The Ottawa RCAF Flyers were a Canadian senior ice hockey team from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) base in Ottawa. The team was made up of active and former RCAF members and Canadian Army personnel. The team won the gold medal in the 1948 Winter Olympics and the 1942 Allan Cup championship. The team was inducted into the Canadian Armed Forces Sports Hall of Fame in 1971. In 2001, the 1948 team was honoured by the Canadian Forces when it was selected as Canada's greatest military athletes of the 20th century.[1]
 RCAF lapel pin | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Location | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Affiliation(s) | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Championships | 1 |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
Representing  Canada
| ||
 |
1948 St. Moritz | Team competition |
1948 Winter Olympics
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In October 1947, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) announced that the senior ice hockey team from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) base in Ottawa would represent the Canadian national team in ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics.[2] At the time, the CAHA had ongoing disagreements with the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace and the International Olympic Committee on the definition of an amateur, and the RCAF team was a compromise to meet the amateur eligibility requirements of the Olympics.[3] CAHA vice-president Norman Dawe and secretary George Dudley, liaised with the Canadian Olympic Committee and gain approval for the choice.[4]
After the Ottawa RCAF Flyers lost by a 7–0 score to the McGill University men's team, the Ottawa Citizen reported that multiple Canadian sports journalists called for a university team to represent Canada at the Olympics.[2] When the RCAF team lost its next game by a 6–2 score to the Ottawa Canadian Army hockey team, Norman Dawe held an emergency meeting and committed to retaining the team's management and coach, Frank Boucher.[2] Dawe also announced that the RCAF team would be bolstered from the best available players,[5] and retain the RCAF identity after six civilian players were added from the Ottawa Senior Hockey League.[6] Dawe recruited defenceman Henri-André Laperrière from the Université de Montréal, in addition to two more players from Toronto recruited by George Dudley.[7] The efforts to bolster the Ottawa RCAF Flyers resulted in the team winning every game at the Olympics and the gold medal.[2]
Team members
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- Players
The IOC lists that all players, including reserves, were given an Olympic Gold Medal.
- Hubert Brooks, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba[1] (reserve)
- Murray Dowey, Toronto (goaltender)[1]
- Frank Dunster, Montreal (defenceman)[1]
- Roy Forbes, Vancouver (defenceman)[1] (reserve)
- Andy Gilpin, Montreal (forward)[1][8] (reserve)
- Jean Gravelle,[1] Aylmer, Quebec
- Patsy Guzzo,[1] Ottawa
- Wally Halder,[1] Toronto
- Ted Hibberd,[1] Ottawa
- Ross King, Portage la Prairie (goaltender)[1][8] (reserve)
- Henri-André Laperrière, Ottawa (defenceman)[1]
- John Lecompte, Ottawa, (defenceman)[1]
- Pete Leichnitz (reserve),[1] Brechin, Ontario
- George Mara,[1] Toronto
- Albert Renaud,[1] Ottawa
- Reginald Schroeter,[1] Ottawa
- Irving Taylor,[1] Ottawa
- Staff
- Coach, Sgt. Frank Boucher, Ottawa, (nephew of Frank Boucher[9][10])
- Manager, S/L Sandy Watson, Ottawa
- Trainer, Cpl George McFaul, Ottawa
Legacy
editThe book Gold Medal Misfits (Pat MacAdam, Manor House Publishing, 2008) chronicles the team's history with original articles from the area and interviews with surviving team members.
Murray Dowey was the last surviving member of the Flyers' 1948 Olympic team, dying in 2021.
The Winnipeg Jets' 2023–24 alternate uniform, commemorating the centennial of the RCAF, was based on those worn by the RCAF Flyers at the 1948 Olympics.[11]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Athletes Of The Century Chosen By The Military". Legion Magazine. January 1, 2001. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Koffman, Jack (April 7, 1948). "Olympic Hockey Team Is The Toast Of All Canada Today". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 17.
- ^ "Canada Six May Miss Olympics". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 26, 1947. p. 17.
- ^ "Dawe C.A.H.A. Man At Olympic Meeting". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. December 4, 1947. p. 18.
- ^ "Will Bolster RCAF Six for Olympics". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. December 17, 1947. p. 16.
- ^ "Air Force Drops Six Players From Its Olympics-Bound Team". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. December 19, 1947. p. 19.
- ^ "3 New Players For Olympics". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. December 29, 1947. p. 1.
- ^ a b "The Hougen Group of Companies - A Yukon Tradition". Hougengroup.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ "Frank Boucher's Minor League Photograph Collection". Classicauctions.net. May 31, 2005. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- ^ "History-1948 Winter". Tsn.ca. February 9, 1948. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
- ^ "It's time to Fly the 'Forty-Eight'!". Winnipeg Jets. September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
Bibliography
edit- List of 1948 Canadian Olympic Medal Winners
- GreatestHockeyLegends.com
- McLauchlin, Les. "Good God, Olympic Gold!", The Airforce, Spring, 1998. Retrieved April 21, 2008
- Iorfida, Chris. "Canada's quiet hockey heroes", CBC.ca, February 7, 2008.
- The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D. A Canadian Hero "R.C.A.F. Flyers at 1948 Olympics"
- Royal Canadian Air Force: RCAF Flyers Wrote Olympic History Retrieved February 8, 2015