Roy Dunlap Schooley, along with George Brown and Cornelius Fellowes Jr, completed the leadership triumvirate of the newly formed National Amateur Hockey League (NAHL). Like George, Roy came from more humble beginnings as a reporter in Welland, Ontario, Canada. In the early years of hockey, many reporters referreed games in order to get the story. As an independent reporter, Roy took advantage of this common practice. Roy, who apparently had a nose for a story, moved to Pittsburgh in 1901 and took this practice with him.

Outside of New York City and St. Paul, Pittsburgh attracted many Canadian hockey players. Tom Howard even played a few games there. In Pittsburgh, Roy gained renown as a referee. However, his primary means remained reporting. Working for the Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph, he focused on local politics. By 1917, Roy transitioned from a beat reporter to team owner/manager and embedded in the Pittsburgh political circles.

Between 1910 and 1930, Roy held many key city offices while maintaining the premier Pittsburgh hockey team. For example, Roy was the Chief Clerk of the Department of Public Works. These positions provided Roy the freedom to promote amateur hockey in Pittsburgh. In 1926, Roy transitioned the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets from amateur to professional hockey. With this move, Roy destroyed the NAHL and signaled the end of prominence of amateur hockey.

Roy moved through Pittsburgh Republican circles. He leveraged his knowledge of sports promotion to get several mayors elected. They rewarded Roy with the position of City Treasurer. In 1930, scandal wormed through the Republican stronghold. The city treasury came up short and several transactions appeared to be suspicious. Additional investigation identified that city funds lacked critical backing as mandated by law. The federal probe targeted Roy and other key leaders. When prosecutors were ready in 1933, Roy died from a protracted illness, and the embezzlement case against him dropped.

Roy Schooley sought local, national, and international recognition. He found it in Pittsburgh. He brought in one of the strongest teams into a fledgling amateur league. He attracted talent possibly equal to Hobey Baker with Herb Drury. Without Roy Schooley, the NAHL might have been just another New England curioso instead of near national level spectacle.

Tue, Nov 14, 1933 – Page 9 · The Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com