Ben Acton

Ben Acton played ice hockey at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, where he captained the Australian team. It was not his first sport, as he was better known as a field hockey player. Acton started playing hockey (field) in 1941 with the Footscray Hockey Club, and later led that team to 10 consecutive Australian club titles (1947-56). He played on the Australian national team in field hockey in 1948-51 and 1953-56, and also played for Victoria for 15 years.

Acton began playing ice hockey in 1951 with the VIHA Wildcats Ice Hockey Club. He later became an umpire in ice hockey and coached both sports. Acton’s day job was as a plumber, in the business that was started by his grandfather, for whom he was named.