Alexander Albert Archer (1 May 1908 – 15 June 1979) was a British

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who played in the

English National League The English National League was an early ice hockey league in England. It was founded in 1935 by most of the teams who had previously competed in the English League (ice hockey), English League. It was suspended during the Second World War, but ...

for the

Wembley Lions The Wembley Lions were an English ice hockey team. History The team were founded in 1934 but showed a continuity with the London Lions team which had played at various venues since 1924. The Wembley team were based at the newly built Empire ...

. He is best remembered as a member of the

Great Britain national ice hockey team The Great Britain men's national ice hockey team (also known as Team GB) is the national ice hockey team that represents the United Kingdom. A founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1908, the team is con ...

which won gold in

ice hockey at the 1936 Winter Olympics The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, was the fifth Ice hockey at the Olympic Games, Olympic Championship, also serving as the tenth World Ice Hockey Championships, World Championships and ...

Sporting career

Archer was born in

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

to Scottish parents. They moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, when he was 3 years old.Harris, Martin C. (July 1998).
Alex 'Sandy' Archer
".

Ice Hockey Journalists UK Ice Hockey Journalists UK, abbreviated to IHJUK, is an organisation which was set up in 1984 to promote the interests of ice hockey and its writers, photographers and broadcasters. Originally called the British Ice Hockey Writers Association, abbr ...

. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. It was in Manitoba that Archer learned to play ice hockey and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

.Provincial Histories
". The Socceer Hall of Fame.ca. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. As well as being a Manitoban All-Star twice for ice hockey, Archer also played for the Manitoban All-Stars against a touring side from the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; ) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, its Wales women's national football team, correspo ...

in 1929 and against a touring side from the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (; also known as the Scottish FA and the SFA) is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA incl ...

in 1935. In 1993, Archer was inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame with the rest of the 1936 Olympic British ice hockey squad who had not previously been inducted.

Club career

Archer returned to England to join the Wembley Lions for the 1935–36 season. He played for the Lions for the next five seasons scoring a total of 82 goals and 77 assists. Archer was also selected to the

All-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

A Team in 1938, 1939, and 1940. Due to a fractured skull Archer's playing career came to an end in 1945, and he became a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

– first for Wembley and then for

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. RHPS are the Panthers' major sponsor for 2024–25. The Nottingham Panthers have won four league ...

and

Murrayfield Racers The Murrayfield Racers were an ice hockey team based in Edinburgh, Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consi ...

. As a successful coach he was selected to coach the All-star B Team in 1947 and then again in 1948.

International career

Archer was selected to play for the Great Britain team at the 1936 Winter Olympics. However, this led to a complaint from the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; ) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction included senior ice hockey leagues and the Allan Cup, ...

(CAHA) to the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

(IIHF) as they claimed he had not been released from the Association. The IIHF suspended Archer for the duration of the tournament. CAHA president E. A. Gilroy chose not to object on the eve of the Olympics to Archer participating as a gesture of sportsmanship towards Great Britain. Archer went on to play in all seven of the games of the tournament and scored two goals.Archer, Alex 'Sandy'
. A to Z Encyclopaedia of Ice Hockey. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. Archer won two further medals with the GB team, winning silver medals at the 1937 and 1938

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

.Great Britain Rosters: 1938
".

. Retrieved on 30 November 2009. Archer retired from ice hockey in 1945 after he received a fractured skull in a game for GB against Sweden. Archer played 24 times for GB, scoring 14 goals and 10 assists.

Awards

*Two time Manitoban All-star. *Olympic gold medalist in 1936. *World championship silver medalist in 1937 and 1938. *Named to the English National League All-star A Team in 1938, 1939 and 1940. *Named as coach to the English National League All-star B Team in 1947 and 1948. *Inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.

References

External links

*
British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Alex 1908 births 1979 deaths British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees English ice hockey right wingers English people of Scottish descent Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Ice hockey players at the 1936 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1936 Winter Olympics Nottingham Panthers coaches Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic ice hockey players for Great Britain Olympic medalists in ice hockey People from West Ham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Newham Wembley Lions players