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John Coward

John Coward
 1936 Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist
John Coward - Date of Birth: 28 Oct 1910
(Back row - Chappell, Stinchcombe, Archer, Dailley, Nicklin, (coach), Kilpatrick, Erhardt, Johnny "Red" Coward, Davey
Front row - Borland, Child, Foster, Brenchley.   Bob Wyman is missing from this photo .) 
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Many thanks to Rob Jovanovic full time author and hockey fan based in Nottingham, England for the information and player names in this photograph.)  Also here is a remarkable photograph of the team at the - 1937 World Championships in London. -(Be patient this may take several seconds to open. John is in the back row, third from the left.)

Johnny 'Red' Coward - LW
Born 1910 in Ambleside in the Lake District, but grew up in Fort Frances, ON, Canada. He returned to UK in 1935 spending two seasons with the Richmond Hawks in the English League. Coward played 6 out of 7 games in the 1936 OG, scoring 1 goal. With the outbreak of war, he spent four years overseas as an instructor in the Military Police, before returning to Fort Frances to work in a paper mill until 1969. Moving back into the world of sport, he ran a pro-golf shop and coached minor league.

1936 British Mens Hockey team:

  • Alexander Archer
  • James Borland
  • Edgar Brenchley
  • James Chappell
  • John Coward
  • Gordon Dailley
  • John Davey
  • Carl Earhardt
  • James Foster
  • John Kilpatrick
  • Archibald Stinchcombe
  • Robert Wyman

    • Canada had won all four Olympic hockey tournaments going to Germany, outscoring the opposition 209-8, and there was no reason to believe that trend would not continue. The 1935 Allan Cup champion Halifax Wolverines were given the honour of representing Canada, but after they demanded payment to compete, they were disqualified. The Port Arthur Bear Cats, runners-up to the Wolverines, made the trip to Germany.

    Before the hockey tournament began, Canadian officials filed a protest against England's entry which included 11 players who were Canadian-born. But under International Ice Hockey Federation residency rules, the 11 were eligible to play for England.

    After going 3-0 in the first round of competition, Canada found themselves drawn against Germany, Hungary and Great Britain in round two. Scottish-born Winnipegger Jimmy Foster, playing for England, turned in one of the best goaltending performances to hand the Canadians their first ever defeat in Olympic play, 2-1. Canada would go on to defeat Hungary 15-0 and Germany 6-2, but because round robin results against other teams were carried over into the final round, Canada began medal play with an 0-1 record. They would go on to defeat the United States 1-0 and Czechslovakia 7-0 but needed the United States to defeat England in the final game of the tournament. But after three overtime periods, officials called the game with the score tied 0-0. Britain was awarded gold while Canada took home silver, creating one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history.

    Since posting this story, I have been in contact with Rob Jovanovic who is currently writing a book on the 1936 olympic team and wanted some information on Johnny "Red" Coward.  I forwarded his email to John Pierce of the Fort Frances Times who then sent it to Justin Holmes Fort Frances Times Sports reporter.  Here is a copy of some of their correspondance,

    Justin's reply,
    . 
    Hello John, my name is Justin Holmes. I'm the sports reporter at the Fort Frances Times, and eventually got word from Kelly Jolicoeur through John Pierce that you're looking up information on John Coward.
    I dug up a copy of the obituary from 1989, and Coward did indeed die in Fort Frances at La Verendrye General Hospital. A private memorial service without public visitation was held. The obituary also states that he enlisted in the army 1939 and was discharged with the rank of sergeant. He retired from the Ontario Minnesota Pulp and Paper Mill in Fort Frances in 1972.

    He began playing hockey at the age of 14 (imagine that today, a Canadian boy not playing hockey until 14) and pursued his passion in golf after retirement, managing the pro shop for Rainy Lake Golf and Country Club for five years.

    His wife, Rose Coward (nee Makarenko) died 30 May 1998. Neither obituary makes any mention of children, but both mention their "numerous" nieces and nephews. John Coward was survived (at least as of 1989) by his sister, Mabel Anderson, of Campbell River, British Columbia. His wife Rose's brother, John Makarenko, died on 23 July 2003 but is survived by his daughter, Janice Chabot, married to Jim Chabot, who still live in Fort Frances and their chidren and grandchildren, so far as I was able to research.

    Coward's name still carries somewhat of a cache, particularly in terms of namedropping Fort Frances' hockey history, but mostly with older locals. Since Coward, a number of Fort Francesians have gone on to various elite levels in hockey - the UHL, ECHL, AHL, various leagues overseas and a few even in the NHL. This has taken some of the lustre from his reputation, but some of the older folks steeped in the town's hockey heritage remember him, if only by reputation.

    I'm not sure what else I could do to help, but if there's anything, feel free to let me know. We'd also very much like to run something in the Times to preface this book's release, by virtue of Coward's place in it, whatever it may be. If a publishing date is still far off, we'd still like to know when it's close at hand.

    Hope this helps, and hope to hear from you."

    Justin Holmes

    Sports Reporter

    Fort Frances Times Ltd.

    Hi Justin
    Thanks for getting in touch, Kelly mentioned that my email had been forwarded on but I didn't anticipate such a quick and detailed reply! Many thanks!
    I don't know how much (if anything) you know about the 1936 winter games, but they were filled with all kinds of controversies, one of which was centred around the British players who had learned the game in Canada. My search to find their relatives has been interesting to say the least!
    Of the 13 man British team I've found links to 10 of the families, plus this new info on John Coward and so I have only two more to go.
    (I've checked and two 'M Anderson's are listed in Campbell River, BC, plus Janice Chabot is listed in Fort Frances, I'll be in touch with them all very soon).
    All of the players had interesting lives after the 1936 games and will be featured within the book.
    The two that have so far eluded me are as follows (any advice or help would be gratefully appreciated!)
    1. Arthur 'Art' Child
    Back-up goalie in 1936 didn't play a single minute, but afterwards he appeared in several English movies. After the war he settled back in Canada and was an MP in the 1950s. Apparently he died in 1996 in Canada while playing golf.
    2. John Gerry (or Jerry) Davey.
    Top GB scorer in 1936, he signed himself out of his sick bed with a temperature of over 100 degrees and scored the first goal in the famous win against Canada. He seems to have settled in St. Catherines, Ontario in 1951 or 1952 with wife Susie (Susan?) and two daughters Gillian and Janice born roughly in 1936 and 1938. I guess if they were still alive they might but be 'Davey's, nor would any of their children. I can find no record of Gerry's death in the UK or Canada, but of course the online archives are never 100% accurate.
    The book most likely won't be published until late 2008 or early 2009. Of course I will get you some copies in advance of publication. If you wanted to run anything before then (eg. anyone in Fort Frances remember John coward?) I'd be happy to answer questions or provide more info.
    Many thanks again
    Rob Jovanovic
    ps.
    John Coward's 1936 GB jersey is listed as being held in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto
    pps.
    I've attached a couple of pictures, one is the GB team for the 1937 World Championship (Photo 2) in London which is quite crisp and clean, the players on it are as follows:

    Back row: Nicklin (coach), McQuade, Coward, Chappell, Stinchcombe, Archer, Dailley, McPhail, Anderson, unidentified trainer.

    Front row: Goldie, Kelly, Foster, Brenchley, Davey.
    The other picture is of GB captain Carl Erhardt and his car, which I'm told is a Lagonda M45. He drove himself from London to Garmisch to play in the games, a journey which I drove this past summer and took three days to do so. It must have been quite a trek 70+ years ago. One of his sons still has the car and it is in full working order!"
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