Jørgen Alfred Hviid ( lv, Jergens Alfreds Hvīds; 1 September 1916 – 5 September 2001) was a Danish and Latvian multi-sport athlete, and an officer in the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Isla ...

. He was primarily an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player, but also competed in

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

. Hviid grew up in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, and played on the

Latvia men's national ice hockey team The Latvian men's national ice hockey team represents Latvia in international ice hockey. The team is ranked 10th in the world by IIHF as of 2019. The team is controlled by the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation. Their best ever finish at the World C ...

as a teenager. He later moved to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, and joined the

Danish resistance movement The Danish resistance movements ( da, Den danske modstandsbevægelse) were an underground insurgency to resist the German occupation of Denmark during World War II. Due to the initially lenient arrangements, in which the Nazi occupation autho ...

at the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and began a military career. He founded the Kjøbenhavns SF hockey team in 1938, and served as the first captain of the

Denmark men's national ice hockey team The Danish national men's ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team for Denmark. The team is controlled by Danmarks Ishockey Union. It was founded in 1949, and as of 2022, the Danish team was ranked 10th in the IIHF World Rankings. Denmark ...

at the

1949 World Ice Hockey Championships The 16th Ice Hockey World Championships and 27th European Hockey Championships was held from February 12 to 20, 1949, in Stockholm, Sweden. The event was the first World Championships during the presidency of Canadian W. G. Hardy. The Internation ...

. He won Danish ice hockey league championships as a player and as a coach, and was later a board member on the

Danish Ice Hockey Union ('The Danish Ice Hockey Union') or DIU is the governing body of ice hockey in Denmark. It is a member of the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark (DIF) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The associati ...

. He was posthumously inducted into both 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 ...

, and the Danish Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, and is referred to as the "father of Danish ice hockey".

Early life

Hviid was born 1 September 1916, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. His father worked as a wholesale merchant. Hviid's father moved the family business from Moscow due to the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, and fled to Denmark. The family moved again to Riga in 1921, but later returned to Denmark in 1934, due to the changing political situation in Latvia. Hviid attended school in Riga, and participated in ice boat races on lakes in Latvia. Later in Denmark he practiced

on the Peblingesøen in Copenhagen, and became the Danish champion in

barrel jumping Barrel jumping is a discipline of speed skating, where ice skaters build up speed to jump over a length of multiple barrels lined up, usually side by side like rollers. Occasionally barrels would also be stacked pyramid-style for height. The obj ...

Hockey career

Hviid started playing organized ice hockey in 1931 as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. As a 16-year old, he was one of the stronger players in Latvia, and scored four goals in four championship games for the Union

team. He twice was a Latvian champion in 1932 and 1933. Despite his young age, he was selected for the

at the 1932 European Ice Hockey Championship. In 1938, Hviid founded the ice hockey team within the

Kjøbenhavns Skøjteløberforening Kjøbenhavns Skøjteløberforening (English: ''Copenhagen Ice Skating Club''), commonly known as KSF, are a Denmark, Danish ice hockey team in Copenhagen currently playing in the third tier Danish ice hockey league, the second division. The team is ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Playing alongside his brothers, the team became Danish ice hockey league champions in the 1956 season. Hviid served as captain of the

, in its first international tournament at the

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. He scored all four of his team's goals in the championship, and was teammates with his brother Erik. Despite Hviid's scoring, Denmark lost 0–47 to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in its first game, and lost 1–25 to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in its second game, and 3–8 to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in its third game. Denmark withdrew from the championships without playing its fourth and fifth games to illnesses. At the time, newspapers in Denmark did not mention the first attempt by a Danish national team at the world championships. Hviid retired from playing hockey after the 1961 season, when he skated alongside his son and won a Danish ice hockey league championship. As a coach, Hviid focused on skill development, and trained players to be powerful skaters. He later became a member of the

in 1982, and then served on its board of directors from 1988 to 2001.

Naval service

Hviid became an officer in the

in the autumn of 1939 in Copenhagen. During the occupation of

Denmark in World War II At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December ...

, he served in the

with the

Danish Brigade in Sweden The Danish Brigade in Sweden ( da, Den Danske Brigade i Sverige) or in short, the Danish Brigade (''Den Danske Brigade''/''DDB'') (also referred to as Danforce) was a military unit made up of Danish refugees during World War II. Trained and suppl ...

, where he trained with the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

and then led a Danish

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

. He later achieved the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

( da, Kommandørkaptajn, links=no). After the war ended he was in charge of

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s and

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

, then held defence posts at the

Holmen Naval Base Naval Station Holmen ( da, Flådestation Holmen) is one of several naval stations of the Royal Danish Navy, supplementing the two Danish naval bases in Frederikshavn and Korsør. Founded in the late 17th century, it is also a visitor attracti ...

Langeland Langeland (, ) is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km2 (c. 110 square miles) and, as of 1 January 2018, has a population of 12,446.

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

, Stockholm and

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. He later captained the '' HDMY Dannebrog''. He was named the Navy's sports officer and sat on the

International Military Sports Council The International Military Sports Council (IMSC) or Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM), is an international sports association, established in 1948 and headquartered in Brussels. It is the world's second-largest multi-discipline sport ...

. In 1961, Hviid was a maritime advisor in the filming of ''Black Shara: Alarm in the Baltic Sea''.

Personal life

Hviid married Ellen Schmidt on 23 June 1941, in Birkerød Church. The couple had two sons, Torsten and Jesper, who later played on the Danish national team at the 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. Hviid later acted as the head of the Danish Olympic sailing team in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

, for

sailing at the 1980 Summer Olympics Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad ( 1896 Olympics in Athens, Greece). With the exception of 1904 and the canceled 1916 Summer Olympics, sailing has always been included on the Olympic schedule. The ...

. He died in

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

, on 5 September 2001 at age 85.

Posthumous honours

Hviid was posthumously inducted into the

as a builder in 2005. He was made a member of the Danish Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014, and is an honorary member of the Danish Ice Hockey Union.

References

External links

Father of Danish hockey learned hockey in Latvia
''(HFBoards - NHL Message Board and Forum for National Hockey League)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hviid, Jorgen 1916 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Danish naval officers Danish ice hockey coaches Danish ice hockey players Danish male sailors (sport) Danish male speed skaters Danish resistance members Danish sports executives and administrators Denmark men's national ice hockey team coaches Ice yachting IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Immigrants to Denmark Latvian ice hockey forwards Olympic sailors of Denmark Sportspeople from Copenhagen Sportspeople from Moscow Sportspeople from Riga