Ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics

The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, was the 5th Olympic Championship, also serving as the 10th World Championships and the 21st European Championships.[1]

Ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics
Tournament details
Host country Germany
Dates6–16 February
Teams15
Venue(s)Olympia-Kunsteisstadion, Riessersee (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions  Great Britain (1st title)
Runner-up  Canada
Third place  United States
Fourth place Czechoslovakia
Tournament statistics
Matches played37
Goals scored165 (4.46 per match)
Scoring leader(s) Hugh Farquharson 10 goals.

The British national ice hockey team pulled off a major upset when they won the gold medal, marking a number of firsts in international ice hockey competition. Great Britain made history as the first team ever to win an Olympic, World, and European (its second) Championships and the first to win all three in the same year.[2] They were the first team to stop Canada from winning the Olympic ice hockey gold, following Canada's four consecutive gold medals.

Tournament summary

In previous Olympics, the Great Britain team had finished third (1924), and fourth (1928) but with teams that were, "largely composed of Canadian Army officers and university graduates living in the U.K."[2] It was decided that their team must be British-born this time, and while only one player on the team was born in Canada, nine of the thirteen players on the roster grew up in Canada, and eleven had played previously in Canada.[2]

Canadian ice hockey team at the 1936 Olympic Games

The Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) which oversaw ice hockey at the Olympics, met before the games started and ruled that Jimmy Foster and Alex Archer were ineligible to compete for Great Britain since the players were under suspension by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) for not seeking permission to transfer internationally. Great Britain's manager Bunny Ahearne contested that international rules stated a player could leave a country without seeking permission, and the CAHA suspensions should not apply.[3] CAHA president E. A. Gilroy had lodged a complaint with the LIHG in September 1935, but the LIHG had not held a meeting until the eve of the Olympics. Gilroy denied making a last-minute protest for fear of Canada losing to Great Britain.[3] He chose not to object to the two players participating as a gesture of sportsmanship towards Great Britain.[4]

Still unhappy with the state of affairs were the Americans, who did not believe the rules were being followed,[5] and the French, who were very angry that Canada did not repeal their protest with them.[6] Before the second round of games began, other participating hockey nations threatened to protest the victories by Great Britain due to the use of CAHA players, and called for an emergency meeting.[7]

The tournament itself featured very close play for the medals. It was played in three rounds beginning with four groups, where the two best teams of each group moved on to two groups of four, where again the two best moved on to a final round robin group of four, to determine the medals.[2]

The major upset occurred in the semi-finals, when Britain's Edgar Brenchley scored late in the third to defeat Canada two to one, setting up the eventual gold medal outcome. The format at these Olympics was to have head-to-head results from the semi-finals carried forward, so that the finals could be a four team round robin with only two additional games per team. The British team's shock victory over the Canadians, plus the win by the USA over Czechoslovakia, both counted in the tables for the final round.[2]

Before the final round began, Canada threatened to withdraw from Olympic hockey when it learned that the playoffs format would carry over the loss to Great Britain past the second round-robin series, since the tournament format stated that teams did not have to play one another more than once.[8] Gilroy was unaware of the playoff format in advance of the Olympics, and took objection to the sportsmanship of Canadian officials being questioned, after a special meeting decided not to alter the format.[9]

In the final round, the British team beat Czechoslovakia. then played six scoreless periods against the USA before the game was called a tie, ensuring a silver or gold for the British. In the tournament's final game, Canada could win silver, and Britain gold, if Canada defeated the US, while the Americans could still achieve gold in a variety of tie-breaking scenarios. The Americans were very tired from the marathon scoreless tie, and lost one to nothing. The 1936 tournament was the first time in which Canada did not win the gold medal in ice hockey at the Olympic Games, which led to the CAHA and Gilroy being heavily scrutinized by media in Canada.[10]

