An Interpretation

Proud Legacy of the Edmonton Flyers
by Lawrence Herzog

Jack Manson remembers playing hockey in the old Edmonton Gardens and the benches in the dressing room would, "give you slivers in your arse. It was a cow barn, that place, but it had character."

Manson was back up goaltender for the 1948 Edmonton Flyers, the team that won the Allan Cup - the symbol of amateur hockey supremacy in Canada. And, it turns out, character is exactly what playing hockey in Edmonton was all about in those days 50 and more years ago.

The headline in the May 10 th , 1948 edition of the Edmonton Journal proclaimed: "Enthusiastic Crowds Mob Cup Champions." Local papers estimated that 50,000 to 60,000 people - nearly half the city's population at the time - turned out for the tribute parade along Jasper Avenue, after the team beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 in the final game in Calgary to take the series 4-1. The party lasted for a week.

The team members did it for their love of the game -- they weren't paid for their time. In glorious black and white photos taken that year, you can see the joy on their faces. Their achievement, a half century on, carries the purity of teamwork and simple satisfaction of a job well done.

Manson says it was "tough hockey, but very exciting hockey. We were mostly working boys and we were known in the city. You balanced work with hockey and, like any other job, you just gave it your best."

The team captured the hearts of Edmontonians so much that the Edmonton Gardens was filled to overflowing during the season. Local papers took to reporting the crowds at 7,500 because the Exhibition Association didn't want to admit to more for fear of bringing the wrath of the Fire Marshall down on their heads. More than 300 Edmontonians, including Mayor Harry Ainlay, took the train to Calgary for the cup final games.

In its May 11 th , 1948 edition, the Edmonton Journal reported that, "In New York newsreel fashion, the yelling thousands lined the avenue and showered the champions with snowstorms of confetti." The team didn't know it at the time, but they were sowing the seeds for a hockey tradition that was to pave the way for the Edmonton Oilers and the NHL.