Alexander Albert Archer (1 May 1908 – 15 June 1979) was an

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 h ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played in the

English National League The English National League was an early ice hockey league in England. It was founded in 1935 by most of the teams who had previously competed in the English League. It was suspended during the Second World War World War II or t ...

for the

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

. He is best remembered as a member of the

Great Britain national ice hockey team The Great Britain men's national ice hockey team (also known as Team GB) is the national ice hockey team that represents the United Kingdom. A founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1908, the team is control ...

which won gold in

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 hoc ...

Sporting career

Archer was born in

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

to Scottish parents. They moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, when he was 3 years old.Harris, Martin C. (July 1998).
Alex 'Sandy' Archer
".

Ice Hockey Journalists UK Ice Hockey Journalists UK, abbreviated to IHJUK, is an organisation which was set up in 1984 to promote the interests of ice hockey and its writers, photographers and broadcasters. Originally called the British Ice Hockey Writers Association, abb ...

. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. It was in Manitoba that Archer learned to play ice hockey and football.Provincial Histories
". The Socceer Hall of Fame.ca. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. As well as being a Manitoban All-Star twice for ice hockey, Archer also played for the Manitoban All-Stars against a touring side from the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

in 1929 and against a touring side from the Scottish Football Association in 1935. In 1993, Archer was inducted to the

British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame The British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1948 and is the third oldest ice hockey Hall of Fame in the world, behind the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame (also founded in 1948) and the International Hockey Hall of Fame (founded in 19 ...

with the rest of the 1936 Olympic British ice hockey squad who had not previously been inducted.

Club career

Archer returned to England to join the Wembley Lions for the 1935–36 season. He played for the Lions for the next five seasons scoring a total of 82

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

and 77 assists. Archer was also selected to the All-star A Team in 1938, 1939, and 1940. Due to a fractured skull Archer's playing career came to an end in 1945, and he became a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

– first for Wembley and then for

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

and Murrayfield Racers. As a successful coach he was selected to coach the All-star B Team in 1947 and then again in 1948.

International career

Archer was selected to play for the Great Britain team at the 1936 Winter Olympics. However, this led to a complaint from the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) to the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 ...

(IIHF) as they claimed he had not been released from the Association. The IIHF suspended Archer for the duration of the tournament. CAHA president E. A. Gilroy chose not to object on the eve of the Olympics to Archer participating as a gesture of sportsmanship towards Great Britain. Archer went on to play in all seven of the games of the tournament and scored two goals.Archer, Alex 'Sandy'
. A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. Archer won two further medals with the GB team, winning silver medals at the 1937 and 1938

Ice Hockey World 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 ...

.Great Britain Rosters: 1938
".

. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. Archer retired from ice hockey in 1945 after he received a fractured skull in a game for GB against Sweden. Archer played 24 times for GB, scoring 14 goals and 10 assists.

Awards

*Two time Manitoban All-star. *Olympic gold medalist in 1936. *World championship silver medalist in 1937 and 1938. *Named to the English National League All-star A Team in 1938, 1939 and 1940. *Named as coach to the English National League All-star B Team in 1947 and 1948. *Inducted to the

in 1993.

References

External links

*
British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Alex 1908 births 1979 deaths British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees English ice hockey right wingers English people of Scottish descent Ice hockey players at the 1936 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics Nottingham Panthers coaches Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic ice hockey players of Great Britain Olympic medalists in ice hockey People from West Ham Sportspeople from London Sportspeople from Winnipeg Wembley Lions players