bout de papier, Vol. 25, No. 3 (2010) — Fall 2010 // Automne 2010, pp. 18–21
In the last issue of bout de papier, we paid tribute to one of our most distinguished and beloved former diplomats, Arthur Menzies, who passed away in early March. One of his least-known diplomatic involvements came during his posting to Japan in the early 1950s. At the time, Canada’s experience with what is now called hockey diplomacy was rather uneven. As the exchange below suggests, at least one of the early tours by a Canadian hockey team generated more ill feeling than goodwill (at least one Canadian ambassador in Scandinavia pleaded with the Department of External Affairs to be spared the dubious honour of hosting another group of thugs on skates and dealing with the outraged local press). However, the Japan Skating Association was keen to welcome a Canadian team, albeit presumably with expectations of more gentlemanly conduct. Arthur Menzies, then Chargé d’affaires in Tokyo, and J.C. “Bubs” Britton, the Commercial Counsellor there, be carne ensnared in the complications of relations between national sports organizations, which evidently suffered from some of the afflictions known to diplomacy, including unauthorized interventions and lapses in communications.
We are pleased to note, however, that our intrepid Canadian representatives, with the support of a sports-minded minister and devoted hockey fan, Mike Pearson, were able to secure an outcome favourable to all, thanks in no small part to the exemplary conduct on and off the ice of the Kenora Thistles (an amateur team of that name had defeated the Montreal Wanderers for the Stanley Cup in 1907 before folding; since then, teams at various levels from Junior A to Senior have borne the same name). The files do not record any follow-up to Pearson’s invitation or threat to have Menzies head up an “Olympic and International Athletic Division” when he returned to headquarters. As Jacques Roy recalled in bout, Menzies was personally more devoted to tennis than to hockey.
The reprinted documents come from the records of the Department of External Affairs (RG25) at Library and Archives Canada, volume 8203, file 8137-C-40, part 1. We would like to thank archivist Paulette Dozois, who has maintained a well-deserved reputation for expertise and helofulness, for drawing these documents to our attention and for providing bout de papier with copies.
Hector Mackenzie
The Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan, to the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, Canada, Letter No. 1329, December 12, 1952.
Subject: Visit to Japan of Canadian Ice Hockey Team
Last summer the Minister wrote
to Mr. J.C. Britton, Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy, about the possibility of Mr. Max Silverman, President of the Sudbury Hockey Club Ltd, Nickel Range Hotel, Apt. 1, Sudbury, bringing out a Canadian amateur hockey team to Japan this winter. Mr. Britton, who has been following hockey activities here since he came out more than 3 years ago, took the matter up with the Japan Skating Association. The Association after deliberation decided to invite Mr. Silverman to arrange for a Canadian team to visit Japan for about 3 weeks in January to play a series of about a dozen games. There was some correspondence back and forward during the summer and fall about the arrangements for the team to come out. The Mainichi Shimbun which last year sponsored the visit to Japan of the New York Metropolitan Club agreed to underwrite the venture. The terms agreed upon were that the Japan Skating Association would pay all expenses for the trip to Japan and back for a 15 member team, including coach; they should arrive in Japan on January 7 and stay for a 3 week period, playing 11 to 12 games. These games would be against university teams, company teams, all-Tokyo and all-Japan teams. A request for authorization was made to Mr. George Dudley, secretary-manager of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, Midland, Ontario. Some difficulty was encountered about getting the necessary foreign exchange allocation from the Japanese Government to pay travel costs. I gave some assistance in this matter, pointing out the goodwill that would be developed through a visit of this kind and it eventually went through. Canadian Pacific Airlines agreed to give some financial assistance in the matter; I think in terms of a 10% discount or 3 fares or something of that kind.
Mr. Britton wrote to
eMr. Silverman on December I pointing out that a visit of this kind was of importance in building international good relations through sport. For that reason he hoped that Mr. Silverman would pick players who would be fast skating, smooth
L.B. Pearson to Arthur Menzies, personal, 5 January 1953.
Ottawa, January 5, 1953. Arthur Menzies, Esq., Canadian Embassy, TOKYO, Japan.
Dear Arthur,
Now that I have returned from New York, the holiday season is over, and I have a minute, I must write you about the unfortunate developments concerning the visit to Japan of the Canadian hockey team about which you and “Bubs” Britton are so understandably concerned.
When Britton’s wires arrived, Miss Macdonald spoke to me in New York right away and, as a result, she got in touch with the President of the C.A.H.A., Mr. George, who had, as a matter of fact, already asked to see me about this matter. The attitude taken by the Association was a discouraging one, but it was not due, I can assure you, to pique on their part. I think they felt that the proposed trip on the basis of which passing and not heavy checking. A copy of this letter was also sent to Mr. Dudley, Mr. Campbell of the National Hockey League and to Mr. Pearson.
On December 8 I gave a reception
at the Embassy attended by members of the Japan Skating Association and representatives of the various newspapers at which Mr. Takeda of the J.S.A. announced the proposed visit of the Canadian team.
