Ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics
1948 Olympic hockey marked by disputes and Canada's fifth gold.
The 1948 men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament in St. Moritz doubled as the 15th World Championships and the 26th European Championships. Canada, represented by the Ottawa RCAF Flyers—a team made up of Canadian Armed Forces members—took home its fifth Olympic gold and 12th World title. Czechoslovakia, the top European finisher, earned the silver medal and its eighth European Championship. Switzerland’s Bibi Torriani, who helped his team win bronze, became the first hockey player to recite the Olympic Oath on behalf of all athletes. The tournament nearly didn’t happen due to clashes between the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace and the International Olympic Committee, plus a threatened boycott by the United States Olympic Committee after two separate American teams showed up. Writer Jack Sullivan called these Games “the most controversial, name-calling, complaint-filled, Winter Olympic Games ever held.”
After Canada lost the gold in 1936, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association changed its definition of amateur and split from the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada, risking Olympic eligibility. In 1937, Eastern Amateur Hockey League president Tommy Lockhart broke from the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union over disagreements about Canadian-born players, struck a deal with the CAHA, and founded the rival Amateur Hockey Association of the United States. The CAHA and AHAUS formed the International Ice Hockey Association in 1940, with former CAHA president W. G. Hardy at the helm, seeking IOC approval on Canada’s terms. CAHA president George Dudley later threatened to pull Canada from the Olympics over the amateur definition, but the decision was postponed when the 1940 and 1944 Games were canceled due to World War II. In 1946, the LIHG held its first postwar congress, expelling Germany and Japan, consolidating Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia into the Soviet Union, readmitting Austria, and welcoming Denmark. Paul Loicq stepped down after 25 years as LIHG president, succeeded by Fritz Kraatz in 1947. The LIHG also merged with the International Ice Hockey Association and recognized AHAUS—not the AAU—as the U.S. governing body.
Canada skipped the 1947 World Championships and initially planned to skip the 1948 Olympics due to the IOC’s amateur definition.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 1948
- Country
- Switzerland
- Dates
- 30 January – 8 February 1948
- Num Teams
- 9
- Venues
- St. Moritz Olympic Ice Rink, Suvretta, Kulm
- Cities
- 1
- Winners
- Canada
- Winners-Flagvar
- 1921
- Count
- 5
- Second
- Czechoslovakia
- Fourth
- Sweden
- Games
- 36
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The hockey tournament was in jeopardy of not being played due to disagreements between the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace and the International Olympic Committee, and a threatened boycott by the United States Olympic Committee when two American hockey teams showed up to play. Writer Jack Sullivan referred to the 1948 Winter Olympics as 'the most controversial, name-calling, complaint-filled, Winter Olympic Games ever held'. The CAHA had decided not to participate in the 1948 Winter Olympics in disagreement with the definition of amateur by the IOC, but later chose the Ottawa RCAF Flyers to represent Canada. The LIHG met in September 1947 to decide on whether to have an ice hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics, or host a separate Ice Hockey World Championships elsewhere in Switzerland in 1948. After bitter negotiations which were not resolved until the night before the Olympics, the AHAUS team was allowed to play, but the IOC declared those games would not count in the standings.
Reader's Guide
The 1948 tournament was significant as it resolved the long-standing dispute over amateur definitions that had roiled international hockey since 1936. The CAHA and AHAUS had formed the International Ice Hockey Association in 1940, and the LIHG eventually merged with that body and recognized AHAUS as the governing body of hockey in the United States. The tournament's outcome was decided on goal average, with Canada outscoring opponents 69:5 versus Czechoslovakia's 80:18. Because this tournament was also the LIHG World Championship, the United States earned a fourth-place ranking in the LIHG standings. George Dudley stated that the 1948 Olympic hockey tournament was played in 'ridiculous weather conditions' with poor refereeing. The event also saw Bibi Torriani become the first ice hockey player to recite the Olympic Oath on behalf of all athletes.
Did You Know?
- The tournament was decided on goal average, with Canada's 13.8 average beating Czechoslovakia's 4.44.
- Two American hockey teams showed up, leading to a threatened boycott by the USOC.
- Poland was the oldest team (avg 29 years 10 months) and USA the youngest (avg 23 years 1 month).
More in International and Olympic Ice Hockey, Part 3 1-24
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