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Inducted
in 1993 as a member of the 1936 Great Britain Olympic Championship team. Born on April 27th,
1909 in West Ham London, Bob Wyman was to become one of the two English
trained players on the 1936 Olympic gold medal winning team representing
Great Britain. He was to play in the second game of the tournament – a
three-nil win over Japan – before joining the BBC radio commentary
team. Aged fifteen, he became
the schoolboy long jump champion of England and learnt to skate and play
hockey around the six ice rinks then operating in London in the late
1920’s and early 1930’s. In 1933/34, Bob Wyman
combined his first season in ‘senior’ hockey playing with the
Grosvenor House Canadians, with success in speed skating. Already a
holder of the British ˝ mile indoor title, he won the national 440
yards outdoor crown staged at the Rickmansworth Aquadrome during a cold
snap in January 1934 – a triumph duly celebrated on a Gallagher’s
cigarette card. In October 1934,
together with the Canadians, he moved to the newly opened Empire Pool at
Wembley and played there for two seasons before joining the Richmond
Hawks for their final campaign in the English National League. Then
followed a winter playing for the Princes club at the lower level of the
London and Provincial League before the only season during wartime, that
of 1939/40 saw him rejoin the English National League with the Harringay
Greyhounds. Bob Wyman was the
archetypal defensive defenceman, with a personal high of 2 goals and 3
assists in 1940. Harringay and Great Britain coach at the time, Percy
Nicklin said of him, “he has an accurate and formidable bodycheck as
good as any Canadian.” After wartime service in
the Royal Navy saw him reach the rank of Lieutenant-Commander he
returned to playing, with the Wembley Monarchs for just nine games in
the 1946/47 season. His appearances on the ice grew fewer and he finally
retired three years later, ending his playing career with Sussex in the
Southern League. At international level, Bob Wyman represented Great Britain in the 1935 World Championships, scoring the only goal in a one-nil victory over the French, which helped to ensure the bronze medal. As well as the ’36 Olympics, he was selected for the 1938 and 1939 World Championship tournaments, making twenty appearances for his country in total. Compiled by Martin C.Harris – June 2000. |
