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Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986. Born
on November 24th, 1901 in Kinnagh, County Wexford Ireland,
John Francis Ahearne was one of ice hockey’s leading administrators. At
the age of sixteen years, he volunteered to serve in the British army
during World War One and went onto lead a very busy life in business
and as a hockey administrator. His business career began in 1927
working in a travel agency and within a year had opened his own
agency. Ahearne, who never wore skates himself, first watched ice
hockey at the Golders Green rink in North London in 1931 and he
immediately recognised the sports great possibilities and began
handling the transport requirements and arrangements for visiting
teams from North America. He
became the Assistant Secretary of the British Ice Hockey Association
for the 1933/34 season and full General Secretary the following year.
He served in the capacity of secretary until 1971, when he became
president until retiring in 1982. In 1934, he became manager of the GB
national team and amongst numerous achievements during his tenure was
the teams’ 1936 Olympic gold medal success. During this period, he
also represented Great Britain in the International Ice Hockey
Federation, joining the council in 1947. Between
1951 and 1975, he actively served the IIHF three times as both Vice
President and President, with his first term in the top position
within the sport in 1954. The alternating role was due to the IIHF
having an internal agreement that the presidential roles had to switch
between a North American and a European on a three-year cycle. While
serving on the IIHF council, Ahearne took an active role in
advertising and television rights matters. Ahearne was very skilled at
combining his official functions with his business commitments, and
became a member of the ‘Association of Eastern Ice Arenas’ based
in New York. In
all, John Francis Ahearne represented Great Britain in the IIHF for
forty years and, in 1977 after his retirement from the IIHF, he was
elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada. J.F. ‘Bunny’ Ahearne died on April 11th,
1985 at Toddington, Gloucestershire. Compiled
with research provided by Martin.C.Harris,
Tony Allen and the IIHF 90th Anniversary Handbook
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