The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1981, Page 34

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SPRING, 1981
If you want my greatest personal sporting
thrill, it was the first time I stood on the
same sheet of curling ice as Leo Johnson and
actually competed against that great Cana-
dian champion. Leo was something far
more important than merely a superb athlete
(he also excelled in baseball). He was a
superb human being. The rink he skipped to
so many championships included his bro-
ther Lincoln, Mamo Fredrickson and Law-
rence Stewart, the only non-Icelandic mem-
ber.
Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough
to have watched a number of gifted athletes
of Icelandic heritage up close. Right now
the hottest competitor is Danny Haldorson,
a regular on the Professional Golf Associa-
tion tour. This year he has a chance to break
the single season earnings record for a
Canadian golfer, no mean feat considering
people like Stan Leonard and George Knud-
son have been there ahead of him.
Other names spring readily to mind.
There’s Tommy Johnson, a member of
the Hockey Hall of Fame and presently as-
sistant general manager of the Boston
Bruins. Or how about Lome (Boom Boom)
Benson whose brilliant career with the Blue
Bombers was cut short by a knee injury?
Manitoba basketball has produced few if
any better players than Freddy Ingaldson
and Herbie Olafson. Toss in Bob Sigurdson
(no relation) of curling, and Chris Oddleif-
son of hockey.
But as Mr. Kristjanson notes in his chap-
ter devoted to sport, the sons and daughters
of those early Icelandic pioneers have
carved a record of distinguished achieve-
ment.
In baseball Kristjan Backman and Agust
Blondal rated among the best of their time.
Backman was also one of the top sprinters of
his day. In case you didn’t know, a Winni-
peg team has already won the Stanley Cup.
The Victorias captured it in 1903, thanks in
no small measure to the goaltending of Fred
Olsen.
Ingvar and Oddgeir Gislason won pro-
vincial wrestling championships during the
’20s; so did Jens Eliasson. Around the same
time Petur Sigurdsson, a former Winnipeg-
ger, won the middleweight championship of
B.C.
In boxing Paul Frederickson of Baldur
won the Canadian amateur featherweight
title in 1927 and Ami Johannesson was
Manitoba lightweight champion in 1929 and
1930.
In 1913, Sgt. J. V. Austmann won the
Manitoba Rifle Championship.
Today, “Icelandic names” continue to
dot the daily sports pages and community
club rosters.
When I follow my hockey and baseball-
playing sons art)und the province, I discover
their team mates and competitors often have
names like Gislason, Stephenson, Sigfus-
son, Amason, Olsen and Guttormson.
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