Automotive News Canada - April 2018 - 18

18

* APRIL 2018

The dealership behind
the hockey champions
has been in continuous
business in Edmonton
for almost 70 years.

( P H O T O S : W AT E R L O O F O R D
A N D W AT E R L O O L I N C O L N )

AN EDMONTON DEALER'S

ROAD TO G LD
The Mercurys hockey team reached
Olympic heights, and its players never
forgot the man who got them there
By MICHAEL GOETZ

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

EDMONTON, ALTA. - IF
there ever was a car dealership that literally demonstrated the power of teamwork, it's
Edmonton's Waterloo FordLincoln.
The dealership came to

life in the 1940s as Waterloo
Motors, through James
Christiansen. He was good in
business, but was also heavily
devoted to hockey.
Through his Ford-Mercury
dealership, he established
and sponsored the Edmonton
Mercurys in intermediate
senior-A hockey, the top tier
for players over junior age

who were not in the National
Hockey League (NHL).
"My father was essentially
hired by the dealership, so he
could be on that hockey team,"
said Randall Purvis, son of Al
Purvis, who was the team's
assistant captain. He was one of
many hired to hit the ice. Not
all team members were employees, though many were.
The Mercurys played fast,
tough hockey. They won the
Western Canada Intermediate
Championship in 1949, which
got them noticed nationally.
They were ultimately select-

Joe Verde Workshops
Ottawa * Vancouver * Calgary * Edmonton
Toronto * Halifax * Saskatoon * Winnipeg

ed to represent Canada
at the 1950 World Hockey
Championships.
Christiansen took the team
to Europe, at his expense, for
a tour of exhibition games in
several countries, then for
the world championships in
London, England. They won
33 exhibition contests, losing
only three times, to professional teams. At the Worlds,
they finished the round-robin tournament with a perfect
record, outscoring the competition 88-5.

ing very tired ... We played 51
games in 83 days in 10 countries, [visiting] some countries twice. We could not do it
again."
During the trip, they
recorded 42 wins, seven losses and two ties. One of the ties
(3-3) was in the Olympic final
against the United States.
With the better overall tournament record, the Mercurys
went home with gold medals.
Christiansen died of pneumonia in 1953, just three years
after that Olympic win.

THE OSLO OLYMPICS

PLAYERS STAYED WITH STORE

Given their international
success, the Mercurys were
selected to represent Canada
for the 1952 Olympics in Oslo,
Norway. Only amateur athletes could participate, so the
door was shut to Canadian
NHL players.
Christiansen, known
among his players as "the
Chief," bankrolled the trip.
Team manager, Frank
Sullivan, writing about the
1952 experience (courtesy of
the Alberta Sports Hall of
Fame): "We had many long
hours on buses ... the fact that
we played so many games,
some on open-air arenas
during snow storms or rain,
resulted in the players becom-

Several former players continued to work for Waterloo
Motors for decades.
A few were part of a group
that bought the dealership
in the 1970s. Under that ownership, Al Purvis became a
partner and the dealership's
president, Don Gauf, became
a partner and fleet manager.
Bill Dawe became a partner
and parts manager.
Randall Purvis bought the
dealership about 12 years ago,
and while he recently sold
some ownership to new partners in 2017, he is still part of
the Waterloo Ford team.
"Waterloo is an historical brand ... quite a story," he
said. - ANC

"Thanks for another incredible year -
up 30% in new, 53% in used!"
- Tony Almeida, Sales Manager, BC

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Joe Verde Sales & Management Training, Inc. * JoeVerde.com/Can

03_27_18

With many championships under its belt, including world and
Olympic ones, the Edmonton Waterloo Mercurys personified
amateur-hockey excellence from 1947 to 1952. In the back
row at the far right is James Christiansen, the heart, soul and
"wallet" behind the team.
( P H O T O : A L B E R TA H O C K E Y H A L L O F FA M E )
http://www.JoeVerde.com/Can
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - April 2018
