Ice hockey forward William “Billy” Gibson was born in British Columbia, but moved to Lethbridge, Alberta as a young child and spent nearly the remainder of his life there. After one year in the Alberta Junior Hockey League-South with the Lethbridge Native Sons he advanced to the Western Canada Senior Hockey League in 1947 and spent four seasons with the Lethbridge Maple Leafs. It was with this team that he attended the 1951 World Championships as a representative of Canada and took home a gold medal. His performance at this event was so impressive that he was recruited by the Edmonton Mercurys to represent his country on the international scene once more, this time at the 1952 Winter Olympics. He became Canada’s top scorer at the tournament, with fifteen goals in eight games, helping Canada win its last Olympic gold medal in the sport for five decades. He returned to the Lethbridge Native Sons, now part of the Alberta-Montana Intermediate Hockey League, in 1953 for one more season before retiring from active play. He did, however, suit up briefly as a player/coach with the Lethbridge Maple Leafs for the 1958-1959 season. After hanging up his skates he worked as an automobile salesman in Lethbridge and lived there until his death in 2006 at the age of 79. As a member of his Olympic team, he was inducted into the Alberta Sport Hall of Fame Museum in 1968 and also received a personal induction into the Lethbridge Hall of Fame.
Canada