Giles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, a defenceman for 24 seasons in the National Hockey League until his death following a car crash in 1974, at the age of 44. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres. On January 1, 2017, in a ceremony prior to the Centennial Classic, Horton was part of the first group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Also a successful businessman, Horton was a co-founder of the Tim Hortons restaurant chain. Horton was born in Cochrane, Ontario, at Lady Minto Hospital, to Ethel May (née Irish) and Aaron Oakley Horton, a Canadian National Railway mechanic. Tim had one brother, Gerry Horton.
The family moved in 1935 to Duparquet, Quebec, returning to Ontario in 1938 to Cochrane; the family moved to Sudbury in 1945.