Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction June 2016
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/15/2016
The RCAF Flyers famed 1948 Olympic saga began with Senior Medical Officer and Squadron Leader A. Gardner “Sandy” Watson love of hockey and Canada's role in international competition. Upon learning Canada wasn’t able to ice a team of amateurs that met newly-revised Olympic guidelines, he convinced his superiors, including Air Marshal Wilf Curtis, the boys from the Royal Canadian Air Force could pull it off and represent Canada. Despite their mediocre performance in the Ottawa Senior League and less-than favourable reviews in the media, the team of current and ex-air force members along with some army colleagues would go undefeated in Switzerland, bringing home the first gold medal in hockey for Canada since 1932. While Julius "Pete" Leichnitz played in the team's many exhibition games overseas due to a rule that allowed teams to only ice 12 players he was a reserve and didn’t participate in any of the Olympic matches. This is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a true piece of Canadian hockey history. In this lot we have the gold medal won by Julius “Pete” Leichnitz while representing Canada with the RCAF Flyers at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz Switzerland. Designed by Paul-André Droz, the 105 gram medal’s obverse has embossed text with “Vmes Jeux Olympiques D’Hiver St Moritz 1948” between two snow crystals along with the name of the maker “Huguenin” near the bottom edge. The reverse features a raised Olympic torch, with the Games iconic rings in the background encompassed by six snow crystals. The Olympic motto “Citius Altius Fortius” (Latin for “Faster, Higher, Stronger”) arches across the top, with the designer’s initials “PD” (Paul Andre Droz) along with maker “Huguenin” near the bottom edge. In gorgeous condition, accompanied by its original presentation box. An LOA from the Leichnitz family will be included.
At just over 2 ¼” in diameter, the medal remains in gorgeous condition with very minimal wear. There are a few tiny surface scratches on the obverse near the bottom and on the right, along with some surface wear on the torches flames. There are also a few small marks on the edges of both the obverse and reverse, most prominently at the top of the torch, with a dark mark on the medal’s side. The original Huguenin case is included, with the Olympic rings on the lid in gold, along with the maker listed on the top section of the inside lid. Exhibiting handling wear, the case remains in good condition with blemishes on the lid, and wear to the surface especially along edges. There are also a few small spots of material loss on the underside.
The 1948 Winter Games were the first Olympics celebrated after World War II, coming 11 1/2 years after the 1936 Berlin Summer Games. Only 28 nations participated (same number as the previous 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Winter Games) with approximately 670 athletes across 22 events in just four sports. Aside from Barbara Ann Scott who won gold for figure skating, Canada's hockey team were the only others to bring gold back home from the Games. We cannot stress how extremely rare and significant gold medals from these Games are, as this piece is worthy of inclusion in any world-class Olympic, hockey or Canadiana collection.
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