The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2002, Page 24

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 57 #3
rubber going high up among the rafters as
it soared goalwards. In those days the
defenceman’s position was point and
cover-point, the latter taking up his posi-
tion a short distance in front of the point
man and the rover did a lot of defensive
work as well as feeding the forwards, in
distinct contrast to the present-day system
of two men abreast on defense and a rover.
In 1933 ten men were allowed to dress on
each team with practically unlimited sub-
stitution, and with the forward pass to
speed up the game.
After each tussle, the bumps exchanged
were forgotten and the members of the two
teams were the best of friends. Often a sup-
porter of the winning team who had won a
wager on the game would invite the players
to an oyster supper, usually at Emma and
Panaro’s restaurant - then on the east side
of Main Street between McDermot and
Bannatyne. It was quite an event when the
boys talked and joked over their supper in
the old cafe leaving about midnight for
home. Times certainly have changed!
At the end of the season the losing team
banqueted the winner in royal style, usual-
ly at the Criterion Hotel. And what a night
that was!
Time has a way of either increasing or
decreasing the glamour of events. In the
case of these old time conflicts between the
Vikings and the IACs, reminiscences
seemed to grow more interesting with the
years, so there must have been more than a
little to enthuse over in these battles of
skill.
When reminiscing, the wonderful athlet-
Rev. Stefan Jonasson
ARBORG UNITARIAN CHURCH
GIMLI UNITARIAN CHURCH
9 Rowand Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3J 2N4
Telephone: (204) 889-4746
E-mail: sjonasson@uua.org
ic talent of Winnipeg during that era should
not be overlooked. So, let us digress for a
moment. Never the light of day shone on
finer specimens of manhood than were to
be found connected with athletic clubs of
Winnipeg at that time. In the City Hockey
League, some truly great teams were bat-
tling it out for supremacy. Take for
instance the Winnipeg Rowing Club when
their roster included Claude Bennest,
Percy Browne, Chas. Johnstone, Billy
Breen, Billy Kean, Joe Hall, Claude
Borland and Billy Bawlf. Those were the
days when “Barney” Holden, Fred Lake
and Riley Hearne were the ideals of aspir-
ing hockey players, the days when Tony
Gingras, the great French player, was
splashing across the hockey firmament,
when the old Victoria Club was often in
the forefront of hockey supremacy, when
Dan Bain, the Flett brothers and many oth-
ers were thrilling the fans with their
exploits on the ice.
Those were the days when Jimmy
Boswell, one of the greatest athletes the
city has ever produced, was in his prime.
Possessed of a magnificent physique,
superlative courage and “sunshiny” nature
that endeared him to all, Jim was an all-
round athlete. He excelled at rugby, also at
bicycle racing along with such stars as
Riddell and McCullough when that sport
was in its heyday. Incidentally, a number of
the Icelandic boys competed creditably in
this fast company, notably Mike Johnson
and Henry Thompson. Jim was used to
tumbles in the bicycle racing game. A seri-
ous injury in a rugby game nearly cost him
his life. However, his rugged constitution
eventually was the means of bringing about
his recovery. Later, in a dare devil automo-
bile race from Stonewall to “Happyland”
on Portage Avenue, when that park was
officially opened, his racing car skidded in
the dirt at an “S” turn and in a flash, realiz-
ing that a crash was inevitable and that he
had time for only one of two things—push
his mechanic out or jump out himself—
true to his natural makeup, he saved the
mechanic and took it himself as the car
turned over. For weeks his life hung in the
balance and for many score yards along the
streets adjacent to his home, sawdust was