The Ottawa RCAF Flyers were a Canadian

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 the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF) base in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. The team was made up of active and former RCAF members and

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

personnel. The team won the gold medal in the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

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 } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

when it was selected as Canada's greatest military athletes of the 20th century.

1948 Winter Olympics

In October 1947, 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 ...

(CAHA) announced that the

team from the

(RCAF) base in Ottawa would represent the Canadian national team in

ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, was the sixth Olympic Championship, also served as the 15th World Championships and the 26th European Championships. Canada won its fifth Olympic gold me ...

. At the time, the CAHA had ongoing disagreements with the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace and the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

on the definition of an amateur, and the RCAF team was a compromise to meet the amateur eligibility requirements of the Olympics. CAHA vice-president

Norman Dawe Robert Norman Dawe (October 18, 1898January 4, 1948) 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 ...

and secretary

George Dudley George Samuel Dudley (April 19, 1894 – May 8, 1960) 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 ...

, liaised with the

Canadian Olympic Committee 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 gain approval for the choice. After the Ottawa RCAF Flyers lost by a 7–0 score to the McGill University men's team, the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'' reported that multiple Canadian sports journalists called for a university team to represent Canada at the Olympics. When the RCAF team lost its next game by a 6–2 score to the Ottawa

hockey team, Norman Dawe held an emergency meeting and committed to retaining the team's management and coach,

Frank Boucher François Xavier Boucher (October 7, 1901 – December 12, 1977) 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) ...

. Dawe also announced that the RCAF team would be bolstered from the best available players, and retain the RCAF identity after six civilian players were added from the

Ottawa Senior Hockey League Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Dawe recruited defenceman

Henri-André Laperrière Henri-André Laperrière (June 12, 1925March 8, 2015) 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, Laperr ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

, in addition to two more players from Toronto recruited by George Dudley. The efforts to bolster the Ottawa RCAF Flyers resulted in the team winning every game at the Olympics and the gold medal.

Team members

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

Hubert Brooks Hubert Brooks MC (December 29, 1921 – February 1, 1984) 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 sho ...

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

(reserve) *

Murray Dowey Murray Albert Dowey (January 3, 1926 – May 26, 2021), 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 Olympi ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

(

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

) * Frank Dunster,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

(

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

) *

Roy Forbes Roy Charles Forbes (born February 13, 1953) is a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, whose music bears heavy influences from classic American genres of acoustic blues and traditional country. Forbes is known for his high soulful voice and p ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

(defenceman) (reserve) * Andy Gilpin, Montreal (

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

) (reserve) * Jean Gravelle,

Aylmer, Quebec Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the north shore of the Ottawa River and along Route 148. In January 2002, it amalgamated into the city of Gatineau, which is part of Canada's National Capital Region. Aylmer's popul ...

* Patsy Guzzo, Ottawa * Wally Halder, Toronto *

Ted Hibberd Thomas Edward Hibberd (April 22, 1926 – May 10, 2017) 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. In 2001 Hibberd was ho ...

, Ottawa * Ross King, Portage la Prairie (goaltender) (reserve) *

, Ottawa (defenceman) * John Lecompte, Ottawa, (defenceman) * Pete Leichnitz (reserve), Brechin, Ontario *

George Mara George Edward Mara, (December 12, 1921 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian businessman and Olympian 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. Mor ...

, Toronto * Albert Renaud, Ottawa *

Reginald Schroeter Reginald John "Reg" Schroeter, sometimes referred to as Reginald Schroter, (September 11, 1921 – July 30, 2002) 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 ...

, Ottawa * Irving Taylor, Ottawa ;Staff *Coach, Sgt. Frank Boucher, Ottawa, (nephew of

) *Manager, S/L Sandy Watson, Ottawa *Trainer, Cpl George McFaul, Ottawa

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.

References

Bibliography

List of 1948 Canadian Olympic Medal Winners
*McLauchlin, Les
"Good God, Olympic Gold!"
''The Airforce'', Spring, 1998. Retrieved April 21, 2008 *Iorfida, Chris

''CBC.ca'', February 7, 2008. * The Life and Times of Hubert Brooks M.C. C.D. A Canadian Hero
Royal Canadian Air Force: RCAF Flyers Wrote Olympic History
Retrieved February 8, 2015 {{end 1948 in Canada RC Military ice hockey teams Military sport in Canada Olympic gold medalists for Canada Royal Canadian Air Force Ice hockey teams representing Canada internationally

1948 Winter Olympics

Team members

Legacy

See also

References

Bibliography