BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Sixty-seven years ago, the Sudbury Wolves
senior hockey team was the best team in the world.
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Ontario Hockey Federation
representative Joe Drago displays memorabilia from the
Wolves' 1938 World Hockey Championship game. |
In 1938, the Wolves defeated England 3-1 to
win the World Hockey Championship in Prague,
Czechoslovakia.
This remarkable accomplishment will be the
focus of a celebration on Friday night at the Sudbury Wolves
game. A banner commemorating the
achievement will be raised to the rafters at
the Sudbury Arena, where it will stay for eternity.
"It's about time, and we are inviting all
Sudburians out for this historic moment in our community to
celebrate a world championship," said Joe Drago, vice president
of the Ontario Hockey federation and representative of Hockey
Canada. "Not too many towns in the world can make that claim.
We should be extremely proud and pleased with this significant
achievement. When they raise the banner and people hear the
Canadian National Anthem playing...
everyone will get a tremendously proud
feeling."
The 1938 team was comprised of 13 players,
including nine from the Sudbury and Northern Ontario area. The
remaining four were from the Toronto
area.
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The Sudbury Wolves senior team,
circa 1938. |
Although there will be no actual players from
the 1938 squad, a few surviving family members will be present
to accept souvenir jerseys.
Left winger Pearcy Allen's son Ken, and his
wife Marlaine, will be in attendance. Centre Pat McReavey's
granddaughter, Kim Burns,will also be on hand.
Drago, who did most of the leg work to set up
the historic moment, did manage to track down one surviving
member of the winning team, Glen
Sutherland, but he was unable to make the
journey from Kelowna, B.C due to health reasons.
Joining Drago and the families on the ice
will be Wolves' owner Marc Burgess, Nickel Belt MP Ray Bonin,
president of the Northern Ontario Hockey
Association, Dick Prescott and Chris
Sheridan, representing the Sudbury House of Kin and the Sudbury
Sports Hall of Fame.
There will be sweater presentations and the
official raising of the 1938 Championship banner.
"As Hockey Canada looks at the future of
hockey in Canada, we want to respect the past," said Hockey
Canada president Bob Nicholson in a news release. "Winning a
world championship has always been something very special to
Canadians. When the Sudbury Wolves competed in the World
Championships and won in 1938, this was a very special moment
for these players, families and all of their fans in the city
of Sudbury, but also very
important for Canadians across the
country."
Hockey fans will also appreciate a special
treat that's in store for the evening.
On display, in the arena, will be Pearcy
Allen's original 1938 jersey and his gold medal, the World
Championship trophy and a sterling vase given to
the coach of the team, Max Silverman, from
the mayor of Prague.
