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===Controversy=== ====Conn Smythe resignation==== [[Conn Smythe]] served as the Hall's chairman for several years, but resigned in June 1971 when [[Busher Jackson|Harvey "Busher" Jackson]] was posthumously elected into the Hall. Smythe said that it made him sick to think of Jackson alongside such Toronto Maple Leafs players as "Apps, Primeau, Conacher, Clancy and Kennedy. If the standards are going to be lowered I'll get out as chairman of the board."<ref>{{cite news |work=The Globe and Mail |title=Conn Smythe critical of Busher's selection |date=June 10, 1971 |page=3}}</ref> Jackson was notorious for his off-ice lifestyle of drinking and broken marriages.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Globe and Mail |date=June 10, 1971 |page=3 |author=Beddoes, Dick |title=By Dick Beddoes}}</ref> Smythe would not condone the induction and even tried to block it because he considered Jackson a poor role model.<ref>''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 91</ref> [[Frank J. Selke]], head of the selection committee, defended the selection on the belief that a man should not be shut out "because of the amount of beer he drank".<ref>{{cite news |work=Montreal Gazette |date=November 20, 1980 |title=Conn Smythe was heart, soul of Leafs |author=Burke, Tim |page=13}}</ref> ====Gil Stein dispute==== On March 30, 1993, it was announced that [[Gil Stein (ice hockey)|Gil Stein]], who at the time had been president of the National Hockey League for nine months but had been overlooked for the new job of commissioner in favour of [[Gary Bettman]], would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. There were immediate allegations that he had engineered his election through manipulation of the Hall's board of directors. Due to these allegations, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hired two independent lawyers, [[Arnold Burns]] and [[Yves Fortier (lawyer)|Yves Fortier]], to lead an investigation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DA1139F937A25754C0A965958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |title=Stein Investigators Need More Time |date=July 14, 1993 |access-date=January 10, 2008 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607120057/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DA1139F937A25754C0A965958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss%2F |url-status=live }}</ref> They concluded that Stein had "improperly manipulated the process" and "created the false appearance and illusion" that his nomination was the idea of [[Bruce McNall]].<ref name="Stein"/> They concluded that Stein pressured McNall to nominate him and had refused to withdraw his nomination when asked to do so by Bettman.<ref name="Stein">{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DD1E3BF93BA2575BC0A965958260 |title=Stein Is Scratched as N.H.L. Immortal |date=August 19, 1993 |last=Lapointe |first=Joe |access-date=January 10, 2008 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607120058/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DD1E3BF93BA2575BC0A965958260%2F |url-status=live }}</ref> There was a dispute over McNall's role and Stein was "categorical in stating that the idea was Mr. McNall's".<ref name="Stein"/> They recommended that Stein's selection be overturned, but it was revealed Stein had decided to turn down the induction before their announcement.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DF1530F932A1575AC0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print |title=Stein Hands the N.H.L. His Resignation |date=September 21, 1993 |access-date=January 10, 2008 |newspaper=New York Times |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607120058/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1DF1530F932A1575AC0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print%2F |url-status=live }}</ref> ====Alan Eagleson resignation==== In 1989, [[Alan Eagleson]], a longtime executive director of the [[NHL Players Association|National Hockey League Players' Association]] (NHLPA), was inducted as a builder. He resigned nine years later from the Hall after pleading guilty to [[Mail and wire fraud|mail fraud]] and embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the NHLPA pension funds.<ref>''Honoured members: the Hockey Hall of Fame'', p. 167</ref> His resignation came six days before a vote was scheduled to determine if he should be expelled from the Hall.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/article/186055 |title=Eagleson puts hockey memorabilia on block |date=February 27, 2007 |last=Hunter |first=Paul |access-date=January 10, 2008 |newspaper=Toronto Star |archive-date=April 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409125056/http://www.thestar.com/article/186055 |url-status=live }}</ref> Originally, the Hall of Fame was not going to become involved in the issue, but was forced to act when dozens of inductees, including [[Bobby Orr]], [[Ted Lindsay]] and [[Brad Park]], campaigned for Eagleson's expulsion, even threatening to renounce their membership if he was not removed. He became the first member of a sports hall of fame in North America to resign.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DD1E3BF93BA2575BC0A965958260 |title=Eagleson Resigns Under Pressure |date=March 26, 1998 |last=Lapointe |first=Joe |access-date=January 10, 2008 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607120058/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DD1E3BF93BA2575BC0A965958260%2F |url-status=live }}</ref>
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