Tim Horton Scored Twice

Any self respecting writer loves a good cup of coffee, and Canadian writers have a special fondness for one particular brand.

Tim Hortons is the most successful franchise in Canada. While you won't see one on every corner--yet--the popular coffee shops aren't hard to find. The phrase "double-double"--meaning "double cream, double sugar"--became so widespread because of Tim Hortons that the term was added to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd edition.

The man behind the name was Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (1930-1974), a native of Cochrane, Ontario. The Hockey Hall of Fame inductee spent 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Tim Hortons franchise began with one shop that Horton himself opened in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1964. Today, there are more than 2,350 locations across Canada and a growing presence in the United States. Ron Joyce, Horton's partner and successor, established the Tim Horton Children's Foundation in 1975 to pay tribute to his late friend.

Although Tim Horton's life was cut short, his name lives on through his hockey legacy and his coffee franchise--a real double-double.