The Golden Bears—The University of Hockey

1 | Page 2

In 1922, the University of Saskatchewan’s Dr. J. Halpenny donated a new trophy for the top team in the WCIAU.  Because of the Second World War and the fact that many schools cut down on their athletics programs during the Depression, the Halpenny Trophy could only be contested eleven times between 1934-1950. In each of those eleven contents, it was the University of Alberta who  took home the trophy.

In 1950, CIAU officials decided to retire the Halpenny Trophy and permanently award it to the U of A. Amazingly, during much of the 1930s and 1940s, the Bears continued to play not only intercollegiate games but also a schedule in Alberta senior and intermediate amateur competitions.

In 1951, a new championship prize, the W.G. Hardy Trophy—named for the Bears’ famous coach—was inaugurated. Hardy not only led the Bears through much of the glory years, he was also instrumental in raising the funds for a Varsity Arena which opened in 1927, and was in use until the late 1950s.

Because of the team’s success during this time, the U of A rechristened the program as the "Golden" Bears, a name which has remained to the present day.

So great was the school’s reputation as a hockey power, the Golden Bears were often invited to go abroad. In 1938, the Golden Bears accepted an invitation for exhibition games in Los Angeles against the University of Southern California (USC) Trojans. At the time, the U of A had a limited school budget, and the Golden Bears decided to send a skeleton team by train to California. The Trojans selected many ringers to play in the games, which gave them a decided advantage over the road-weary Bears, and the USC swept the series.

In 1951, word of the Bears’ hockey dominance had spread so far, the famous American entertainer Bob Hope asked to have an audience with the team during a tour stop at Colorado College. In 1954, 1958 and 1960, the Golden Bears won WCIAU championships, with the latter two under the tutelage of Drake, who would go on to form a legacy that rivaled that of Hardy.

In 1961, a new national association, the CIAU, was formed; finally giving the country a truly national intercollegiate hockey championship. After an early period of domination by the University of Toronto in the 1960s, the University of Alberta established itself as the most successful team in CIAU hockey history, winning the University Cup in 1964, 1968, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1992, 1999 and 2000.

[back] [top]