page_title: W. G. Hardy
section_title: International Ice Hockey Federation
hierarchical_section_title: W. G. Hardy / Hockey career / International Ice Hockey Federation
caption_attribution_description: English: 1951-1952 Copy 1 50 cm x 40.5 cm Copy 2 35.5 cm x 30.3 cm Copy 3 ( no size) 3 Black and white photographs. Group photograph of the Lethbridge Maple Leafs Hockey Club, world's amateur champions, Churchill cup winners, Paris - 1951-1952 - London. From left to right back row: Danny Flanigan, Don McLean, Dick Gray (Coach), Whitey Rimstad, Bill Gibson, Stan Obodiac, Tom Wood, Hector Negrello (Captain), Bill Flick. Middle row: Mickey Roth, Jim Malacko, Mallie Hughes, Bill Chandler, Don Vogan. Bottom row: A (Nap) Milroy, Carle Sorokoski, Louis Siray, Bert Knibbs. Cup and medals also in the Museum Collection. To obtain high quality and larger reproductions of this image please visit the Galt Museum &amp; Archives website: http://www.galtmuseum.com/archives.htm and include thIs number in your request: P19754345000
context_page_description: William George Hardy CM was a Canadian professor, writer, and ice hockey administrator. He lectured on the Classics at the University of Alberta from 1922 to 1964, and served as president of the Canadian Authors Association. He was an administrator of Canadian and international ice hockey, and served as president of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, the International Ice Hockey Association, and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
  Hardy was self-taught in Greek and Latin. He paid his way through university by earning scholarships, and won the Governor General's Academic Medal in Classics and English. He earned a Master of Arts at the University of Toronto, and then a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. He educated about the Classics and world events by radio, and gave 250 talks on CBC Radio. He was critical of progressive education in Alberta, arguing it did not prepare students for university and lacked emphasis on the three Rs. He authored eight novels, six other books, and over 200 short stories published in Maclean's and The Saturday Evening Post.
context_section_description: The LIHG was renamed the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1948. Hardy was elected president of the IIHF at the July 1948 congress held in Zürich. He succeeded Fritz Kraatz who became the vice-president. Hardy was the first North American to be elected president of the IIHF. He considered the position to be recognition of Canada's contribution to hockey, and hoped for a World Championship to be hosted in Canada by 1950.
  Hardy anticipated that once post-war travel restrictions were lifted, European teams would rank favourably with Canadian teams, and thought a European country would be able to win the World Championship. The IIHF allowed for any of its member countries to send a team to the 1949 Ice Hockey World Championships, instead of limiting the event to eight teams. The championships were hosted in Stockholm, with the gold medal won by the Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team.
  In May 1949, the IIHF, CAHA and AHAUS hosted their annual meetings concurrently at the New Yorker Hotel. At the 1949 meeting, the North American professional and amateur leagues agreed to a campaign on selling hockey to the Canadian and American public. A committee composed of the NHL president Clarence Campbell, CAHA president Pickard, and IIHF president Hardy, was made to "plan and develop a positive statement of hockey objectives for a vigorous presentation to the public". The campaign was in response to alleged exploitation of young hockey players by professional teams.
  The 1950 Ice Hockey World Championships were played in London. The reigning champion Czechoslovakia, did not participate in protest of two radio broadcasters who were denied travel visas. Czechoslovakia also feared losing players, due to recent defection of Jaroslav Drobný. Despite the politics, Hardy stressed that the event was "to promote international amity". Canada won the gold medal at the 1950 championships, and Hardy credited the Sweden men's national ice hockey team for great improvements reflecting the growth of the game in Sweden.
  The IOC rejected a May 1950 proposal to allow each individual sports federation to determine its own respective definition of amateur, but agreed to an Olympic ice hockey tournament in 1952 using the IOC definition of amateur. Hardy stated that the IIHF had no intention of negotiating for inclusion in the 1952 Winter Olympics under the terms announced by the IOC, and asserted that the IIHF had the right to decide on its definition of amateur.
  In November 1950, the Lethbridge Maple Leafs embarked on a 60-game exhibition tour prior to the 1951 Ice Hockey World Championships, to raise the $10,000 to cover travel expenses and lost wages for the players. Hardy stated that profits for exhibition tours of Europe were limited by the number of rinks in Sweden, competition for ice shows in Great Britain, and that gate receipts were not allowed to be taken out of Czechoslovakia. The 1951 World Championships were hosted in Paris, and Canada won the gold medal represented by Lethbridge.
  The IIHF presidency reverted to European control in 1951, and Kraatz returned to the post succeeding Hardy. Hardy remained a director with the IIHF, and recommended that the Soviet Union national ice hockey team be allowed to enter ice hockey at the 1952 Winter Olympics, provided there is no political interference and that IIHF rules were followed.
caption: The Lethbridge Maple Leafs (team pictured) played in the Western Canada Senior Hockey League organized by Hardy, and won the 1951 Ice Hockey World Championship while he was IIHF president.
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