Browse "History"

As the First World War dragged on in Europe, a group of remarkable young women turned the hockey world upside down.

The first Olympic Winter Games were held in Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 5 February 1924. Canada sent 12 athletes (11 men, one woman) to the Games, and won the gold medal in ice hockey. The country finished ninth in the overall medal count.

The 1928 Olympic Winter Games were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from 11 to 19 February 1928. Canada sent 23 athletes (20 men, 3 women) to the Games, and won the gold medal in ice hockey. The country finished sixth in the overall medal count.

The 1932 Olympic Winter Games were held in Lake Placid, New York, from 4 to 15 February 1932. Canada sent 42 athletes (38 men, 4 women) to the Games and placed third in the overall medal count with seven medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze). The Winnipeg Hockey Club won Canada’s fourth consecutive Olympic medal in ice hockey, while speed skaters Alexander Hurd, William Logan and Frank Stack became the first Canadian medallists in speed skating. Montgomery Wilson took bronze in the men’s figure skating competition, becoming the first Canadian to win an Olympic medal in the sport.

The 1936 Olympic Winter Games were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, from 6 to 16 February 1936. Canada sent 29 athletes (22 men, 7 women) and placed ninth in the overall medal count with one silver medal. For the first time at the Olympic Winter Games, Canada did not win the gold medal in ice hockey. It was a controversial result, with the Port Arthur Bear Cats finishing second to a British team that included several Canadian players. The 1936 Olympic Winter Games were themselves contentious, given the anti-Semitic policies of German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. Left-wing and Jewish groups in Canada and other countries proposed a boycott of the Games but were unsuccessful.

On 15 April 1947, Jackie Robinson played in his debut game with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play in the major leagues in the modern era. Prior to that point, professional baseball in the United States was segregated, with African Americans playing in the Negro leagues. When Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s colour barrier in 1947, he entered American history books. What many baseball fans may not realize, however, is that Robinson was embraced by Canadian fans one year earlier as a member of the Montreal Royals, a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The 1948 Olympic Winter Games were held in St Moritz, Switzerland, from 30 January to 8 February 1948. Canada sent 28 athletes (24 men, 4 women) and placed eighth in the overall medal count with two gold medals and one bronze medal. The RCAF team was victorious in the ice hockey tournament, while Barbara Ann Scott won gold in women’s figure skating. It was the first time Canada had won more than one gold medal at the Winter Games, and the first gold medal in a sport other than hockey. Suzanne Morrow Francis and Wallace Diestelmeyer took bronze in pairs figure skating.

The 1952 Olympic Winter Games were held in Oslo, Norway from 14 to 25 February 1952. Canada sent 39 athletes (31 men, 8 women) and tied with Italy for eighth in the overall medal count with one gold and one bronze medal. Speed skater Gordon Audley took bronze in the 500 m final and the Edmonton Mercurys won Canada’s fifth gold medal in ice hockey. The country would not win hockey gold again until 50 years later, when the women’s and men’s teams defeated the Americans at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

The 1956 Olympic Winter Games were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Canada sent 35 athletes (27 men, 8 women) and finished ninth in the overall medal count with one silver and two bronze medals. Figure skating pair Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden took home silver, while Lucile Wheeler won Canada’s first medal in alpine skiing, finishing third in the women’s downhill race. In ice hockey, Canada took the bronze medal, defeated by both the Americans and the Soviets, who won gold in their debut at the Olympic Winter Games.

The 1960 Olympic Winter Games were held in Squaw Valley, California, from 18 to 28 February 1960. Canada sent 44 athletes (34 men, 10 women) and finished eighth in the overall medal count with four medals (two gold, one silver and one bronze). Anne Heggtveit won gold in the slalom, becoming the first Canadian Olympic ski champion. Robert Paul and Barbara Wagner dominated the pairs figure skating competition in their second Winter Games, while Donald Jackson added a bronze medal in men’s figure skating. The Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen represented Canada in the Olympic hockey tournament and finished second to the Americans. It was the last time Canada was represented by a club team in Olympic hockey.

The Grey Cup was donated by Albert Henry George Grey, yet another of those governors general who have left their monikers on our sporting life.

Sports. Canadians have adopted nearly every known athletic activity or sport, and some have been inspired by a favorite one to compose a popular song or a short band or piano piece.

Our men and women’s stirring victories revealed the value of planning, patience and sheer unbridled talent. This is Canada on a gold-medal tear.

Despite early successes, women have had to fight to be involved in sports, and to be recognized for their athletic achievement. While female participation in sports has boomed over the last three decades, many girls and women still face barriers and discrimination in the sports world.

The Asahi was a Japanese Canadianbaseball club in Vancouver (1914–42). One of the city’s most dominant amateur teams, the Asahi used skill and tactics to win multiple league titles in Vancouver and along the Northwest Coast. In 1942, the team was disbanded when its members were among the 22,000 Japanese Canadians who were interned by the federal government (see Internment of Japanese Canadians). The Asahi were inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

During the 1920s Oppenheimer Park, also known as the Powell Street Grounds, was home to the best baseball team in the city. The Asahi drew its members from the surrounding Japanese-Canadian community. It all ended with the outbreak of World War Two.

World Hockey Association, professional HOCKEY league established 1971 (first season of play was 1972-73) to challenge the NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE. Canada was well represented in the new league, with teams in Ottawa, Québec City, Edmonton and Winnipeg.