Ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics
Tournament details
Host country Germany
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Dates6–16 February 1936
Teams15
Final positions
Champions  Great Britain (1st title)
Runner-up  Canada
Third place  United States
Fourth place Czechoslovakia
Tournament statistics
Games played37
Goals scored165 (4.46 per game)
Scoring leader(s)Canada Hugh Farquharson 10 goals.

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.[1]

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 men's ice hockey team (the Port Arthur Bearcats) 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 (represented by 1935 Allan Cup runners-up Port Arthur Bearcats) losing to Great Britain.[3] He chose not to object to the two players participating as a gesture of sportsmanship towards Great Britain.[4] The Canadian Press reported that Canadian officials agreed to lift the suspensions on Foster and Archer after "considerable pressure had been brought to bear on Canadian officials by British Olympic higher-ups".[5]

Still unhappy with the state of affairs were the Americans, who did not believe the rules were being followed,[6] and the French, who were very angry that Canada did not repeal their protest with them.[7] 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.[8]

Yugoslavia was to have competed, but dropped out on short notice.[9] For the opening round, the 15 teams were drawn into three groups of four and one group of three. The top four finishers of the 1935 World Championships (Canada, Switzerland, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia) were guaranteed placement in separate groups. And despite the non-participation of the United States the previous year, the organizers recognized the relative strength of the American team, and guaranteed their placement would not be in World Champion Canada's group.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12]

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. The Americans could still have deprived Britain of the gold with a win over Canada by a score that matched or bested Britain's goal ratio, for example 1-0 or 5-1. The Americans were very tired from the marathon scoreless tie, and lost one to nothing.[13] 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.[14]

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.[6]

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

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Canada 3 3 0 0 24 3 +21 6 Advance to Second Round
2  Austria 3 2 0 1 11 7 +4 4
3  Poland 3 1 0 2 11 12 −1 2
4  Latvia 3 0 0 3 3 27 −24 0
6 February Canada 8–1
(5–0,2–1,1–0)		 PolandRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7 February Canada11–0
(2–0,3–0,6–0)		 LatviaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7 February Austria 2–1
(0–0,0–0,2–1)		 PolandOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
8 February Canada 5–2
(4–0,1–2,0–0)		 AustriaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
8 February Poland 9–2
(1–0,4–0,4–2)		 LatviaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
9 February Austria 7–1
(4–0,0–0,3–1)		 LatviaRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Germany 3 2 0 1 5 1 +4 4 Advance to Second Round
2  United States 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 4
3  Italy 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 2
4   Switzerland 3 1 0 2 1 5 −4 2
6 February Germany0–1
(0–1,0–0,0–0)		 United StatesOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7 February United States3–0
(0–0,3–0,0–0)		  SwitzerlandOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7 February Germany3–0
(1–0,1–0,1–0)		 ItalyOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
8 February Germany2–0
(0–0,1–0,1–0)		  SwitzerlandOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
8 February United States1–2 OT
(0–0,0–0,1–1,0–0,0–1)		 ItalyOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
9 February  Switzerland1–0
(0–0,1–0,0–0)		 ItalyOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Czechoslovakia 3 3 0 0 10 0 +10 6 Advance to Second Round
2  Hungary 3 2 0 1 14 5 +9 4
3  France 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 2
4  Belgium 3 0 0 3 4 20 −16 0
6 February Hungary11–2
(1–1,2–0,8–1)		 BelgiumOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7 February Czechoslovakia5–0
(0–0,4–0,1–0)		 BelgiumRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7 February Hungary3–0
(0–0,1–0,2–0)		 FranceRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
8 February Czechoslovakia3–0
(1–0,1–0,1–0)		 HungaryOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
8 February France4–2 OT
(1–0,0–1,0–0,1–1,2–0)		 BelgiumRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
9 February Czechoslovakia2–0
(0–0,1–0,1–0)		 FranceOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Great Britain 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 4 Advance to Second Round
2  Sweden 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1 2
3  Japan 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0
6 February Great Britain1–0
(1–0,0–0,0–0)		 SwedenOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
7 February Great Britain3–0
(2–0,0–0,1–0)		 JapanRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
8 February Sweden2–0
(1–0,1–0,0–0)		 JapanOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Second round