Another story of this Olympic hockey tournament was the participation of Rudi Ball. The German leadership allowed this top player to lead their hockey team at these German hosted Olympics, making him the only Jew to represent Germany at these Olympic Games.[5]

Medalists

Gold Silver Bronze
 Great Britain (GBR)
Carl Erhardt (Captain)
James Foster
Gordon Dailley
Archibald Stinchcombe
Edgar Brenchley
John Coward
James Chappell
Alexander Archer
Gerry Davey
James Borland
Robert Wyman
Jack Kilpatrick
Art Child
 Canada (CAN)
Francis Moore
Arthur Nash
Herman Murray
Walter Kitchen
Raymond Milton
David Neville
Kenneth Farmer
Hugh Farquharson
Maxwell Deacon
Alexander Sinclair
Bill Thomson
James Haggarty
Ralph St. Germain
 United States (USA)
Thomas Moone
Francis Shaughnessy
Philip LaBatte
Frank Stubbs
John Garrison
Paul Rowe
John Lax
Gordon Smith
Elbridge Ross
Francis Spain
August Kammer

Participating nations

First round

Top two teams in each group advanced to Second Round.

Group A

Pld W T L GF GA Pts
 Canada 33002436
 Austria 32011174
 Poland 310211122
 Latvia 30033270
6 February Canada 8–1
(5–0,2–1,1–0)
 Poland
7 February Canada11–0
(2–0,3–0,6–0)
 Latvia
7 February Austria 2–1
(0–0,0–0,2–1)
 Poland
8 February Canada 5–2
(4–0,1–2,0–0)
 Austria
8 February Poland 9–2
(1–0,4–0,4–2)
 Latvia
9 February Austria 7–1
(4–0,0–0,3–1)
 Latvia

Group B

Pld W T L GF GA Pts
 Germany 3201514
 United States 3201524
 Italy 3102252
  Switzerland 3102152
6 February Germany0–1
(0–1,0–0,0–0)
 United States
7 February United States3–0
(0–0,3–0,0–0)
  Switzerland
7 February Germany3–0
(1–0,1–0,1–0)
 Italy
8 February Germany2–0
(0–0,1–0,1–0)
  Switzerland
8 February United States1–2
(0–0,0–0,1–1,0–0,0–1)
 Italy
9 February  Switzerland1–0
(0–0,1–0,0–0)
 Italy

Group C

Pld W T L GF GA Pts
 Czechoslovakia 33001006
 Hungary 32011454
 France 3102472
 Belgium 30034200
6 February Hungary11–2
(1–1,2–0,8–1)
 Belgium
7 February Czechoslovakia5–0
(0–0,4–0,1–0)
 Belgium
7 February Hungary3–0
(0–0,1–0,2–0)
 France
8 February Czechoslovakia3–0
(1–0,1–0,1–0)
 Hungary
8 February France4–2
(1–0,0–1,0–0,1–1,2–0)
 Belgium
9 February Czechoslovakia2–0
(0–0,1–0,1–0)
 France

Group D

Pld W T L GF GA Pts
 Great Britain 2200404
 Sweden 2101212
 Japan 2002050
6 February Great Britain1–0
(1–0,0–0,0–0)
 Sweden
7 February Great Britain3–0
(2–0,0–0,1–0)
 Japan
8 February Sweden2–0
(1–0,1–0,0–0)
 Japan

Second round

Top two teams in each group advanced to Final Round.

