In the Early 20Th Century, Descendants of Icelandic Immigrants in North America Had to fight for Acceptance in Many Walks of Life
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Lögberg-Heimskringla • Online supplement to Issue 6, 2005 • 1 In the early 20th century, descendants of Icelandic immigrants in North America had to fight for acceptance in many walks of life. Professional hockey was no exception, and few fought harder than Cully Wilson, who played for teams ranging from Win- nipeg to Toronto to Seattle. Wes Wilson and Elma (Wilson) Kozub tell the story. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF WES WILSON hile growing up in Vidir, Vidir was also the home of our afi Wilson family, Cully’s story might well Manitoba during the 1950s, Albert Wilson who, in his later years, have been forgotten were it not for my Wour hockey experience was lived next door to us on our farm. Afi sister Elma. Over the past 20 years, she limited to watching weekend scrim- was a wonderful conversationalist, has devoted herself to researching and mages played on an outdoor rink just naturalist and storyteller, and it was documenting the many branches of our north of my great-uncle Siggi Sigvalda- through him that we first heard about family tree with painstaking thorough- son’s general store. Memories of those the exploits of his brother Cully, who ness. The result is a comprehensive crisp winter afternoons are as clear as had found a measure of fame, if not for- written record of our family’s roots that if they happened yesterday. The stars tune, during the early years of profes- include the Erlendson (Wilson) im- of those games were hard-working sional hockey in Canada and the United migration to Canada in the late 1800s men and boys from our community States. through to the present. who relished the opportunity to let off Afi always spoke proudly of this tal- One night in 2000, I was relaxing a little steam after a long week on the ented athlete who had gone on to fulfill and reading the chapter Elma had writ- farm. In retrospect, it’s amazing how his dreams in the “pros” and his stories ten about Cully. As I read through the well they played. Their speed, skill and intrigued our family as we were grow- details of his life, I began to realize what heady competition more than inspired ing up. But Cully was a mythic figure a fascinating man this was. It was as if the next generation of us kids who sim- who lived far away, and after afi passed afi’s pride in his brother had suddenly ply wanted to learn how to skate well away in 1956, many of those memories been awakened in me. I immediately enough to make it from one end of the gradually faded away as well. went to my computer and typed “cully rink to the other. For succeeding generations of the wilson” into the search engine. I didn’t 2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Online supplement to Issue 6, 2005 Cully (back row, far right) started playing for the Winnipeg Vikings in 1909 at the age of 17. have any great expectations as I waited newcomers to Canada at the time, Ice- tier Icelandic league in Winnipeg at the for the page to load, but I was immedi- landers experienced problems fitting in time — the Vikings and the Falcons. ately rewarded with what seemed like a because of language and customs. Sig- Both of these teams were made gold mine of information. Since then, urdur understood this early on and de- up entirely of Icelanders. They were Elma and I have continued our research cided to change his surname. Adopting shunned by the elite Winnipeg City as a kind of impassioned hobby and an English-sounding name like Wilson League and weren’t allowed to com- have managed to collect a comprehen- was more likely to offer advantages in pete. That only made the Icelanders sive record of Cully’s life in hockey. a job market not always friendly to im- more determined and they formed their We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the ex- migrants. Their children, five sons and own league that included teams from perience of getting to know our great- three daughters, all grew up adopting Selkirk, Portage la Prairie, and Win- uncle better. What we discovered was the Wilson name. nipeg’s AAA League. At times adver- a man full of grit, determination and Cully grew up on Home Street in sity and alienation can provoke great- pride whose talents with skates and a an area some referred to as Winnipeg’s ness, and out of that situation a hockey stick offered him unbelievable opportu- Icelandic “West End.” From an early powerhouse grew. It finally manifested nities to succeed. It’s also the story of age he showed a natural talent and