30 Facts About Bunny Ahearne

John Francis "Bunny" Ahearne was a British ice hockey administrator and businessman.

Bunny Ahearne served rotating terms as president and vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation from 1951 to 1975, and was the secretary of the British Ice Hockey Association from 1934 to 1971, and later its president until 1982.

Bunny Ahearne began in hockey by managing the last Great Britain team to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games, before moving to the international stage.

Bunny Ahearne implemented business reforms at the IIHF, oversaw the growth of ice hockey to new countries, and expanded the Ice Hockey World Championships.

Bunny Ahearne was inducted into both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame during his lifetime and was posthumously inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.

Bunny Ahearne spent the majority of his life residing in England working as a travel agent, and never played ice hockey.

Bunny Ahearne was secretary of the British Ice Hockey Association from 1934 to 1971, and served as the association's president from 1971 to 1982.

Bunny Ahearne was the head coach of the Great Britain ice hockey team which won a bronze medal at the 1935 Ice Hockey World Championships.

Bunny Ahearne continued working on the business management of the team for another three years, and appointed Percy Nicklin to take over the coaching duties.

Bunny Ahearne decreed that the national team needed to play at least four British-born players, and augmented the roster with imports.

Bunny Ahearne built a powerful British team by recruiting players living in Canada who obtained British citizenship under the British nationality law, through ancestral linkages to the United Kingdom.

Bunny Ahearne went to Canada in 1935 with team captain Carl Erhardt to find the best available players.

Bunny Ahearne was part of the IIHF delegation who travelled to North America in 1947 to convince the CAHA and the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States to resume being active members.

Bunny Ahearne later welcomed the Soviet Union Ice Hockey Federation to IIHF membership in 1952.

Bunny Ahearne served as the CAHA's representative in Europe until 1952, and booked European tours and accommodations for the Canada men's national ice hockey team.

Bunny Ahearne resigned after an altercation with CAHA president Doug Grimston and disagreements over the handling of a tour for the Edmonton Mercurys.

Bunny Ahearne served as vice-president of the IIHF from 1951 to 1957, then as president from 1957 to 1960, then as vice-president again from 1960 to 1963, returned to the presidency from 1963 to 1966, returned to vice-presidency from 1966 to 1969, and then president again from 1969 to 1975.

Bunny Ahearne transformed the Ice Hockey World Championships into a well-known annual tournament, and implemented the splitting of the event into different tiers of competition.

Bunny Ahearne oversaw the foundation of both the IIHF European Junior Championships and the Izvestia Cup in 1967.

Bunny Ahearne introduced advertisements on the side boards of hockey rinks during the World Championships, and secured broadcasting rights for international matches.

Bunny Ahearne is credited for redistributing funds and profit sharing from these events to IIHF members for development.

Bunny Ahearne retired as IIHF president in 1975, and was replaced by Gunther Sabetzki.

Bunny Ahearne was married to Betty, and had two sons.

Bunny Ahearne died on 11 April 1985, at his home in Toddington, Gloucestershire, due to heart failure.

Gord Renwick attended the funeral on behalf of Canada, and said that despite their disagreements, Bunny Ahearne was respected by Canadian officials for his business sense.

Bunny Ahearne received Ontario Hockey Association Gold Stick Award in 1948, and the AHAUS citation award in 1949.

Bunny Ahearne was named an honorary president of the IIHF in 1975.

Bunny Ahearne was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977, the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, and posthumously inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997.

Bunny Ahearne received the Cross of Finland, the Order of Yugoslavia, and the Gold Cross of Austria.

Bunny Ahearne was the namesake of the Ahearne Cup that began in 1952 in Sweden, from the combined efforts of Djurgardens IF Hockey and the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.