As a 14-year-old, Art Green wanted to be an ice hockey player, and used to roller skate with other lads of his age on the concrete car park outside Wembley Stadium, learning to handle an ice hockey stick. He was eventually snapped up by the Wembley club, and in his first season remarkably went from junior to international player. In the 1938-39 season, he started with the Wembley junior team, the Wolves, before his outstanding skill in both attack and defence rapidly gained him promotion onto the Wembley Terriers team in the London Provincial League. In January 1939, London office worker Green was selected for Great Britain at the World and European Championships in Switzerland. At 17, he was the youngest person ever to compete in the championships, and he played one game, the 1-0 defeat by Germany in Zürich. In the last season before the outbreak of World War II, Green played in the National League with Wembley Monarchs, and, after the War, joined Wembley Lions, spending three seasons with them before moving to Earl’s Court Rangers. Green returned to the Lions in 1950, and spent three more seasons with them before retiring. In 1952, the Lions won their first National League title in 15 years. Green made 356 National League appearances, scoring 56 goals and 108 assists. He played in the 1948 Olympics, scoring just one goal, in the 11-4 defeat by Czechoslovakia.
Great Britain