 Ross was born January 13 , 1885 , in <unk> , Ontario . His father , Thomas <unk> Ross , was the head of a Hudson 's Bay Company trading post in the area . The ninth of ten children , Ross grew up speaking both English and Ojibwe , a native Canadian language . Ross moved to Montreal in 1902 to play in organized hockey leagues , living in the affluent <unk> district . He played high school and junior hockey with Lester and Frank Patrick , both of whom were later inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame . Ross and Lester had a financially successful ticket <unk> business at the Montreal Arena , buying tickets for thirty @-@ five cents and selling them for up to a dollar . 
