Yozhik v tumane
Registered User
- Jan 2, 2019
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Caught your attention.
Prior to today, my knowledge of Icelandic hockey amounted to this:
They were the main opponent in a Disney movie and not actually a country notable for its hockey.
But today I was watching a Youtube documentary on the short-lived Tropical Hockey League which tried to establish hockey in Florida in the late 1930s. One of the teams had a player-coach named Mike Goodman who had played for the 1920 Allen Cup winning Winnipeg Falcons, which were chosen to represent Canada in the inaugural ice hockey tournament at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
The curious thing about the Winnipeg Falcons/1920 Team Canada is that not only Goodman, but the entire roster except one player was comprised of children of Icelandic immigrants, including Hall of Famer Frank Fredrickson, and most had anglicized names:
Robert John Benson (Benediktsson)
Walter Byron (Jacob Valdimar Björnsson)
Frank Fredrickson (Sigurður Franklín Friðriksson)
Chris Fridfinnson (Kristmundur Numi Fridfinnson)
Mike Goodman (Magnus Guðmundsson)
Haldor Halderson (Halldór Halldórsson)
Konnie Johannesson (Konrad Jóhannesson)
The only player not of Icelandic decent on the team was Allan “Huck” Woodman.
The reason why virtually the entire Winnipeg Falcons roster consisted of Icelandics is interesting. Its roots can be traced to two clubs named Icelandic Athletic Club (IAC) and the Vikings who played against each other in a two team league, apparently because of ethnic prejudice against Icelandics. The Falcons would also be excluded from the Winnipeg city league, for these reasons. The two teams combined to form the Winnipeg Falcons, a name taken from the Icelandic national bird.
This is taken from Wikipedia, but it was interesting to realize the Winnipeg Falcons article quotes notable HoH contributor @Eric Zweig.
I wonder what prejudice existed against Icelandics in Canada in the early 1900s. Did their fermented shark stink up the place? Did they have weird strongmen workouts?
I thought this a pretty cool story. It’s interesting that just some years prior, they’d been barred from playing against other Canadians, but in 1920 were regarded Canadian enough to represent the country at the Olympics, and return as heroes.
Prior to today, my knowledge of Icelandic hockey amounted to this:
They were the main opponent in a Disney movie and not actually a country notable for its hockey.
But today I was watching a Youtube documentary on the short-lived Tropical Hockey League which tried to establish hockey in Florida in the late 1930s. One of the teams had a player-coach named Mike Goodman who had played for the 1920 Allen Cup winning Winnipeg Falcons, which were chosen to represent Canada in the inaugural ice hockey tournament at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
The curious thing about the Winnipeg Falcons/1920 Team Canada is that not only Goodman, but the entire roster except one player was comprised of children of Icelandic immigrants, including Hall of Famer Frank Fredrickson, and most had anglicized names:
Robert John Benson (Benediktsson)
Walter Byron (Jacob Valdimar Björnsson)
Frank Fredrickson (Sigurður Franklín Friðriksson)
Chris Fridfinnson (Kristmundur Numi Fridfinnson)
Mike Goodman (Magnus Guðmundsson)
Haldor Halderson (Halldór Halldórsson)
Konnie Johannesson (Konrad Jóhannesson)
The only player not of Icelandic decent on the team was Allan “Huck” Woodman.
The reason why virtually the entire Winnipeg Falcons roster consisted of Icelandics is interesting. Its roots can be traced to two clubs named Icelandic Athletic Club (IAC) and the Vikings who played against each other in a two team league, apparently because of ethnic prejudice against Icelandics. The Falcons would also be excluded from the Winnipeg city league, for these reasons. The two teams combined to form the Winnipeg Falcons, a name taken from the Icelandic national bird.
This is taken from Wikipedia, but it was interesting to realize the Winnipeg Falcons article quotes notable HoH contributor @Eric Zweig.
I wonder what prejudice existed against Icelandics in Canada in the early 1900s. Did their fermented shark stink up the place? Did they have weird strongmen workouts?
I thought this a pretty cool story. It’s interesting that just some years prior, they’d been barred from playing against other Canadians, but in 1920 were regarded Canadian enough to represent the country at the Olympics, and return as heroes.
