The Winnipeg Falcons - Canada and the World's first Olympic Hockey Champions
Welcome to the Winnipeg Falcons website. The Winnipeg Falcons hockey team was founded in 1911 with a roster of entirely Icelandic players who were not able to play on the other Winnipeg teams due to racial prejudice. In their first season, 1911-1912, they finished at the bottom of their league. The next year, Konnie Johannesson and Frank Frederickson joined the team. That team turned out to be a winner in the league.
The 1913-1914 team included both Konnie and his older brother George and Frank Frederickson. Wally Byron joined as goalie for the 1914-1915 season. The 1916-1917 season saw several of the team joining the Canadian Army's 223rd Battalion in Winnipeg. After the Armistice in November 1918, the team reorganized for the 1919-1920 season. New members included Mike Goodman, Huck Woodman and Slim Halderson. The team manager was "Steamer" Maxwell and "Hebbie" Axford became Club President.
Konrad (Konnie) Johannesson was the website author's father . He joined the Canadian Army in Winnipeg in March 1916 and went overseas in April 1917. He returned from Egypt in May 1919. For the story of his life in England, Egypt and Winnipeg, go to Aviation pages.
Konnie again played for the Winnipeg Falcons in the 1919-1920 season, culminating in the team winning the Allan Cup and playing in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. There the Falcons, soundly beating all their opponents, won the first Olympic Gold Medal in Hockey for Canada.
The battlefield and ruins scenes were taken during a trip after winning the Championship, the British Military Commandant showed the team around the countryside outside of Antwerp.
July 2007 - Two new books about the Falcons are now available
Hockey - A People's History
On Sunday September 17th the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation began showing its new 10 part Canadian hockey history series. The programs are arranged with two hours per broadcast, ending on Sunday October 15th. The Falcons were featured in the September 24th and October 15th programs.
For more information about this series, go to the CBC website .
Or for the summary of part 3 about the Falcons, click here.
Canadian Olympic Committee:
On February 15th the C.O.C. announced that the Falcons will be inducted into Canada's Olympic Hall of Fame on April 29th, 2006. Press release details are here.
On March 23rd the C.O.C. issued a second press release about the induction proceedings.
On April 19th the C.O.C issued a third press release with details of the proceedings.
A final C.O.C. news release about the induction ceremony can be seen here,
and the Falcons' Olympic biography is here.
The induction ceremony took place in the Theatre Capitole de Quebec in Quebec City on Saturday April 29th. Pictures of the proceedings and the excellent entertainment which was part of it are on the COC website here.
Three of the Falcons' children were at the ceremony. Slim Halderson's daughter, Alan Woodman's daughter and Konnie Johannesson's son accepted the Olympic plaque, with Sylvie Frechette, Curt Harnett and Michael Chambers.
A letter from the Fondation Nordiques about the induction weekend is shown here.
The Official Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame Plaque awarded to the Falcons is shown here.
Player Numbers:
Several Falcons fans have asked about player numbers. There are no numbers on the 1920 jerseys, the players didn't have numbers. Perhaps in 1920, since there was no play-by-play announcing and no radio broadcasting, numbers were not necessary. In any event, there is no mention of any player numbers.
The demonstration sport mistake:
Hockey was never a demonstration sport at the 1920 Olympics. The Olympic Games program and several newspaper articles state very clearly that hockey and figure skating began the 1920 Olympics and that prize medals were awarded at an awards ceremony. The demonstration sport mistake was committed by an Olympic historian many years ago when he mistakenly stated that hockey was an "adjunct" to the 1920 Games. Recent articles still mention that myth, continuing the error to this day.
For further verification check the Canadian Olympic Committee olympic team handbook, in particular the third sentence in the first paragraph under "White Games Chamonix 1924", and also here, press release paragraph 6.
On Sunday April 17th, 2005 the official opening for the permanent Falcons exhibit at the MTS Center was held in Winnipeg.
There are several pictures of the opening and the program here.
The MTS Center press release about this occasion is here.
In addition, another family photo album turned up that same weekend, containing many excellent pictures.
At the reception for the Falcon's families held in Winnipeg on November 22nd 2004, several Falcons items of interest turned up.
A hockey tournament was held recently in Reykjavik, Iceland. A replica Falcons jersey was presented to the Reykjavik Hockey Federation during the tournament.
On December 20th, 2004 the Canadian Junior World team played an exhibition game against Finland in Winnipeg. Pictures here
Family scrapbook of newspaper articles:
- About 200 newspaper articles from the Johannesson family scrapbook are now available on the website, click here.
The Falcons team history:
In 1996 and again in 2002 the Icelandic Canadian Magazine published "The Romance of the Falcons", a history of the team written by Fred Thordarson for Canadian Sports and Outdoor Life Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3. The article and pictures are included here with the permission of Icelandic Canadian Magazine and Shirley Thordarson McCreedy, the author's daughter.
A Falcons book:
Coastline Publishing of Guelph, Ontario has published Falcons Gold, a children's book about the Winnipeg Falcons.
For more information go to Falcons Gold
The Olympic Gold medal and other memorabilia
- Canada's first Olympic Gold Medal for hockey, now in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
- The history of Konnie's medal is here.
- Konnie's Falcons jersey now in the Hockey Hall of Fame is here
- Here's the jersey and Olympic medal in the showcase at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
- For pictures of Konnie's personal memories Click here
- The Hockey Hall of Fame press release.
Player & Game Information
Team pictures
- For Falcons team pictures click here
- An advertisement for CCM skates featuring the Falcons has been donated by Ken Mousseau.(added February 2006)
Pictures in and around Antwerp at the Olympics
- Antwerp scenes are shown here
An appeal to descendants of the Falcons - click here.
Team questions? Email to Brian J.
Website comments? Email to webmaster.
We have had
66637
Falcons fans visit since September 1999
Go to the Rare Aviation Photos pages
