John Francis "Bunny" Ahearne (19 November 1900 – 11 April 1985) 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 ...
administrator and businessman. He served rotating terms as president and vice-president of 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) from 1951 to 1975, and was the secretary of the
British Ice Hockey Association from 1934 to 1971, and later its president until 1982. He began in hockey by managing the last
Great Britain team to win a gold medal at the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...
, before moving to the international stage. He implemented business reforms at the IIHF, oversaw the growth of ice hockey to new countries, and expanded the
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 ...
. He was inducted into both the
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
and the
British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame during his lifetime and was posthumously inducted into the
IIHF Hall of Fame.
Early life
Ahearne was born on 19 November 1900, in
Kinnagh, County Wexford, Ireland.
He spent the majority of his life residing in England working as a
travel agent
A travel agency is a private Retailing, retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related Service (economics), services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel supply chain, suppliers to offer different kin ...
, and never played ice hockey.
British ice hockey
Ahearne was secretary of the
British Ice Hockey Association (BIHA) from 1934 to 1971, and served as the association's president from 1971 to 1982.
During this time he was also the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
's delegate to meetings of 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).
During this time he hired
Pat Marsh as his secretary, who later took over as the BIHA secretary when Ahearne became president.
Ahearne was the head coach of the
Great Britain ice hockey team which won a bronze medal at the
1935 Ice Hockey World Championships.
He continued working on the business management of the team for another three years,
and appointed
Percy Nicklin to take over the coaching duties.
Prior to Ahearne's involvement in the national team, it was composed of current and former army officers. He decreed that the national team needed to play at least four British-born players, and augmented the roster with imports.
He built a powerful British team by recruiting players living in Canada who obtained British citizenship under the
British nationality law
The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...
, through ancestral linkages to the United Kingdom.
Ahearne went to Canada in 1935 with team captain
Carl Erhardt
Carl Alfred Erhardt (15 February 1897 – 3 May 1988) was an English ice hockey player who was born in Beckenham, Kent. He captained the British national team to numerous international championships in the 1930s, including a gold medal at the 193 ...
to find the best available players. 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) reluctantly agreed to allow permission for any player wishing to transfer, as long as the BIHA would only use such players who were properly transferred.
The combined efforts of Ahearne, Nicklin, and Erhardt went on to win an Olympic gold medal and two silver medals for Great Britain in the next three years. The team earned the gold medal 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 ...
hosted in
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...
, which also determined the 1936 European Championship and the 1936 World Championship.
Great Britain later won silver at both the
1937 Ice Hockey World Championships and the
1938 Ice Hockey World Championships, and won the European championship both times.
International ice hockey
Ahearne was part of the IIHF delegation who travelled to North America in 1947 to convince the CAHA and the
Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) to resume being active members.
He later welcomed the
Soviet Union Ice Hockey Federation to IIHF membership in 1952.
He served as the CAHA's representative in Europe until 1952, and booked European tours and accommodations for the
Canada men's national ice hockey team
The Canada men's national ice hockey team (popularly known as Team Canada; ) is the ice hockey team representing Canada internationally. The team ...
. He resigned after an altercation with CAHA president
Doug Grimston and disagreements over the handling of a tour for the
Edmonton Mercurys.
Ahearne served as vice-president of the IIHF from 1951 to 1957, then as president from 1957 to 1960, then as vice-president again from 1960 to 1963, returned to the presidency from 1963 to 1966, returned to vice-presidency from 1966 to 1969, and then president again from 1969 to 1975.
The alternating terms as president and vice-president arose from the agreement where the CAHA and AHAUS rejoined the IIHF with the promise of rotating the top position between Europe and North America.
The other IIHF presidents during that time were
Robert Lebel from Canada (1960 to 1963), and
William Thayer Tutt from the United States (1966 to 1969).
During his time with the IIHF, Ahearne is credited with improving its finances, cooperating with the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(IOC), and helping to develop and introduce hockey to new countries.
He also transformed the
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 ...
into a well-known annual tournament,
and implemented the splitting of the event into different tiers of competition.
He also oversaw the foundation of both the
IIHF European Junior Championships
The IIHF European Junior Championships were an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation and held from 1968 to 1998, with an unofficial tournament being held in 1967. The tournament was played as a U19 tourn ...
and the
Izvestia Cup in 1967.
He introduced advertisements on the side boards of hockey rinks during the World Championships, and secured
broadcasting rights for international matches.
He is also credited for redistributing funds and
profit sharing
Profit sharing refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses which provide direct or indirect payments to employees, often depending on the company's profitability, employees' regular salaries, and bonuses. In publicly traded compa ...
from these events to IIHF members for development.
In 1969, the IIHF voted to allow limited use of former professional players at international competitions. The decision was later challenged by the Soviet Union, claiming that Canada would abuse the change at the upcoming
1970 World Ice Hockey Championships. When the IOC did not support the change, Ahearne was caught in the middle and later changed his position. The CAHA responded by withdrawing from international play until 1977.
This dispute led to the negotiation of the 1972
Summit Series
The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (), or Series of the Century (), was an eight-game ice hockey series between the Soviet Union and Canada, held in September 1972. It was the first competition between the Soviet nation ...
, of which Ahearne was one of the four signatories who approved the event on 18 April 1972, along with
Fred Page
Frederick Page (September 29, 1915 – December 23, 1997) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator and Official (ice hockey), ice hockey referee. He originated from Port Arthur, Ontario, where he played junior ice hockey, refereed locally and l ...
,
Joe Kryczka
Joseph Julius Kryczka (; June 4, 1935 – January 11, 1991) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, coach and referee, and had a legal career as a lawyer and judge, where he was commonly known as "Justice Joe". He graduated from the Universit ...
, and
Andrey Starovoytov. He retired as IIHF president in 1975, and was replaced by
Günther Sabetzki Günther Sabetzki (4 June 1915 in Düsseldorf, German Empire – 21 June 2000) was a German executive for several ice hockey leagues and organizations.
Sabetzki was one of the founding members of the German Ice Hockey Federation in 1963. He w ...
.
Personal life
Ahearne operated Blue Riband Travel from offices on
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...
.
He was married to Betty, and had two sons. He died on 11 April 1985, at his home in
Toddington, Gloucestershire, due to heart failure.
Gord Renwick attended the funeral on behalf of Canada, and said that despite their disagreements, Ahearne was respected by Canadian officials for his business sense.
Honours and awards
Ahearne received
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...
Gold Stick Award in 1948, and the AHAUS citation award in 1949. He was named an honorary president of the IIHF in 1975.
He was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
in 1977, the
British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, and posthumously inducted into
IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997.
He also received the Cross of Finland, the Order of Yugoslavia, and the Gold Cross of Austria.
He was the namesake of the
Ahearne Cup
Ahearne Cup or Ahearne Trophy is the name of two ice hockey tournaments, the first played from 1952 to 1977 and the second created in 2001. Both are named after United Kingdom, British ice hockey promoter, Bunny Ahearne, J. F. "Bunny" Ahearne.
Th ...
that began in 1952 in Sweden, from the combined efforts of
Djurgårdens IF Hockey and the ''
Dagens Nyheter
(, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...
'' newspaper.
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahearne, Bunny
1900 births
1985 deaths
20th-century English businesspeople
20th-century Irish businesspeople
British businesspeople in tourism
British hospitality businesspeople
British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
British sports executives and administrators
Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Ice hockey people in the United Kingdom
IIHF Hall of Fame inductees
International Ice Hockey Federation executives
Sportspeople from County Wexford
Sportspeople from Gloucestershire
Travel agents (people)