Grain at the age of 28 in 1908. In the early 1900s he also played hockey in Chicago with the Kenwood Country Club and Chicago Wanderers teams. In business he began buying grain elevators in the 1910s and was the largest cash grain buyer in the world in the 1930s. He also ran Norris Cattle Company, which operated three of the largest cattle ranches in the United States. His net worth was said to be over $200 million by 1940. Norris became a US citizen in 1919. National Hockey League When the NHL announced in 1926 that it would place a team in Chicago, Norris made a bid for the team, but lost to Frederic McLaughlin. Norris was one of the financial backers of the Chicago Stadium, which opened in March 1929. At that time, Norris and Stadium president Paddy Harmon had discussions with Frank Patrick about bringing another hockey team to Chicago, but under NHL rules, that would only be possible with McLaughlin's approval, which he would not give. McLaughlin found negotiations with Harmon and Norris for ice time at the Stadium to be difficult, but the two sides came to an agreement during the 1929–30 season. Later in 1930, Norris was one of the backers of the Chicago Shamrocks of the minor league American Hockey Association, which changed its name to the American Hockey League (no relation to the current circuit). The AHL was declared an "outlaw league" by NHL president Frank Calder, and in an attempt to separate Norris from the league, the NHL let Norris know that he would be welcomed as an NHL owner. Norris withdrew his support from the Shamrocks (the team disbanded after the 1931–32 season). In May 1932, Norris applied to the NHL for a team in St. Louis, but this was rejected by the league because of concerns over travel expenses for the other teams. Norris had an agreement to buy the financially struggling Ottawa Senators, and intended to move the team to Chicago or Toronto. McLaughlin said he would not allow a second team into Chicago, and Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe rejected the idea of another team in his city. In 1931, the Detroit Falcons and their arena, the Detroit Olympia, had been placed into receivership and were being managed by a creditors' committee. By the summer of 1932, it was being reported that the team might be sold