Olympic Hockey Card of the Day, Team Great Britain 1936


These are actual cards from my collection that were issued for various Winter Olympic games either as souvenirs or as premiums in cigarette packages. The rear of this card is translated;

"Great Britain beat Canada and thus became Olympic champion in ice hockey tournament"

And here they are, pictured in the beautiful outdoor scenery of Garmisch-Partinkirchen, Germany, the Olympic gold medalist Great Britain hockey club. The Brits, with only one player (their leading scorer Gerry Davey) who was born in Canada did however have 9 of their 13 players raised in Canada and 11 of the 13 had previously played there. Nevertheless, on a late third period goal by Edgar 'Chirp' Brenchley the Brits beat Canada 2-1 in the preliminary round. As was the custom at outdoor tournaments in those days (due to the unpredictability of weather), this result was carried forward once the final four medal round participants were determined. Thusly, Canada would not have an opportunity for revenge over the Brits and chance at a gold medal.


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