Lethbridge Maple Leafs Hockey Club, World's Amateur Champions (3499500992)

The Lethbridge Maple Leafs were, at times, a senior, intermediate, and

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

team that operated out of

Lethbridge, Alberta Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian Rocky Mountains contribute to ...

. They are best known for winning the 1951

World Ice Hockey Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

. The Maple Leafs were a men's

senior ice hockey Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate under the jurisdict ...

team from

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

formed in 1936, playing in the

Alberta Senior Hockey League Alberta Senior Hockey League (ASHL) may refer to: *Alberta Senior Hockey League (1936–1941) *Alberta Senior Hockey League (1965–1978) See also *Alberta Junior Hockey League *Alberta Midget Hockey League The Alberta Elite Hockey League or AEH ...

. After

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 ...

, the Maple Leafs played in the

Western Canada Senior Hockey League The Western Canada Senior Hockey League was a senior ice hockey league that played six seasons in Alberta and Saskatchewan, from 1945 to 1951. The league produced the 1946 Allan Cup and the 1948 Allan Cup champions, and merged into the Pacific Coas ...

. In 1950, they captured the Western Canadian Championship. The Maple Leafs were selected to represent Canada at the 1951 World Championships in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Coached by Dick Gray, the Maple Leafs won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

, following which they embarked on a

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an tour. They entered the first Sir Winston Churchill Cup Competition, winning the gold medal. During their European tour, they played 62 games winning 51, tying 4, and losing 7 of them. The team's tour was overseen by Frank Sargent, a past-president of the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...

. He stated the Lethbridge Maple Leafs were the best goodwill ambassadors the Canada could have had, describing them as gentlemanly and well-behaved. The 1951 Lethbridge Maple Leafs team was inducted to the

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum ...

in 1974.

Senior team

West Kootenay League (1937-38)

1937-38: 2nd in East, Lost Semi Final

Alberta Senior Hockey League (1938-42)

1938-39: 1st, Won Final, Lost West Semi-Final 1939-40: 2nd, Lost Semi Final 1940-41: 1st, Won Final, Lost West Final 1941-42: 2nd, Won Final, Lost West Semi-Final

Western Canada Senior Hockey League (1946-49)

1946-47: 3rd, Lost Final 1947-48: 4th, Lost Semi-Final 1948-49: 4th, Lost Semi-Final

Intermediate team

The Maple Leafs won the provincial titles in 1936-37 and 1949–50, In both these years they won the Western Canada title as well. Their 1949-50 title led to them being chosen as

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 ...

's representative in the 1951 World Ice Hockey Championships. Prior to that competition they went on a European tour. They then won the World Championship. The team continued to compete into the late 1950s.

1951 World Championship roster

* Ken Branch *

Bill Chandler William Stephen Chandler (August 27, 1895 – May 23, 1953) was an American basketball and baseball coach. He served as the head basketball coach at River Falls State Normal School—now known as the University of Wisconsin–River Falls—from ...

* Dinny Flanagan * Bill Flick * Bill Gibson *

Dick Gray Richard Benjamin Gray (July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as a third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals from 1958 t ...

(Coach) * Mallie Hughes * Bert Knibbs * Jim Malacko * Robert McGregor *

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

Nap Milroy Andrew "Nap" Milroy (October 7, 1922 – April 14, 2012) was a Canadian ice hockey player with the Lethbridge Maple Leafs. He won a gold medal at the 1951 World Ice Hockey Championships in Paris, France. The 1951 Lethbridge Maple Leafs team w ...

* Hector Negrello * Stan Obodiac * Walter Rimstad * Mickey Roth * Lou Siray * Carl Sorokoski *

Jack Sumner John Colton Sumner (1840–1907) was an American explorer who took part in the Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869. An experienced marksman and boatman, he was chosen by John Wesley Powell to lead the first boat of the expedition. He eventually ...

Don Vogan Donald George Vogan (August 23, 1929 – August 15, 2009) was a Canadian ice hockey player with the Lethbridge Maple Leafs. He won a gold medal at the 1951 World Ice Hockey Championships in Paris, France. The 1951 Lethbridge Maple Leafs team ...

* Tom Wood

NHL alumni

Thirteen alumni of the Lethbridge Maple Leafs also played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

.legendsofhockey alumni search
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Viv Allen Vivan Mariner "Squee" Allen (September 9, 1916 — August 15, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey right winger who played for several teams over a 12-year career. Allen played 11 games for the New York Americans of the National Hockey League during t ...

Garth Boesch Garth Vernon Boesch (October 7, 1920 – May 14, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs between 1946 and 1950. He won the Stanley Cup three times with Toronto, from 1947 to ...

* Jack Evans * Joe Fisher *

Bing Juckes Winston Bryan "Bing" Juckes (born June 14, 1926 in Hamiota, Manitoba - d. December 31, 1990) was a professional ice hockey player who played 16 games in the National Hockey League. He played with the New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a ...

Alex Kaleta Alexander George "Killer" Kaleta (November 29, 1919 – July 9, 1987) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers and is best known for his part in ...

* Bob Kirkpatrick * Odie Lowe *

Jake Milford John Calverley "Jake" Milford (July 29, 1914 – December 24, 1984) was a general manager in the National Hockey League. In the early sixties, Milford built the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League into a powerhouse winning t ...

* Tony Savage *

Sweeney Schriner David "Sweeney" Schriner (November 30, 1911 – July 4, 1990) was a Russian-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Americans and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was ...

* Peter Slobodian * Ken Stewart

References

{{Reflist Alberta Senior Hockey League * Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Ice hockey teams in Alberta Senior ice hockey teams Sport in Lethbridge Ice hockey teams representing Canada internationally 1936 establishments in Alberta Ice hockey clubs established in 1936