Robert John Benson (May 18, 1894 – September 7, 1965) was an Icelandic-Canadian ice hockey player. A defenceman, he started his career with the Winnipeg Falcons of the Manitoba Hockey League in 1913, remaining with them until 1920, though missed two seasons of play from 1917 to 1919 while serving in the First World War. With the Falcons he played at the 1920 Summer Olympics and won the first gold medal in Olympic ice hockey. He later played in the Western Canada Hockey League from 1921 to 1926, as well as 8 games with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League during the 1924–25 season. Benson continued playing in other minor leagues until retiring in 1931. Playing career Benson was born in Davidson, Saskatchewan, to Icelandic immigrants Benedikt Jóhannesson and Rósa Guðmundsdóttir. He was the younger brother of ice hockey player Connie Benson. During the 1920–21 season, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association president H. J. Sterling hired a detective who discovered that Benson and teammate Haldor Halderson received C$6,500 to play amateur hockey. The Amateur Athletic Union of Canada voided Halderson's registration card and he was suspended from the 1921 Allan Cup playoffs, although the Saskatchewan Amateur Hockey Association allowed him and his Saskatoon team to continue in the league playoffs. Career statistics Regular season and playoffs International Awards and achievements Allan Cup Championship (1920) Olympic Gold Medalist (1920) References External links Falcons 1894 births 1965 deaths Boston Bruins players Calgary Tigers players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Icelandic descent Edmonton Eskimos (ice hockey) players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Ice hockey players at the 1920 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Minneapolis Millers (AHA) players Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players of Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Saskatoon Sheiks players Seattle Eskimos players Winnipeg Falcons players Winnipeg Maroons players