Thomas “Ted” Hibberd, a member of Canada’s fairytale gold-medal Olympic team of 1948, died on May 10 in Ottawa, Canada at the age of 91.

Hibberd played amateur hockey in the Ottawa area during the 1940s, and it was his reputation in these circles that earned him an invitation to play for the Royal Canadian Air Force team that would represent Canada at the 1948 Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Canada had previously decided not to participate in the ’48 Games, but Sandy Watson, a squadron leader with the RCAF and coach of the hockey team, proposed to create a team made up of athletes from the military.

Hibberd, a civilian, was among the recruits, and upon accepting the invitation was made an aircraftsman.

Watson managed to scrape enough money together to get the team to Europe for a lengthy exhibition series as preparation to the Olympics. Canada won seven of eight games (a 0-0 tie with Czechoslovakia the only blemish on a perfect record) and claimed the gold medal.

Hibberd recorded a hat trick in an easy 21-1 win over Italy, and when he returned he continued to play for the Flyers for three more years.

After retiring, Hibberd spent the rest of his life at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Canada’s capital city, but over the years he and the team received many honours.

In 1988, at the Calgary Olympics, the Flyers were honoured to mark the 40th anniversary of their victory. In 2000, the surviving Flyers were honoured as Canada’s military athletes of the 20th century. And, in 2008 the team was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.