974 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976. He also went into politics.
The Ontario Heritage Foundation erected a plaque commemorating Philip Dansken Ross 1858-1949 at the Journal Towers, Kent Street between Laurier and Slater, Ottawa. "A distinguished journalist widely admired for his candour of expression and depth of knowledge, P.D. Ross was publisher-owner of the Ottawa Journal and one of the founders of the Canadian Press.".
He was provincial single sculling champion twice. In 1892, Lord Stanley appointed him to be a trustee for his championship ice hockey trophy, known today as the Stanley Cup. He played in the first Ontario championship game in 1891 at the Rideau Rink in Ottawa, helping Ottawa win 5-0 over Toronto Saint George"son Ross was one of the two original Trustees of the Stanley Cup named by Lord Stanley in 1894, and so served for 56 years until his death in 1949. He turned down the trusteeship for the Grey Cup of Canadian football. He won election as alderman in Ottawa, serving from 1902 to 1923, but lost in 1914 in election for Ottawa mayor and was also defeated in a run for provincial politics in 1904.
