Josef Maleček

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CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia  Josef Maleček Ice hockey player
IIHF Hall of Fame , 2003
Josef Maleček
Date of birth June 18, 1903
place of birth Prague , Austria-Hungary
date of death September 26, 1982
Place of death Bayport , New York , USA
Nickname Pepa, Joe
size 176 cm
Weight 67 kg
position center
Shot hand Left
Career stations
1921-1927 HC Sparta Prague
1927-1945 LTC Prague
1945-1948 HC Slovan Bratislava
1948-1949 HC Davos
1949-1952 HC Montana-Crans
1952-1953 Krefelder EV
1953-1954 Zurich Jaguars

Josef Maleček (born June 18, 1903 in Prague , Austria-Hungary , † September 26, 1982 in Bayport , New York , USA ) was a Czechoslovak tennis , field hockey and ice hockey player . As a hockey player, he took part in three Winter Olympics and won the European championship title four times with Czechoslovakia . With his club team, LTC Prague , he won the Spengler Cup three times . He was considered the best European ice hockey striker of the interwar period , was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2003 and was one of the first members of the Czech Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008 .

As a tennis player he took part in the Davis Cup in 1929 and won two Czechoslovak championship titles - one each in doubles and mixed competitions. As a field hockey player, he represented his home country several times in international matches.

Career

Josef Maleček began his career in the junior teams of HC Sparta Prague , in whose first team he made his debut in 1921 at the age of 18. In 1927 he moved to the then top club LTC Prague , with whom he won the Czechoslovak championship eight times in a row from 1931 to 1938 . In 1929, 1930 and 1937 he also won the Spengler Cup with the LTC , the oldest and most renowned international tournament for club teams, which has been held annually in Davos since 1923 . In 1930 and 1931 he and his team also won the Tatra Cup , the second oldest international club tournament . In 1931, Maleček, who was considered the best European striker of the interwar period, had an offer from the New York Rangers from the NHL , but turned it down. In addition to his skating skills, his placed shot was particularly praised. In 1937 he was the top scorer in the newly founded first division of Czechoslovakia. In 1940, 1942, 1943 and 1944 he and his team won the championship of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia , and in 1940 he was the league's top scorer. After the war he moved to HC Slovan Bratislava , for which he played for three years.

In 1948 Maleček first went to Switzerland, where he played for HC Davos , HC Montana-Crans and the Zurich Jaguars until 1954 . The Swiss period in 1952/53 was interrupted by a season at Krefeld EV .

International

Josef Maleček first appeared for the Czechoslovak national team at the European ice hockey championship in 1922 and was able to win the title with his team after victories over Switzerland (8: 1) and Sweden (3: 2). He was also on the ice for his colors at the European Championships in 1923 , 1925 , 1926 , 1927 and 1929 , where he was able to win the title again with the Czechoslovak team in 1925 and 1929. There was also a silver medal in 1926. Only in 1932 , at the last independent European championship, was he absent due to injury.

He played at world championships in 1930 , 1931 , 1933 , 1934 , 1935 , 1937 , 1938 and 1939 . In 1933 and 1938 he won the bronze medal with the Czechoslovak team. Since the European championships were also played within the framework of the world championships, Maleček also achieved a European championship title (1933), two silver medals (1938 and 1939) and three bronze medals (1931, 1934 and 1935) within the framework of the world championship tournaments.

In addition Maleček took the Czechoslovak selection of the Olympic Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix , 1928 in St. Moritz and 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in part. He won the silver medal with his team at the European championship held as part of the 1936 Winter Olympics.

In total, Maleček scored 114 goals in 107 international matches for Czechoslovakia.

Private life

Maleček was not only one of the best ice hockey players of his time, but also a successful businessman. Together with two other tennis players, Vojtěch Vodička and Ladislav Hecht , he ran one of the most popular sports shops in Czechoslovakia in Prague in the interwar period , which was the first to import CCM ice hockey equipment from Canada. After the communists under Klement Gottwald took power in his homeland in the February revolution in 1948 , he left Czechoslovakia and first moved to Switzerland . In the mid-1950s he went to the United States , where he worked as a commentator for the Czech-language program of Radio Free Europe . He was also the honorary chairman of the Association of Czechoslovak Sportsmen Abroad.

Achievements and Awards

International

Note: After 1929, only an independent European championship took place in 1932 , so that the European titles and placements were awarded at the respective world championships and Olympic Winter Games.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Biographical note on www.eliteprospects.com, accessed April 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b c Article about Maleček on www.1972summitseries.com, accessed April 7, 2014.
  3. ↑ sihss.se, Profile Josef Maleček ( memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sihss.se

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Maleček, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Malecek, Josef; Maleček, Pepa (nickname in Czechoslovakia); Maleček, Joe (nickname in the US)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czechoslovak ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1982
Place of death Bayport (New York) , United States