pas- itself in 1920 when the Winnipeg Fal- an enormously competitive man with a sion for skating, and ultimately hockey. cons won the Allen Cup, and with it, short fuse who played and fought hard We don’t know a lot about how Cully the right to compete in the 1920 Olym- in the game he loved. developed as an athlete at this time but pic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. They Cully was born in Winnipeg on it’s almost a certainty that he was no- won the gold. But that’s another well- June 5,1892 to Sigurdur Erlendson ticed and nurtured by some of the great documented story. and Metonia Indridsdottir. Like many hockey players that made up the two- Our first record of Cully’s career Lögberg-Heimskringla • Online supplement to Issue 6, 2005 • 3 begins in 1909, when he started play- ing hockey in earnest with the Vikings. He was 17 years old. The next year he started the season with the Winnipeg Falcons, but his talents soon brought him to the attention of the Kenora Thistles, who had won the Stanley Cup in 1907 in a matchup against the Mon- treal Wanderers. To this day, Kenora, Ontario retains the distinction of being the smallest town to ever host a Stanley Cup winner. There he played for a por- tion of the year before finishing off the season with the famed Winnipeg Mon- archs. The Monarchs were the elite Win- nipeg team at the time, and for the young Icelander it was a validation of his emerging abilities as a player. Cully In 1912 Cully joined the Toronto Blueshirts (seen here in 1914). went back to the Falcons for the 1911 season, but the pro scouts were out and the Toronto Blueshirts met in the 1914 22 goals. He also amassed an incred- about on the Prairies, and he’d been no- Stanley Cup final. Some statistics show ible 138 minutes in penalties that year, ticed. It was time to move on. Victoria of the Pacific Coast Hockey quite a feat considering the team’s 20- Cully officially joined the pro ranks Association meeting Toronto for the game schedule. The 1914/1915 season in 1912 when he signed with the To- championship. The PCHA was a new was Cully’s last with the Blueshirts. In ronto Blueshirts. They belonged to the league that had been formed on the West three years with the team, he had a re- National Hockey Association, an east- Coast in 1912 by Frank and Lester Pat- spectable 43 goals to his credit and had ern league that included the Montreal rick, and during the 1913/1914 season also gained notoriety in another area. Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ot- Victoria had come out on top. Within a Cully’s hard-hitting style and penchant tawa Senators, and Quebec Bulldogs. few days of Toronto beating Montreal, for a good mix-up had earned him a to- The NHA was Canada’s recognized the Victoria team headed east with the tal of 216 minutes in the penalty box. professional league at the time and purpose of facing off against the NHA He was quickly gaining a reputation as teams competed for the Stanley Cup. champs. the bad boy of hockey. Cully scored 12 goals in 19 games in However, Victoria had not formal- Out on the West Coast, the Patrick his debut, and though the Blueshirts did ly submitted a challenge and the NHA brothers were introducing hockey to a well during the season, the Bulldogs trustees didn’t recognize the legitimacy whole new audience. At various times won the Cup. of a series against Toronto. In sports- the Pacific Coast Hockey Association For 21-year-old Cully, the next manlike fashion, the two teams decided included teams from Victoria, Vancou- season was a dream come true. The to play anyway and the Blueshirts ul- ver, New Westminster, Spokane, Wash- Blueshirts finished at the top of the timately swept a best-of-five series. It ington and Portland, Oregon. But in standings along with the Canadiens. was an historic matchup in a number 1915, a brand new team was added that Neither team had ever competed for the of ways. Not only was it the first time would make hockey history. championship before and spirits were the top teams from the two leagues With the Seattle Metropolitans, high as the series opened in Montreal. met, but it also began a process that the Patricks were determined to make The Canadiens had a powerhouse team would include PCHA teams competing hockey a success in the west, and they that included Newsy Lalonde and the against the NHA for the Stanley Cup. It began raiding the eastern NHA of its legendary Georges Vezina in goal, and was also the start of an east-west rivalry best players. The Toronto Blueshirts Montreal came away with a 2-0 home that helped spread hockey’s popularity were a favorite target, and in 1915 Cul- ice victory.