Earl Phillip Dawson (December 17, 1925March 28, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, politician and civil servant. He rose to prominence in Canadian hockey when he served as president of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association from 1958 to 1963. He established a council to reverse the decline of hockey in rural Manitoba and saw the association continually increase its registrations by spending more per player to develop minor ice hockey than other provinces in Canada. Dawson became chairman of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) rules committee and organized the first nationwide clinic for referee instructors to standardize the interpretation of hockey rules. Dawson became vice-president of the CAHA in 1966 then served as its president from 1969 to 1971. The International Ice Hockey Federation had approved a limited use of professionals at the 1970 Ice Hockey World Championships, but later reversed the decision when the International Olympic Committee objected. Dawson and the CAHA perceived the situation to be a double standard since the Europeans were believed to be state-sponsored professionals labelled as amateurs, and withdrew the Canada men's national ice hockey team from international competitions until it was allowed to use its best players. Dawson faced internal issues from junior ice hockey teams in Western Canada who were upset with the imposed age limit and demanded greater financial compensation for players chosen in the National Hockey League Amateur Draft. The Western Canada Hockey League played outside of the CAHA's jurisdiction for two seasons, when Dawson negotiated a new deal that saw the league accept the age limit in exchange for increased financial compensation. Dawson oversaw the CAHA reorganize its executive to include vice-presidents for minor hockey, junior hockey and senior ice hockey to give each level of hockey a greater voice. He later announced that junior hockey would split into a two-tier system for the 1970–71 season. The Memorial Cup remained the championship for the top tier and junior hockey, and the CAHA established the Manitoba Centennial Cup for the second tier's championship. Dawson oversaw the transition of both the Memorial Cup and the Allan Cup's formats from an east-versus-west final into a round-robin involving league champions. He also led the CAHA into the product endorsement business, released a logo for the CAHA, and used the money generated to reinvest into hockey in Canada. Dawson served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Army during World