Group A

Pld W T L GF GA Pts
 Great Britain 3210835
 Canada 32012244
 Germany 3111583
 Hungary 30032220
11 February Germany2–1
(0–0,1–0,1–1)
 Hungary
11 February Great Britain2–1
(1–1,0–0,1–0)
 Canada
12 February Germany1–1
(0–0,0–1,1–0,0–0)
 Great Britain
12 February Canada15–0
(3–0,9–0,3–0)
 Hungary
13 February Great Britain5–1
(1–0,3–1,1–0)
 Hungary
13 February Germany2–6
(0–1,0–3,2–2)
 Canada

Group B

Pld W T L GF GA Pts
 United States 3300516
 Czechoslovakia 3201644
 Sweden 3102362
 Austria 3003140
11 February United States2–0
(0–0,2–0,0–0)
 Czechoslovakia
11 February Sweden1–0
(1–0,0–0,0–0)
 Austria
12 February United States1–0
(0–0,1–0,0–0)
 Austria
12 February Czechoslovakia4–1
(0–1,2–0,2–0)
 Sweden
13 February United States2–1
(0–0,1–1,1–0)
 Sweden
13 February Czechoslovakia2–1
(0–0,2–1,0–0)
 Austria

Final round

Pld W T L GF GA Pts
 Great Britain 3210715
 Canada 3201924
 United States 3111213
 Czechoslovakia 30030140
11 February Great Britain2–1
(1–1, 0–0, 1–0)
 Canada
11 February United States2–0
(0–0, 2–0, 0–0)
 Czechoslovakia
14 February Great Britain5–0
(2–0,3–0,0–0)
 Czechoslovakia
15 February Canada7–0
(3–0,3–0,1–0)
 Czechoslovakia
15 February Great Britain0–0
(0–0,0–0,0–0,0–0,0–0,0–0)
 United States
16 February Canada1–0
(1–0,0–0,0–0)
 United States

N.B. – Tournament rules stated that relevant results from the semi-final round would be carried over to the final round. After the semi-final round, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and the German organizers appealed against this rule and asked that in the final stage all four teams should play each other with the semi-final results ignored. This appeal was overwhelmingly rejected by the Olympic authorities. Thus, the 11 February games of Canada vs. Great Britain and the United States vs. Czechoslovakia were counted as games in the final round, hence their replication in both tables.

Final ranking

 Great Britain
 Canada
 United States
4 Czechoslovakia
5 Germany
5 Sweden
7 Austria
7 Hungary
9 Italy
9 France
9 Japan
9 Poland
13 Belgium
13 Latvia
13  Switzerland

European Championship medal table

 Great Britain
 Czechoslovakia
 Germany
 Sweden
5 Austria
5 Hungary
7 France
7 Italy
7 Poland
10 Belgium
10 Latvia
10  Switzerland

Statistics

Average age

Team Belgium was the oldest team in the tournament, averaging 29 years and 2 months. Team Germany was the youngest team in the tournament, averaging 23 years and 1 months. Gold medalists Great Britain averaged 25 years and 4 months. Tournament average was 25 years and 2 months.[11]

Top scorer

Team GP G A Pts
Hugh Farquharson 81010

There is some disagreement as to the totals of Farquharson, both the IOC and IIHF maintain that he scored ten goals. Assist totals were not officially tabulated at the time, and sources indicate anywhere from five to ten.[12][13]

References

  1. "Ice Hockey at the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  2. Duplacey p. 459
  3. "Feeling High Among British Hockey Officials Over Dominion's Action". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 6, 1936. p. 12.
  4. "Gilroy Denies Bans Against Archer and Foster Are Lifted". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 8, 1936. p. 30.
  5. Wallechinsky p. 609
  6. Tournament summary
  7. "Gilroy Charges Hockey "A Racket" in Britain as Other Nations Prepare to Protest English Wins". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 10, 1936. p. 10.
  8. "Canada Threatens To Quit Olympic Hockey Contests". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 13, 1936. p. 1.
  9. "Gilroy Says Canadians Will Not Question Any Decisions by Committee". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 14, 1936. p. 12.
  10. Podnieks, Andrew (1997). Canada's Olympic Hockey Teams: The Complete History, 1920–1998. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. pp. 41–52. ISBN 0-385-25688-4.
  11. "Team Canada - Olympics - Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 - Player Stats". QuantHockey. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  12. Podnieks pg. 403
  13. "Official games report from la84.org, pgs 107–21" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
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