Dezideriu "Dezső" Varga (born 14 May 1939) is a Romanian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. As a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

, he led his hometown

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt River valley. The city administers three ...

to two Romanian Hockey League titles. He transferred to the

Steaua Rangers Steaua Rangers are a Romanian professional ice hockey club that currently plays in the Romanian Hockey League. They play their home games at the Berceni Arena and sometimes at the Allianz-Țiriac Arena in Otopeni. History The hockey team was fo ...

in 1965, where he won nine national titles and seven Romanian Hockey League championships. He played for the Romania men's national team from 1959 to 1977, and served as the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

from 1969 onward. He was the only Romanian to play in three

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

tournaments, and participated in 17

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the I ...

. He led Romania to a seventh-place finish at the 1976 Winter Olympics, and the team's only appearance in the top tier of the World Championships in 1977. He received the Torriani Award from the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

in 2024, in recognition of career accomplishments by players from smaller hockey nations.

Early life and family

Dezideriu Varga was born on 14 May 1939, in

, Romania. His family are Szeklers; Romanian persons of Hungarian descent native to the

Székely Land The Székely Land or Szeklerland (, , Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: 𐲥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗𐳌𐳞𐳖𐳇; and sometimes ; ; ) is a historic and ethnographic area in present-day Romania, inhabited mainly by Székelys, a subgroup of Hung ...

Playing career

Romanian Hockey League

Playing ice hockey as a

, Varga stood tall, and weighed . He began playing professional hockey in 1959 with Recolta Miercurea Ciuc, later named Voința Miercurea Ciuc. He led Miercurea Ciuc to Romanian Hockey League titles in the 1959–60 and 1962–63 seasons. Varga transferred to the

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in 1965, when he and four teammates were drafted into military service. After the loss of players, teams from Miercurea Ciuc did not win another league championship during the remainder of his playing career. Varga won nine national titles and seven Romanian Hockey League championships with the Steaua Rangers, and retired from playing in 1979.

Romanian national team

Varga played for the Romania men's national team from 1959 to 1977, serving as the

from 1969 to 1977. He was the only Romanian to play in three

tournaments, appearing in 1964, 1968, and 1976. He played at the

in 17 events for the national team, including three events hosted in Romania—the 1966 qualifying round, the 1970 Group B championships, and the 1972 Group B championships. Scoring two goals at the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

, Varga helped the Romanian national team to a fourth-place finish in Group B and twelfth place overall. On closing day of the Olympics, Romania played the Hungary national team, winning by an 8–3 score. The Romanian national team was bilingual, included eight ethnic Hungarians, and sang as a team in both Romanian and Hungarian languages. Varga also helped the Romania national team win a silver medal at the 1966 Winter Universiade in Italy, which included victories versus the Canada national team and Finland national team. He scored four assists at the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. The 1968 Winter Games marked the first time ...

, when Romania placed 12th overall. At the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (, ) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 (), were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Inn ...

, Varga had one assist in five games played. Romania placed seventh overall in 1976 by winning the consolation round, and were promoted to Group A of the 1977 World Championships. Varga scored two goals and had two assists in ten games played, in Romania's only appearance in the top tier of the World Championships. In a consolation round game versus the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

on 5 May 1977, Varga scored one goal and added two assists in a 5–4 victory. In a 2024 interview, Varga said his fondest hockey memories included winning the 1966 Universiade silver medal, and scoring a goal against the United States in 1977.

Later life and honors

Varga has lived in Miercurea Ciuc since retirement, and has not attended sports events. He received the Torriani Award from the

(IIHF) in 2024, given to recognize career accomplishments by players from smaller hockey nations. The award inducted him into the

IIHF Hall of Fame The IIHF Hall of Fame is a hall of fame operated by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). It was founded in 1997, and has resided at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto since 1998. Prior to 1997, the IIHF housed exhibits at the Interna ...

, with a ceremony on the last day of competition at the 2024 IIHF World Championship. He did not attend for health reasons, and submitted a thank you letter which stated that hockey was his "greatest passion" since childhood, that made him "disciplined and focused by giving me goals in life". With the honor given on the 100th anniversary of the Romanian Ice Hockey Federation joining the IIHF, Varga became the third member of the Romania national team from the 1977 World Championships to be inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame, along with

Eduard Pană Eduard Pană (born 28 May 1944 in Brăneşti) is a retired Romanian ice hockey player. For some years, he was the secretary-general of the Romanian Ice Hockey Federation. Pană was one of the best players in Europe during the 1970s. He particip ...

and Doru Tureanu. He also became the first Szekler hockey player inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.

Statistics

Individual statistics from international play at the Olympic Games and the Ice Hockey World Championships:

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varga, Dezso 1939 births Living people 20th-century Romanian sportsmen Ice hockey captains Ice hockey people from Miercurea Ciuc Ice hockey players at the 1964 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 1976 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Olympic ice hockey players for Romania Romanian Hockey League players Romanian ice hockey defencemen Romanian sportspeople of Hungarian descent Steaua Rangers players Székely people