Wally Byron spent two years as a goalie with the Winnipeg Falcons of the Manitoba Hockey League prior to joining up with the 223rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force to serve in World War I. He returned home unscathed from the battles of Amiens, Arras, and Cambrai and rejoined the Falcons, capturing the Allan Cup in 1920. This distinction, given annually to the senior men’s ice hockey champions in Canada, allowed the team to represent their native country at the 1920 Summer Olympics, where they took home the gold medal; Byron allowed only one goal (from Einar Svensson) for the 29 that they scored against their opponents. He nearly did not make the trip overseas, however, after being hit in the face with a puck in Game 2 of the Allan Cup finals, an injury that left a five inch cut about his eye. He remained with the Falcons until his retirement in 1925, although he served as a player/coach with the Prince Albert Mintos of the North Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League from 1930-1932. He later worked for Anglo Canadian Oil as a bookkeeper and has been inducted as an “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in addition to his enshrinement as a member of the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons.
Canada