The company's first store opened in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario under the name "Tim Horton Donuts" (the word donut would later be dropped and the company name ended up as just "Tim Horton's", and later was changed to "Tim Hortons" without the apostrophe). The business was started by Tim Horton, who played in the National Hockey League from 1949 until his death in a car accident in 1974.