Winnipeg Falcons honoured with permanent plaque in city

Plaque honours first gold medal hockey team A commemorative plaque recognizing the first hockey team to win gold at the Olympics is now on permanent display in Winnipeg.

A plaque recognizing the first hockey team to claim the gold medal at the Olympic Games is now on display in Winnipeg.

The plaque, which recognizes the Winnipeg Falcons’ victory in 1920 at the Belgium Olympics, is now on display on the outside of the First Lutheran Church on Victor Street.

“Today is a day we’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” said Don Kuryk, president of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.

The team, which was made up largely of Icelandic men, fought for acceptance in Winnipeg’s Senior Hockey League during the 1900s.

The Falcons were initially shunned for their European descent and they struggled to find ice time and competitors. Of their eight players who played, Kuryk said seven were Icelandic.

Members of the team served in the First World War, with two team members - Frank Thorsteinson and George Cumbers – being killed during the war.

The Falcons won the Allan Cup in 1920, which allowed them to represent Canada at the Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium that year. The Falcons defeated Czechoslovakia, the United States and Sweden to win the gold medal.

Kuryk says the location of the plaque is important in the team’s history.

“A lot of the players, in their youth, attended church here, were married here, some of them that passed away had their funeral services here, their weddings here,” he said.

The plaque includes information about the team in English, French and Icelandic.