Kenneth Pentin Farmer, (July 26, 1912 – January 12, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey player and businessman. He won a

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

silver medal winner in

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, served as president of the

Canadian Olympic Association The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; french: Comité olympique canadien) is a private, non-profit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization ( ...

, and worked as a chartered accountant.

Background

Born in Westmount, Quebec, he received a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. In 1934 he joined the accounting firm of McDonald Currie & Company (now

Coopers & Lybrand PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

) and became a Chartered Accountant in 1937. He became a partner in 1945 until his retirement in 1977. Farmer was an outstanding hockey player. He was a member of the 1936

Port Arthur Bearcats The Port Arthur Bearcats (Bear Cats) were a senior amateur ice hockey team based in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada – now part of the city of Thunder Bay – from the early 1900s until 1970. Before settling on the nickname of Bearca ...

, which won the silver medal for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, was the fifth Olympic Championship, also serving as the tenth World Championships and the 21st European Championships. The British national ice h ...

. He had the second-highest points at the Olympics with 10 goals and four assists. Canada had been expected to win the gold medal, but several incidents led to winning the silver medal instead. After the Olympics, Farmer stated that none of Canada's officials knew what playoff system was being used and that

E. A. Gilroy Edward Albert Gilroy (October 10, 1879August 8, 1942) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He served as president of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) from 1927 to 1934, and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from ...

and

Fred Marples Frederick Paul Henry Marples (January 27, 1885January 17, 1945) was a Canadian sports executive in ice hockey and athletics. He was president of the Winnipeg Monarchs team which won Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League championships in 1914 and 1915 ...

"were blissfully unaware of what it was all about". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served with

The Royal Montreal Regiment The Royal Montreal Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based in Westmount, Quebec. It is part of the 2nd Canadian Division's 34 Canadian Brigade Group. Lineage File:RMR Colour.jpg, The regimental colour of The ...

and the Manitoba Dragoons. He was discharged with the rank of Major and was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in 1945. From 1953 to 1961, he was the President of the Canadian Olympic Association. He was President of the Commonwealth Games Association of Canada from 1977 to 1983. He was a Governor of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame from 1980 to 1990.

Honours

*1971, inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1971Ken Farmer at Sports Reference
/ref> *1981, made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

*1987, inducted into the

Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, established in 1978 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to the people of Northwestern Ontario who have achieved greatness in sport. It is located on 219 South May Street in Downtown Fort W ...

as a member of the 1936 Olympic team *1999, inducted to the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Kenneth 1912 births 2005 deaths Anglophone Quebec people Canadian accountants Ice hockey players at the 1936 Winter Olympics McGill University Faculty of Management alumni Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics Members of the Order of Canada Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Canada People from Westmount, Quebec Presidents of the Canadian Olympic Committee