Two days later an AP report from
eSudbury said that the CAHA had refused permission for the Junior Falconbridge Wolves team to visit Japan since they had not engaged in competition this year. This newspaper report quickly upset the Japan Skating Association representatives who descended on the Embassy to see it was being organized would not redound to the credit of Canada or to the credit of Canadian hockey. It would, of course, have been helpful and possibly have avoided later disappointment if the Japan Skating Association had got in touch with the Association here much earlier; for example, right after Silverman wrote to Mr. Harai on October 17, suggesting that he get in touch with Mr. Dudley as, of course, the Association could not make any definite arrangements until it had received a direct and definite invitation.
When Maxie Silverman approached me in the first place, he wrote Mr. Britton an informal letter to enquire about the feasibility. He did mention also that arrangements would have to be made through the Canadian Hockey Association. When Britton wrote on July 25th to say that the suggestion had been favourably received, Ireplied on August 1, saying that I had sent Mr. Harai’s letter on to Maxie Silverman, suggesting that he pursue the matter himself with the C.A.H.A. what we could do to straighten the matter out. At the time of writing this letter our efforts are still continuing to see what can be done to untangle the snarl and get a Canadian ice hockey team out to meet the schedule. Time is passing, the J.S.A. is anxious to begin ticket sales and are naturally puzzled about the ins and outs of Canadian hockey politics.
You will find in the files of
the Minister’s office copies of telegrams from Mr. Britton on this subject. I have maintained the closest consultation with Mr. Britton in this matter but have left things in his hands as it seemed better to keep the whole matter in one channel.
A.R. Menzies Charge d’Affaires ai.
I also spoke to Mr. George about Silverman’s proposal and said that I thought that the tour of a Canadian team, insofar as Japanese-Canadian relations were concerned, would have good and useful results if, but only if the team were as good on the ice as foreigners expect the Canadians to be, and if they conducted themselves off the ice in a way which would bring credit to our country. Mr. George said that the Association would very much like to send a team to Japan and that they would certainly consider the invitation, and so they waited for the word from the Japan Hockey Association which, as you know, was not received until early in December.
The C.A.H.A. felt that they could not approve Silverman’s team as finally selected, probably because the players had no experience in league playing this fall, nor had they worked together as a team. In view of past experience in Europe, especially with a team under Silverman’s direction, they thought that more ill-will than good was created during their tour. The C.A.H.A. felt it important that a proper selection should be made this time. Everyone here agrees with this stand, as I know you do. By the way, I did not receive the copy of Britton’s December 1st letter to Silverman which you said was sent to me. In fact, I did not have any inkling until your first telegram arrived December 11th that the proper approach had not been made or that anything was amiss. Otherwise, I might have intervened earlier.
Where I think the mistake was made at this end was in not making it quite clear to you that until the C.A.H.A. approved this venture, all proposals made by Silverman or by anybody else would have to be provisional. It might, of course, have been better if the necessary sanction had been received here by
Arthur Menzies to Hon. L.B. Pearson, Personal, 15 January 1953.
CANADIAN EMBASSY Tokyo, January 15, 1953. The Honourable L.B. Pearson, Secretary of State for External Affairs, Ottawa.
Dear Mr. Pearson,
Thank you for your full letter of January 5 which gives us the story from your end of the mix-up in the proposed visit to Japan of a Canadian ice hockey team. I think a post-mortem in this case instructive as we are still hopeful that the Japan Skating Association may consider extending an invitation again next season for a Canadian team to come out.
Britton and I were disappointed when we first got the news through the papers that the C.A.H.A. had knocked on the head the arrangement that had been made for Silverman to bring out a team. That disappointment was soon erased by the success which the Japanese had in arranging for an American team to come out and fill the schedule on the same terms. The Japanese Silverman from the C.A.H.A. before we got in touch with you at all. On the other hand, if we had adopted this course, the C.A.H.A. would undoubtedly have replied that they could not give official sanction until they got the reaction of the Japanese to the proposed tour. Mr. George has now given every assurance that the C.A.H.A. would be pleased to take advantage of any future invitation offered by the Japanese Hockey Association and I hope therefore if they are still interested Mr. Harai will get in touch with him in plenty of time to arrange a tour next winter.
In any event, this was an unfortunate business and I can understand how disappointed and, indeed, irritated you must have felt have taken the whole thing very courteously. It is certainly better that we should have this misunderstanding before the team came out than that the wrong type of team should have come out.
The Mayhews, Brittons and ourselves attended the opening game here between the visiting American amateur team and a Japanese university team. We were very hospitably received by Mr. [Prince] Takeda, President of the Japan Skating Association, Mr. Konishi of the Hockey Division of the J.S.A. and representatives of the sponsoring Mainichi Newspapers. Even at that first game Mr. Konishi expressed the hope that next year they might have a Canadian team out. Britton tells me that Mr. Takeda said the same thing to him. I think, therefore, that with the experience behind us of this false start we may hope to do better next year if the invitation is renewed by the Japanese, as we have reason to expect. We will write further on this after the American team has completed its tour.
