- Sven Bergqvist
Sven "Svenne Berka" Bergqvist (born
August 20 ,1914 inStockholm ,Sweden -December 16 ,1996 ) was abandy ,ice hockey and football player.Athletic career
Sven Bergqvist grew up in a working class home in the south parts of
Stockholm known asSödermalm . At the age of 16 he made his debut as a bandy goalie in Hammarby IF:s senior team. The year after he debuted in Hammarby's senior soccer team as well as the senior icehockey team. Bergqvist would stay as thegoaltender in the soccer team from 1932 to 1946. Meanwhile he played defender in the hockey team for 13 seasons and won several national championships. In bandy he did four seasons in the highest swedish division before giving it up. Bergqvist also played one game in the swedish handball elite league (though not for Hammarby IF but forSoIK Hellas ).In his early twenties Bergqvist got his international breakthrough when he started as a goalie in the national soccer team and in his second cap,
June 30 1935 , defeated Germany. After that he stayed on as a national goalie for 35 caps between 1935 and 1943. He played 55 caps for the swedish national icehockey team. He is a Big boy in both football and icehockey.In 1936 he represented Sweden at both the summer olympics in
Berlin and the winter olympics inGarmisch-Partenkirchen , representing Sweden in icehockey and football. He also was offered a place in the swedish national handball team but had to decline. Bergqvist also turned down an opportunity to become the first swedish professional football player, whenRacing Club de Paris gave him an offer.Sven Bergqvist later became manager for Hammarby IF's Fotball team between 1944 and 1946. After that he coached the swedish national icehockey team at the winter olympics in St. Moritz.
December 3 1955 Bergqvist was cripled due to an automobile accident and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. This didn't stop him from exercising sports at an elite level. He took up archery and was chosen to represent Sweden at the1960 Summer Paralympics inRome , but he had to decline due to financial reasons since he would have had to pay all expenses himself.Sven Bergqvist was inducted in the
International Hockey Hall of Fame 1999.External links
* [http://www.iihf.com/news/iihfpr4704.htm IIHF Hockey Hall of Fame bio]
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