1936 OLYMPIC SIVLER MEDALISTS - PORT ARTHUR BEARCATS

1936 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, GER

It was one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Olympics – Great Britain defeated Canada, 2-1, in the preliminary round of the tournament, a result made possible by the incredible goaltending of Jimmy Foster, a Brit by birth but a Canadian by upbringing. However, the Port Arthur Bearcats, representing Canada in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, believed that this early-round result was meaningless in the final round. The day before the final round was to start, however, the IOC decided that early games would count in the final standings, thus giving Great Britain a critical two points in the standings before any games had been played. Canada won all of its other seven games easily, the lone exception a narrow 1-0 win over the Americans. In retrospect, the greater irony was that Canada had protested the participation of several British players before the Olympics because they were Canadian citizens who had not transferred to Great Britain in accordance with international rules.