Ottawa RCAF Flyers

Last updated

Ottawa RCAF Flyers
RCAF Flyers Lapel Badge.jpg
RCAF lapel pin
SportIce hockey
Location Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Affiliation(s) Royal Canadian Air Force
Championships1
Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg  Canada
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1948 St. Moritz Team competition

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]

Contents

1948 Winter Olympics

Ottawa RCAF Flyers at the 1948 Winter Olympics RCAF Flyers 1948.JPG
Ottawa RCAF Flyers at the 1948 Winter Olympics

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

1948 Ottawa RCAF Flyers RCAF Flyers 1948 official team photo.jpg
1948 Ottawa RCAF Flyers
Players

The IOC lists that all players, including reserves, were given an Olympic Gold Medal.

Staff

Legacy

The 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 off of those worn by the RCAF Flyers at the 1948 Olympics. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Boucher</span> Canadian ice hockey player

François Xavier Boucher was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive. Boucher played the forward position for the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Vancouver Maroons in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) between 1921 and 1938, and again from 1943 to 1944. Boucher later became coach and the general manager of the New York Rangers between 1939 and 1955. He won the Stanley Cup three times, all with the Rangers: in 1928 and 1933 as a player, and in 1940 as the coach. Boucher was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958. Three of his brothers also played in the NHL, including Georges, who was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georges Boucher</span> Canadian ice hockey player

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Dudley</span> Canadian ice hockey administrator

George Samuel Dudley was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He joined the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) executive in 1928, served as its president from 1934 to 1936, and as its treasurer from 1936 to 1960. He was elected to Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) executive in 1936, served as its president from 1940 to 1942, as its secretary from 1945 to 1947, and as its secretary-manager from 1947 to 1960. He was secretary of the International Ice Hockey Association from 1945 to 1947, and was later vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1957 to 1960. He was expected to become the next president of the IIHF before his death. He graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1917 then practiced law for 43 years as the town solicitor for Midland, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Pickard</span> Canadian ice hockey administrator

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Murray Albert Dowey, was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. Nicknamed "Fast Hands", he was a member of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers, which won the gold medal in ice hockey representing Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henri-André Laperrière</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Henri-André Laperrière was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He was a member of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers team that won the gold medal in ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics. As a member of the RCAF Flyers, Laperrière was inducted into the Canadian Forces Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, and into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Renaud (ice hockey)</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Albert Roméo "Ab" Renaud, sometimes referred to as Albert Ranaud, was a Canadian ice hockey player. He was a member of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers who won the gold medal in ice hockey for Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.

Ross Hartford King was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. He was a member of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers who won the gold medal in ice hockey for Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.

Andrew Crowley Gilpin was a Canadian ice hockey forward. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he was a member of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers who won the gold medal in ice hockey for Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. Gilpin played Junior A hockey in Montreal. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and in March 1947 he was transferred to the RCAF station in the "hockey crazy" town of Whitehorse, Yukon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert Brooks</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Hubert Brooks MC was a Canadian RCAF officer and ice hockey player who won a gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. He joined the RCAF in 1940 and served during World War II, being shot down during his second mission over Germany in 1942. He was taken as a prisoner of war to Stalag VIII-B, from where he tried several unsuccessful escape attempts prior to making it to occupied Poland and joining the Polish Underground State as a guerrilla. He rose through the ranks of the rebel force, undertaking raids and assassinations against the Nazi occupation until the end of the conflict. He was one of only five RCAF members to receive the Military Cross for his actions and his award carried the longest citation of them all.

Roy Austin Forbes was a Canadian ice hockey player. He was a member of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers who won the gold medal in ice hockey for Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Boucher (ice hockey coach)</span> Canadian soldier and ice hockey coach

Sgt. Frank Boucher was a Canadian ice hockey coach and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) non-commissioned officer. He served as the head coach of the Ottawa RCAF Flyers which represented the Canadian national hockey team in ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Despite two lopsided losses in exhibition games before the Olympics, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association vice-president Norman Dawe held an emergency meeting and retained Boucher as coach, and agreed to bolster the team from the best available players. The Flyers went on the win the gold medal for Canada. The 1948 team was honoured by the Canadian Forces in 2001, when selected as Canada's greatest military athletes of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1942 Allan Cup</span> Canadian senior ice hockey championship

The 1942 Allan Cup was the senior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association for the 1941–42 season. The Ottawa RCAF Flyers defeated the Port Arthur Bearcats by three games to two to win the Allan Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecil Duncan</span> Canadian ice hockey administrator

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionel Fleury</span> Canadian ice hockey administrator

Lionel Fleury was a Canadian ice hockey administrator who served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association from 1964 to 1966. Under his leadership, the Canada men's national ice hockey team transitioned from student athletes coached by Father David Bauer into a year-round national team program. Fleury welcomed the Newfoundland Amateur Hockey Association as a new branch member of the national association in 1966, and changed the format of the Memorial Cup playoffs in Eastern Canada from an elimination bracket into a round-robin format to reduce travel costs and address concerns of imbalanced competition. He sought an end to the National Hockey League system of sponsoring amateur teams by replacing it with a draft of players who had graduated from junior ice hockey, and negotiated for a new agreement that was realized after his term as president concluded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Dawe</span> Canadian sports executive (1898–1948)

Robert Norman Dawe was a Canadian sports executive. He originated as an ice hockey referee for minor ice hockey games in Verdun, Quebec, before becoming involved in the administrative aspect of sports. He was a member of the local YMCA executive, served as secretary of the Verdun Playgrounds Commission from 1923 to 1948, and organized the Verdun Hockey Board. He served as a member of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association (QAHA) executive committee for 23 seasons, and helped establish a provincial referee's board in 1936. In Montreal and Verdun, he was involved in girls' fastpitch softball. He served as the Montreal Ladies' Major Softball League president from 1940 to 1945, then was president of the Verdun Ladies' Softball League from 1945 to 1947. He began organizing Canadian football in 1945, when he established the Verdun Juvenile Football League and served as president.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Athletes Of The Century Chosen By The Military". Legion Magazine. January 1, 2001. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Koffman, Jack (April 7, 1948). "Olympic Hockey Team Is The Toast Of All Canada Today". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. p. 17. Lock-green.svg
  3. "Canada Six May Miss Olympics". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 26, 1947. p. 17. Lock-green.svg
  4. "Dawe C.A.H.A. Man At Olympic Meeting". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. December 4, 1947. p. 18. Lock-green.svg
  5. "Will Bolster RCAF Six for Olympics". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. December 17, 1947. p. 16. Lock-green.svg
  6. "Air Force Drops Six Players From Its Olympics-Bound Team". The Gazette. Montreal, Quebec. December 19, 1947. p. 19. Lock-green.svg
  7. "3 New Players For Olympics". Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. December 29, 1947. p. 1. Lock-green.svg
  8. 1 2 "The Hougen Group of Companies - A Yukon Tradition". Hougengroup.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
  9. "Frank Boucher's Minor League Photograph Collection". Classicauctions.net. May 31, 2005. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  10. "History-1948 Winter". Tsn.ca. February 9, 1948. Retrieved July 13, 2010.
  11. "It's time to Fly the 'Forty-Eight'!". Winnipeg Jets. September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.

Bibliography

Preceded by Canada men's Olympic ice hockey team
1948
Succeeded by