The top two teams in each group advanced to Final Round.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  Great Britain 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 5 Advance to Final Round
2  Canada 3 2 0 1 22 4 +18 4
3  Germany 3 1 1 1 5 8 −3 3
4  Hungary 3 0 0 3 2 22 −20 0
11 February Germany2–1
(0–0,1–0,1–1)		 HungaryOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
11 February Great Britain2–1
(1–1,0–0,1–0)		 CanadaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
12 February Germany1–1 OT
(0–0,0–1,1–0,0–0,0–0,0–0)		 Great BritainOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
12 February Canada15–0
(3–0,9–0,3–0)		 HungaryOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
13 February Great Britain5–1
(1–0,3–1,1–0)		 HungaryOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
13 February Germany2–6
(0–1,0–3,2–2)		 CanadaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1  United States 3 3 0 0 5 1 +4 6 Advance to Final Round
2  Czechoslovakia 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 4
3  Sweden 3 1 0 2 3 6 −3 2
4  Austria 3 0 0 3 1 4 −3 0
11 February United States2–0
(0–0,2–0,0–0)		 CzechoslovakiaRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
11 February Sweden1–0
(1–0,0–0,0–0)		 AustriaRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
12 February United States1–0
(0–0,1–0,0–0)		 AustriaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
12 February Czechoslovakia4–1
(0–1,2–0,2–0)		 SwedenOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
13 February United States2–1
(0–0,1–1,1–0)		 SwedenOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
13 February Czechoslovakia2–1
(0–0,2–1,0–0)		 AustriaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Final round

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Great Britain 3 2 1 0 7 1 +6 5
 Canada 3 2 0 1 9 2 +7 4
 United States 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 3
 Czechoslovakia 3 0 0 3 0 14 −14 0
Source:
11 February Great Britain2–1
(1–1, 0–0, 1–0)		 CanadaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
11 February United States2–0
(0–0, 2–0, 0–0)		 CzechoslovakiaRiessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
14 February Great Britain5–0
(2–0,3–0,0–0)		 CzechoslovakiaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
15 February Canada7–0
(3–0,3–0,1–0)		 CzechoslovakiaOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
15 February Great Britain0–0 OT
(0–0,0–0,0–0,0–0,0–0,0–0)		 United StatesOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
16 February Canada1–0
(1–0,0–0,0–0)		 United StatesOlympia-Kunsteisstadion, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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

1st place, gold medalist(s) Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Canada
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 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.[15]

Top scorer

Team GP G APts
Canada Hugh Farquharson 810–10

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.[16][17]

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. 1 2 3 4 5 Duplacey p. 459
  3. 1 2 "Feeling High Among British Hockey Officials Over Dominion's Action". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 6, 1936. p. 12.Free access icon
  4. ↑ "Gilroy Denies Bans Against Archer and Foster Are Lifted". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 8, 1936. p. 30.Free access icon
  5. ↑ "Suspension Lifted on Two Winnipeg Players Averting Olympic Row". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 8, 1936. p. 28.Free access icon
  6. 1 2 Wallechinsky p. 609
  7. ↑ Tournament summary
  8. ↑ "Gilroy Charges Hockey "A Racket" in Britain as Other Nations Prepare to Protest English Wins". Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 10, 1936. p. 10.Free access icon
  9. ↑ Gordon, David S.; Harris, Martin C. Lion in Winter: A Complete Record of Great Britain at the Olympic, World and European Ice Hockey Championships 1910-1981. p. 123.
  10. ↑ "Official games report from la84.org, pg 265" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  11. ↑ "Canada Threatens To Quit Olympic Hockey Contests". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 13, 1936. p. 1.Free access icon
  12. ↑ "Gilroy Says Canadians Will Not Question Any Decisions by Committee". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba. February 14, 1936. p. 12.Free access icon
  13. ↑ Gordon, David S.; Harris, Martin C. Lion in Winter: A Complete Record of Great Britain at the Olympic, World and European Ice Hockey Championships 1910-1981. p. 137.
  14. ↑ Podnieks, Andrew (1997). Canada's Olympic Hockey Teams: The Complete History, 1920–1998. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. pp. 41–52. ISBN 0-385-25688-4.
  15. ↑ "Team Canada - Olympics - Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 - Player Stats". QuantHockey. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  16. ↑ Podnieks pg. 403
  17. ↑ "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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