RCAF Flyers
Encyclopedia
The RCAF Flyers was a senior amateur Canadian ice hockey
team, based out of Ottawa
. The club won the gold medal in the 1948 Winter Olympics
. The club also won the Allan Cup
Canadian championship in 1942.
In 2001 the Gold Medal winning team was honoured by the Canadian Forces
when it was announced that the 1948 RCAF Flyers were selected as Canada’s greatest military athletes of the 20th century.
, 2008) chronicles the team's history with original articles from the area and interviews with surviving team members.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team, based out of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. The club won the gold medal in the 1948 Winter Olympics
1948 Winter Olympics
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been twelve years since the last Winter Games in 1936...
. The club also won the Allan Cup
Allan Cup
The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champions of Canada. It has been competed for since 1909. The current champion is the Clarenville Caribous hockey club of Newfoundland and Labrador.-History:...
Canadian championship in 1942.
In 2001 the Gold Medal winning team was honoured by the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
when it was announced that the 1948 RCAF Flyers were selected as Canada’s greatest military athletes of the 20th century.
1948 Olympic Gold medalists
The IOC lists that all players, including reserves, were given an Olympic Gold Medal.- Hubert BrooksHubert BrooksCompetitor for CanadaHubert Brooks 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....
(reserve) - Murray DoweyMurray DoweyCompetitor for CanadaMurray Albert Dowey, sometimes referred to as Murray Downey, is 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...
, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
(goaltenderGoaltenderIn ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
) - Frank Dunster, MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(defenceman) - Roy ForbesRoy Forbes (ice hockey)Roy Forbes is 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....
, VancouverVancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
(defenceman) (reserve) - Andy GilpinAndy GilpinAndy Gilpin, of Montreal, Quebec, is a Canadian ice hockey forward. 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.Gilpin played Junior A hockey in Montreal...
, MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(forwardForward (ice hockey)In ice hockey, a forward is a player position on the ice whose primary responsibility is to score goals. Generally, the forwards try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...
) (reserve) - Jean GravelleJean GravelleIsrael Jean Orval Gravelle, sometimes referred to as Orville Gravelle, 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.-External links:**...
- Patsy Guzzo
- Wally Halder
- Ted Hibberd
- Ross KingRoss King (ice hockey)Ross King , of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, is a Canadian ice hockey Goaltender. 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....
, Portage la Prairie (goaltenderGoaltenderIn ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
) (reserve) - Henri-André LaperrièreHenri-André LaperriereHenri-André Laperriere is 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...
, OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
(defenceman) - John LecompteJohn LecompteJohn Howard Louis Lecompte 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.-External links:**...
, OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
(defenceman) - Pete LeichnitzPete LeichnitzPete Leitchitz, sometimes referred to as J. Leitchitz, is 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....
(reserve) - George MaraGeorge MaraGeorge Edward Mara, CM 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. Moritz....
- Albert Renaud
- Reginald SchroeterReginald SchroeterReginald John "Reg" Schroeter, sometimes referred to as Reginald Schroter, 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...
- Irving TaylorIrving Taylor (ice hockey)Irving C. "Irv" Taylor was a Canadian ice hockey player. HHe 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.-External links:**...
Media
The book Gold Medal Misfits (Pat MacAdam, Manor House PublishingManor House Publishing
Manor House Publishing Incorporated is a small publishing company based in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, established 1998. It publishes mostly in soft cover books by Canadian authors, many previously unpublished...
, 2008) chronicles the team's history with original articles from the area and interviews with surviving team members.
See also
- Canada men's national ice hockey team
- Ice hockey at the 1948 Winter OlympicsIce hockey at the 1948 Winter OlympicsIn Ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics, Team Canada returned to its dominance, winning their fourth Gold Medal out of the first five Olympic Games.-Rival United States teams:...
- Ice hockey in OttawaIce hockey in OttawaOttawa ice hockey clubs date back to the first decade of recorded organized ice hockey play. The men's senior-level Ottawa Hockey Club is known to have played in a Canadian championship in 1884...
- List of Canadian national ice hockey team rosters
- Ottawa City Hockey LeagueOttawa City Hockey LeagueThe Ottawa City Hockey League was an amateur ice hockey league with junior, intermediate and senior level men's teams in Ottawa, Canada dating from 1890. It is considered the second ice hockey league to form in Canada. The senior league operated until 1945 and the junior league operated until 1957...
- Quebec Senior Hockey LeagueQuebec Senior Hockey LeagueThe Quebec Senior Hockey League was an ice hockey league that operated between 1941 and 1959 in Québec, Canada. From 1941, it operated on an amateur basis, before becoming the semi-professional Quebec Hockey League in 1953...