I'm happy to share this Book Feature thread concerning my recently self published book A Confluence of Destinies: The Saga of the Winnipeg Falcons' 1920 Olympic Gold Medal Victory now available on Amazon.
Any group of hockey historians is likely familiar with the story of the Falcons, for no other reason than the recent Heritage Minute starring Letterkenny's Jared Keeso. Some may even be aware that in 2019, their victory was named a National Historic Event by the Canadian Government. Through these and other means this group's membership is probably acquainted with the story of the young men of predominantly Icelandic descent who won the 1920 Allan Cup and earned the right to represent Canada at the 1920 Olympics where, for the first time, Ice Hockey was included as a sport. It's well known that their historic victory was the first ever Gold Medal awarded for Ice Hockey. It's less well known that the tournament doubled as the first event World Hockey Championship, organized by the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) the precursor to the IIHF. These are the results. The story of how the Falcons, Winnipeg and Canada got there, is the focus of this book.
I have endeavored in A Confluence of Destinies to illustrate the grit, determination and perseverance of the Falcons in the maelstrom that was the second decade of the twentieth century. When the Falcons won the Gold Medal, Canada had just emerged from the most devastating war the world had ever seen; indeed, many of the Falcons were veterans and two of the pre-war team members were killed in action. As the war came to its sanguine conclusion, in addition to the horrific casualties the world had endured, the Spanish Flu pandemic swept the globe, taking more lives than even the killing fields of Europe. Additionally, in their home town of Winnipeg, the shrinking economy that accompanied end of the war boom, and the return of thousands of emotionally scarred young men from Europe to few jobs and poor pay contributed to the Winnipeg General Strike, itself an acute symptom of chronic social unrest racking Canada. To win the Gold Medal in Ice Hockey in 1920, the Falcons had to overcome these and many other challenges. To survive the tumult of the time, Winnipeggers and Canadians had to overcome them too: the destinies of the Falcons, their city and their country all converged on an ice surface in Antwerp in 1920.
A Confluence of Destines tells the saga of the Falcons contextualized to the society and environment of the time, but doesn't neglect the element of hockey. Quite the contrary, I have also charted the evolution of ice hockey in general, with a specific focus on its growth in Manitoba where, the later years of the nineteenth century, the as-yet small and sparsely populated province became a hockey superpower in the Dominion of Canada. I've included a sampling of the book below, namely the brief introductory chapter. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to discussing this and other aspects of Canada's hockey history.
Excerpt:
Any group of hockey historians is likely familiar with the story of the Falcons, for no other reason than the recent Heritage Minute starring Letterkenny's Jared Keeso. Some may even be aware that in 2019, their victory was named a National Historic Event by the Canadian Government. Through these and other means this group's membership is probably acquainted with the story of the young men of predominantly Icelandic descent who won the 1920 Allan Cup and earned the right to represent Canada at the 1920 Olympics where, for the first time, Ice Hockey was included as a sport. It's well known that their historic victory was the first ever Gold Medal awarded for Ice Hockey. It's less well known that the tournament doubled as the first event World Hockey Championship, organized by the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) the precursor to the IIHF. These are the results. The story of how the Falcons, Winnipeg and Canada got there, is the focus of this book.
I have endeavored in A Confluence of Destinies to illustrate the grit, determination and perseverance of the Falcons in the maelstrom that was the second decade of the twentieth century. When the Falcons won the Gold Medal, Canada had just emerged from the most devastating war the world had ever seen; indeed, many of the Falcons were veterans and two of the pre-war team members were killed in action. As the war came to its sanguine conclusion, in addition to the horrific casualties the world had endured, the Spanish Flu pandemic swept the globe, taking more lives than even the killing fields of Europe. Additionally, in their home town of Winnipeg, the shrinking economy that accompanied end of the war boom, and the return of thousands of emotionally scarred young men from Europe to few jobs and poor pay contributed to the Winnipeg General Strike, itself an acute symptom of chronic social unrest racking Canada. To win the Gold Medal in Ice Hockey in 1920, the Falcons had to overcome these and many other challenges. To survive the tumult of the time, Winnipeggers and Canadians had to overcome them too: the destinies of the Falcons, their city and their country all converged on an ice surface in Antwerp in 1920.
A Confluence of Destines tells the saga of the Falcons contextualized to the society and environment of the time, but doesn't neglect the element of hockey. Quite the contrary, I have also charted the evolution of ice hockey in general, with a specific focus on its growth in Manitoba where, the later years of the nineteenth century, the as-yet small and sparsely populated province became a hockey superpower in the Dominion of Canada. I've included a sampling of the book below, namely the brief introductory chapter. I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to discussing this and other aspects of Canada's hockey history.
Excerpt:
