or, The Sport Saga of the Vikings
The individuals
of a team, or club, create a certain spirit or 'atmosphere' which the whole
derives from the participation of each one comprising the group. Some teams or
groups appear to be naturally able to coordinate their affairs. Others simply
cannot do themselves justice for lack of a motivating spirit, some jarring note
being present, or an essential something in personalities that may be lacking.
When a group has this atmosphere or harmony which, in reality, is the
subjection of the individual to the whole, each and every one of the group
requires the will to contribute his share to put forth the ,effort to make a 'go'
of things. In presenting
this 'Sport Saga,' with the famous Falcon Olympic Championship team of 1920 as
the central figures, the story being told is that of a group of clean-living
young men, each striving with all his heart and mind to achieve the goal they
had set for themselves, with no thought of personal advantage but rather of
doing everything for 'the good of the team.' However, before
going on with the main theme of The Romance of the Falcons, culminating
in the Olympic Championship, it is fitting that the activities of the Club
during the intervening years 1920 to 1933 should be
reviewed. The Seasons that Followed
Riding on the great wave which the spirit of the
Falcon Olympic combination engendered, the Club produced a junior team in the following
year to the Olympic Championship which won the Canadian Junior Championship.
The success of this squad, the first Western junior team to travel east to
compete for the Dominion title, is something of a story in itself. That junior
club had the old Falcon spirit and harmony reigned. They were one of the gamest
aggregations ever to step on ice. They played
through their eighteen-game schedule without a single loss, but in their
play-off with Regina for the Western Championship, which they won in two
desperately fought encounters, they suffered a severe blow which had every
appearance of minimizing their chances of victory in Eastern Canada. A Fight Against Odds
It happened when the Falcons were pressing
strenuously in front of the Regina goal. Several players of each team suddenly
sprawled on the ice in one big pile. When the bell rang and the referee
extricated the various players, Art Somers emerged from under the heap and had
to be assisted from the ice with a severely wrenched ankle. Art, who had
started the season as a second substitute, had developed rapidly towards the
end of the season and with this valuable reserve power missing from the line-up
the Club appeared to be under a severe handicap for their series with the
highly-touted Eastern teams. But the boys
were not dismayed! The Falcon spirit had still to be reckoned with! They played
and defeated Fort William quite handily without the services of Somers, and
went on to Toronto. Never did an
injured limb receive more attention and nursing! On the eastward journey,
trainers and officials availed themselves of every opportunity to reduce the
swollen condition of Art's injured ankle, for his value as a centre man was
nearly equal to that of Wally Fridfinnson who was then turning in a mighty good
performance in the centre ice area for the Juniors. Howie Morenz
was the centre ice man for the Stratford junior Eastern Champions. With this
'speed-merchant' leading the opposition, what were the Falcons' chances of
victory? The true will to Win!
Vividly are recollected the moments in Toronto
before that first game! The lads were silent and just a
little grim. They were resolute that the great Falcon
Club, which had skated like whirlwinds onto Toronto ice only a year before to
defeat the famous Varsity team, would not be let down by their showing. All
around the dressing room the determined aspect of the players showed itself.
Art Somers, gamester to the core, was in uniform. The boys, tired as they were,
went out and when the first goal was scored Somers, and not Morenz, scored it!
Imagine the surprise when eight more goals followed this counter into the net
and the Westerners took the first game 9-2! Injuries and
the exhausting effect of the strenuous season combined to bring the resistance of
the game young Westerners to a very low ebb on the second night of the
playoffs. Wally had received a wrenched shoulder muscle in a violent collision
with Morenz in the very first flash of the first game. Harry Neil, the stocky
defenceman, had a badly bruised hip, and Frank Woodall, the 60 minute man, had
to take a rest after five minutes of play. They were barely able to provide
serious resistance. Once again Art Somers, injured leg and all, skated the puck
right through the opposing defence and notched the first goal for the Falcons!
Although the drive was not kept up, the famous firing line of Stratford could
not turn the first defeat into final victory. The Falcons played a determined
game and although they lost 72 they gained the round by 11-9 and the first
junior championship for Western Canada. The Line-up of the Falcon Juniors
To Connie Neil, their manager, great credit is
due. He handled the boys wonderfully. They worked with the greatest of harmony
and no truer expression may be used than that they were a pocket edition of the
famous 1919-1920 Falcon Olympic Champions. At a civic welcome on their
victorious return, they were presented with gold watches suitably engraved, the
gift of the City of Winnipeg. Here is the
line-up that brought glory to the old club: goal, 'Scotty' Comfort; defence,
Harry Neil and Sammy McCallum; centre, Wally Fridfinnson; right wing, Harold
McMunn (who in 1924 was chosen as the West's representative player to accompany
the famous Granite Hockey Team of Toronto to the Olympic games); left wing,
Frank Woodall; forwards, Art Somers, 'Big' Bill McPherson and Dave Patrick. The Seniors of the 1921 Season
In the 1920-1921 season, with the World Champion
Falcons greatly in demand by the professional clubs, Frank Fredrickson going to the great Victoria Cougars and Bobby
Benson and Slim Halderson accepting contracts with the Saskatoon club, new
figures appeared in the Falcon line-up. The pugnacious Bill Borland and his
brother Eddie, 'Big' Burney McPhail and 'Crutchy' Morrison (the Selkirk Club
having disbanded) together with Eddie Stephenson, who had been with the Young
Men's Lutheran Church Juniors when they won the Manitoba Championship and was
now coming into his own in senior ranks, were all valuable additions to the Club.
However, 'Steamer' Maxwell was away the greater part of the season on business
and Mike Goodman went to Saranac Lake for the Speed Skating classic that year
so that, altogether, it was only a moderately successful season for the senior
team. Brandon won the Western title but lost the finals to Varsity of Toronto.
In the Brandon line-up were such great stars as: goal, Stewart; defence, Ambie
Moran and Sandy McNeill; forwards, Bob Armstrong, Ty Arbor, Billy Hill,
Coldwell and Creighton. Seniors Regaining Strength
During the 1921-1922 season, with Harvey Benson
as playing-manager, the champion juniors with the exception of Wally
Fridfinnson going over to the Victoria Club with Connie Neil, and Crutchy
Morrison going to Edmonton with Joe Simpson, the Falcons played good hockey but
with no exceptional results. It was in the 1922-1923 season that the
Falcon Seniors again appeared to be potential Allan Cuppers. Formed around the
remaining seniors and former juniors, they presented a strong line-up. In goal,
Wally Byron of the Olympic Champions, was outstanding. On the defence, Konnie
Johannesson and Sammy McCallum teamed up most effectively, while the forward
line, comprised of Eddie Stephenson, Art Somers, Wally Fridfinnson, Harold
McMunn, Frank Woodall, Harry Neil, Huck Woodman and Lome Carroll, performed in
sensational fashion. Exciting Campaign
Through some glorious old battles the Falcons of
that year won the Manitoba Senior Championship. Their play-off with Port Arthur
was a hard fought series, marred only by the misfortune of Eddie Stephenson,
who suffered a broken leg. This colourful exponent of the game heard the
returns of the final game with Port Arthur over the telephone while lying in
bed in the Winnipeg General Hospital with the old leg well propped up. He must have
felt plenty of excitement for with just thirty seconds left to go on the
timer's watch, Sammy McCallum came through to score the tying goal. With the
fans wildly cheering, the Falcons then went on for a later period score which
gave them victory. It was one of those sensational finishes which beggar
description. The two-game series with Winnipeg Tigers was also desperately
fought. Then the Anti-Climax
Ordered to play a sudden death game with Souris
(Manitoba Intermediate Champions) the following night, the strain began to tell
on the boys. Seven games in ten nights is far too much for any team to stand,
but that was the necessity which the team had to comply with. The officials
apparently overestimated the resistance of the team, for they had completed not
only one of the most strenuous of league schedules but had been forced into
overtime in other hard fought play-down games. Harold McMunn,
the leading scorer of the league, was on the sick list and the team itself
physically exhausted. The manager prevailed upon Konnie Johannesson not to don
his skates during the early part of the game in order to conserve his energy.
The weary Falcons started the game slowly and as time wore on without effective
results, a tragic drama gradually unfolded before the eyes of the wondering
audience. The picture of
this mighty team still stands clear and fresh in the minds of many of the
Club's followers, for in that game with Souris, for all their skill and
ability, they could not shake off the overpowering weariness, and like some
great lion of the forest, drugged by fatigue, fell victim to a gallant team
which was actually of a lesser calibre. Tears were in many an eye as the fans
realized the situation and the Falcons bravely fought to shake off the
exhaustion that only a strenuous season of hockey can bring on. The final
result of 4-3 in favour of Souris indicated that the Southern Manitobans were
able to slip in four markers on individual forays and long tantalizing shots
and pack their defence almost throughout. Professional Leagues Wrought Havoc
The season 1923-1924 marked the team's
amalgamation with the Winnipeg Tigers, the combined team operating under the
name of' Falcon-Tigers.' For some years, the Falcons did not appear on the
hockey map largely because the professional teams of the United States and
Canada found among these Winnipeg boys some of the finest material available
for their teams, while at the same time there were few, if any, Icelandic boys
coming up to take the places of those who were stepping out into higher
company. Such great names throughout the whole hockey world as Frank
Fredrickson, Mike Goodman, 'Slim' Halderson, Bobby Benson, Cully Wilson (an old
Viking man), Konnie Johannesson, Art Somers and many others had gone on to fame
and achievement after leaving the Winnipeg Icelandic hockey organization. However, by
1928 the Falcon Athletic Association was back in operation, with a four-team
league which operated for several years. From this humble reawakening the
Falcon Hockey Club was revived in 1932, and in close cooperation with the
Association began placing feeder teams in Juvenile, Junior and Intermediate
city leagues. The reorganizing officials included W J. Lindal,
president, and Fred Thordarson, secretary-treasurer. With the Falcon
Hockey Club once again in senior hockey, it was hoped the prediction would not
be far wrong that this 'Preface' would be only a bridge between two great eras
in The Romance of the Falcons. Editor's
note: At the particular point in time The Romance of the Falcons was
written and prepared for publication in a new magazine, Canadian Sports and
Outdoor Life, the community was looking forward to an exciting season which
would see a renewal of an ancient hockey feud, that of the traditional rivals
Falcons and Selkirk. The 1932-33 season of
senior hockey in Winnipeg included three teams, Falcons, Selkirk and Winnipeg.
Indeed, the Falcons remained on the hockey scene in Winnipeg until the early
years of World War II producing several championship teams. The
Falcon Intermediate A team won the McDiarmid Shield in 1933.
A Falcon Juvenile A team won the Canada Cycle Trophy in 1934. The
Senior Falcon team won the Pattison Trophy in 1935. The Seniors of 1935
were the last Falcon Hockey Club championship team. Nevertheless, the hockey
tradition was still alive in the Icelandic community in 1937, when the
First Lutheran Church (Victor Street, Winnipeg) had two excellent Sunday School
teams playing at the Midget and Junior levels. By
1938-39 there was an amalgamation, and the
'Falcon-Rangers' perpetuated the name for several years. However, the teams
were no longer under the management of the Falcon Hockey Club. In 1940-41 there
was a West End Falcon Junior team; and in 1941-42 there was a Senior
League team, the Winnipeg Falcons.
It was the keen interest shown by a group of young men in a brief recounting of some of the
highlights of the (Winnipeg) Falcon Club's history and the background provided
by the hockey of the stirring early days that gave impetus to a long-felt urge
for setting down in words The Romance of the Falcons. Often
the remark has been heard that the Club's history
carries the basic elements of interest and appeal and, if interpreted aright,
would reveal the essence of successful sport and the secret of the Falcons'
success. With the aid of information gleaned from the reminiscences of many
old-timers, as well as other younger members and followers of the Club, the
attempt is made to convey to the young athlete some idea of the spirit
that brought such wonderful results each serving
his part unselfishly none giving a semblance of the appearance of 'falling down
on the job' or introducing a discordant element. This spirit is essential to
any organization that hopes for a measure of success and worthwhile
accomplishment.