Happy 100th anniversary, Falcons

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This article was published 24/04/2020 (1979 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Falcons soared to the summit exactly a century ago, forever etching their names in hockey history.

On April 26, 1920, eight men from the Manitoba capital — all but one of Icelandic descent — captured the gold medal at the first-ever Olympic hockey championship in Belgium.

The moment they stepped onto the ice to represent Canada against the Swedish squad at Palais de Glace d’Anvers in Antwerp, triumph was a fait accompli. The Falcons easily skated to a 12-1 win, earning not only Olympic glory but also the distinction of being the world men’s hockey champions.

Brian Johannesson, 84, says the exploits of his father, Konrad (Konnie) Johannesson, and his comrades — donned in their bumblebee yellow and black-trimmed sweaters with a bright red Maple Leaf centred on the front — should not be forgotten.

“One hundred years is definitely a long time ago, you know, but we try to keep the history of the Falcons alive,” Johannesson said recently from his home in Kitchener, Ont. “I’ve been living with this so long, keeping the name of the team going through my website, so it might just be like any other day. But I’ll definitely stop what I’m doing (Sunday) and think about it.

“I’m very pleased that my father was a part of it.”

The current COVID-19 health crisis forced the cancellation of a celebration at the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame to honour the 100th anniversary of the momentous victory. The hope is the event can be held at a later date.

Johannesson began reconstructing the history of the Falcons in 1999 and developed a site dedicated to the squad at www.winnipegfalcons.com. It’s been a labour of love, with much of the content derived from a scrapbook his mother kept from about 1916 until after the Olympics.

Backed by goalie Wally Byron, the team of Konnie Johannesson, Bobby Benson, Frank Fredrickson, Chris Fridfinnson, Mike Goodman, Haldor (Slim) Halderson and Allan (Huck) Woodman, clobbered Czechoslovakia 15-0 in the opener, slipped past the United States 2-0 and then whipped the Swedes to claim the title.

Back home, fans crowded around the Manitoba Free Press building on Carlton Street to get updates.

“People would gather outside the Free Press offices while the games were going on, and the paper would get telegrams from Antwerpt. Every so often, someone would open a window and yell out the results to the crowd,” Johannesson said.

While the Americans had demolished the Swiss 29-0 during the tournament, the Canadians took a kinder, gentler approach to their victories.

Winnipeg put up a dozen tallies in the final, surrendering only one goal. “And there was a rumour going around that Byron had just kind of let the puck go in because the Swedes were such nice guys, let them have one,” said Johannesson. “After the game, the Falcons gave the Swedish team their hockey sticks.”

The Falcons actually held some practices for the European squads during a week’s delay, owing to the late-arriving Americans, and were heroes before the event had even begun, said Winnipeg resident Steve Perkins, 68, the grandson of Halderson.

Perkins said he was in the dark about his grandpa’s Olympic championship past until after ‘Slim’ died.

“Honestly, I knew nothing about it until he passed away (in 1965). I knew he played hockey but I had no idea he’d even been in the Olympics until I got his medal from my grandmother,” he said. “You start thinking back about it all, reading the scrapbooks and living through all the articles and what they went through, it’s pretty special.

“They were the downtrodden, far from being the favourites, and everyone looked down on them wherever they played. So, this was really a breakthrough for them. They were heroes when they got back. Apparently, it was crazy. They had a big parade for them.”

Others in the Canadian entourage included coach Fred (Steamer) Maxwell, team manager W.A. Hewitt (legendary Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster Foster Hewitt’s father), club president Hebbie Axford, trainer Gordon Sigurjonsson and secretary-treasurer Bill Fridfinnson.

Several of the Falcons had served overseas with the Royal Flying Corps, including Johannesson. He left in 1917 to train in England and Egypt, becoming a flight instructor until the armistice in November 1918 that ended the First World War. Five months later, he was settled in Winnipeg, and soon after working at the Winnipeg Flying Club and managing the airport.

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That winter, the Falcons reformed with visions of representing their country at the Olympics. They defeated the Selkirk Fishermen to claim the provincial title, defeated the Fort William Maple Leafs to take the Western Canadian championship and then shocked the nation by beating the heavily favoured University of Toronto to earn a berth to Belgium.

“They hadn’t played any hockey since April 1917. So, in that short time between May 1919 and all the playoffs, they basically had to learn to play again and recover all their skills,” said Johannesson. “To do all that and then go on to win the Olympics was a bloody miracle.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell

Jason Bell
Sports editor

Jason Bell wanted to be a lawyer when he was a kid. The movie The Paper Chase got him hooked on the idea of law school and, possibly, falling in love with someone exactly like Lindsay Wagner (before she went all bionic).

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