There are a lot of hazards in the way of trying to steer international sporting events in a way that will promote goodwill. The Japanese love in Tokyo when things fell through at the last moment. We have also gained by this experience. Possibly the Department should stick to diplomacy and foreign affairs, and leave international sporting events to those directly concerned. You can, however, make a very good case that international sporting events have become a not unimportant part of international relations and, therefore, should be our concern. How would you like to return to Ottawa and head the Olympic and International Athletic Division!
All good wishes for 1953 to Sheila, yourself and the family.
Yours sincerely, L.B. Pearson their sports; they also enjoy winning occasionally. It is quite a bit for a five-foot 100 Ib Japanese to take on a six-foot 200 Ib Canadian hockey player without the very close refereeing which may seem to our fellows to kill a lot of the fun of the game. However, as the Japanese are persistent in wanting to raise their hockey-playing to international standards, they will find a way to meet foreign teams and will naturally want to tackle the best, which, of course, is Canadian in the hockey world. I suppose our job is not so much to promote such events as to ensure that when they are projected they should be arranged in such a way as to cause as little misunderstanding as possible and as much goodwill as possible.
I should add to this letter that Britton has been setting up the plays in this game and has managed to do some very creditable stick-handling.
Thank you for the personal interest which you have taken in this matter and for the time Mary Macdonald has devoted to hockey diplomacy.
Yours sincerely, (sgd) Arthur Menzies J.C. Britton to L.B. Pearson, 8 April 1954.
FOREIGN TRADE SERVICE Tokyo, April 8, 1954. The Hon. L.B. Pearson, Secretary of State for External Affairs, East Block, Ottawa, Canada.
Dear Mike:
The Kenora Thistles have come and gone covering themselves and Canada with distinction. They filed an exacting and strenuous schedule – 10 games in 15 days – without losing a game. They played the type of hockey which pleased the crowd in Japan, concentrating on smooth passing and fast skating, avoiding heavy body checking, boarding and the rugged type of hockey. I must say they exercised commendable restraint since the Japanese did a lot of hooking and slashing particularly from the knees downward and the bigger Thistle players were under constant provocation. The scores of the matches were rather one-sided but in the “All-Japan vs Canada games”, as the series progressed the Japanese Kept creeping up. The final game for instance finished 12-7. Seven goals is a lot I feel for a team like Japan to score against the 1953 Western Canadian Champions. The Japanese certainly learned quickly and improved as the series went along.
The C.A.H.A. sent a representative, Mr. James Dunn, First Vice President, with the team and he undertook most of the protocol associated with the tour and furthermore helped to keep them in order. The boys themselves, or I should say young men, because the ages ranged from 24 to 37, were pretty sensible fellows. I wrote one of my tear jerking epistles before the team left Kenora, advising them that their actions, both on and off the ice, would be watched closely and their conduct more than the actual results of the matches would be the criterion on which the success or failure of the tour would depend. The members of the team showed up for functions properly attired in neat suits with ties and furthermore arrived at the functions on time.
They showed the Japanese a calibre of hockey which has not been seen here since the war and perhaps ever. The officials of the Japan Ice
Skating Association informed me in confidence that a visit by any team other than a Canadian team in the future would be an anticlimax. The comparison between the relatively slow skating, heavy body checking foreign team which was in Japan at the beginning of 1953 was very marked. The Kenora Thistle tour was not profitable financially and I should think that the sponsors “Mainichi” lost from $3,000 to $5,000 on the venture. This was due primarily to the fact that it was held too late in the year. Spring-like and at times almost early summer weather prevailed and potential fans were seeking recreation out of doors. The tight money situation and the rather pessimistic outlook on the future of Japan’s economy which is prevailing at the moment, was perhaps another factor in keeping the attendance down. The sponsor “Mainichi” and the Japan Skating Association were unanimous in stating however that the financial loss is immaterial in view of the beneficial results to hockey in general in Japan. The Thistles made a favourable impression everywhere they played and at all the functions they attended.
I do think that the C.A.H.A. is to be commended for their choice of team to undertake the Japanese tour and the selection of Mr. Dunn their Vice President to accompany them. If you could possibly find time to write to Mr. G.S. Dudley, Secretary-Manager of the C.A.H.A. and give him and the Association a pat on the back, it would be a well deserved tribute to the Association.
Thanks for your message which was used on the program. I also drew up one for the Prime Minister and the Ambassador, so you see Canada’s elite were quoted on this occasion. I kept very much in the background and therefore the tour went smoothly.
Sincerely, Bubs J.C. Britton, Commercial Counsellor, Canadian Embassy.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 25, No. 3 (2010) — Fall 2010 // Automne 2010, pp. 18–21. Read the rest of this issue →
