1953 World Ice Hockey Championships
Encyclopedia
The 1953 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships
were held between March 7 and March 15, 1953 in Basel
and Zurich
, Switzerland
.
This was the first world championship tournament with only European teams.
The Czechoslovakian team left the tournament in the 14 March, due to the death of their President Klement Gottwald. Because of that, the matches against Czechoslovakia wouldn't count in the final table.
Sweden won their first World Championship title, and were undefeated during the tournament.
, was going to die from pneumonia he contracted at Stalin's funeral. General František Janda, the Chairman of the State Committee for the Physical Education and Sport ordered the team home, and Gottwald died the next day, March 14, 1953. The team was disqualified, their results annulled and their remaining games cancelled.
On January 12, 1953, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
president W.B. George stated Canada would not be sending a team to the 1953 World Championships. George told the press: "Every year we spend $10,000 to send a Canadian hockey team to Europe to play 40 exhibition games. All these games are played to packed houses that only enrich European hockey coffers. In return we are subjected to constant, unnecessary abuse over our Canadian style of play."
It was hoped that the USSR would participate but they did not, sending observers, including legendary coach Anatoli Tarasov
to scout the tournament. It is believed that an injury to their star player Vsevolod Bobrov
was the reason behind the decision.
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
were held between March 7 and March 15, 1953 in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
and Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
This was the first world championship tournament with only European teams.
The Czechoslovakian team left the tournament in the 14 March, due to the death of their President Klement Gottwald. Because of that, the matches against Czechoslovakia wouldn't count in the final table.
Sweden won their first World Championship title, and were undefeated during the tournament.
World Championships Group A (Switzerland)
| Date | Matches A World Championships 1953 | Result | Period. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07 March | - | 11 - 2 (annulled) | 4-1,5-0,2-1 |
| 07 March | - | 2 - 9 | 1-2,1-5,0-2 |
| 08 March | - | 4 - 9 (annulled) | 0-4,1-2,3-3 |
| 08 March | - | 8 - 6 | 4-1,3-3,1-2 |
| 10 March | - | 5 - 3 (annulled) | 5-1,0-1,0-1 |
| 10 March | - | 2 - 3 | 0-1,2-1,0-1 |
| 12 March | - | 9 - 1 | 5-1,1-0,3-0 |
| 12 March | - | 4 - 9 (annulled) | 2-4,1-2,1-3 |
| 13 March | - | 0 - 0 (annulled) | 0-0,0-0,0-0 |
| 13 March | - | 2 - 12 | 0-2,1-5,1-5 |
| 15 March | - | 0 - 0 (annulled) | 0-0,0-0,0-0 |
| 15 March | - | 3 - 7 | 2-4,0-1,1-2 |
Table
| Place | Team | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 11 | 8 | |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 26 | 2 | |
| 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 27 | 2 | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
World Championships Group B (Switzerland)
| Date | Matches B World Championships 1953 | Result | Period. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07 March | - | 9 - 5 | 3-1,4-3,2-1 |
| 08 March | - | 5 - 3 | 2-0,2-3,1-0 |
| 10 March | - | 8 - 4 | 4-2,1-2,3-0 |
| 11 March | - | 8 - 1 | 2-1,2-0,4-0 |
| 11 March | - | 7 - 0 | 4-0,1-0,2-0 |
| 12 March | - | 8 - 3 | 3-0,3-1,2-2 |
| 13 March | - | 3 - 0 | 1-0,1-0,1-0 |
| 14 March | - | 5 - 2 | 2-1,1-0,2-1 |
| 15 March | - | 8 - 3 | 4-1,2-1,2-1 |
| 15 March | - | 3 - 2 | 3-0,0-0,0-2 |
Table
| Place | Team | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 - 09 | 8 | |
| 6 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 - 10 | 6 | |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 - 16 | 4 | |
| 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 - 26 | 2 | |
| 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 - 26 | 0 | |
Trivia
Czechoslovakia withdrew from the tournament when it became obvious that their President, Klement GottwaldKlement Gottwald
Klement Gottwald was a Czechoslovakian Communist politician, longtime leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , prime minister and president of Czechoslovakia.-Early life:...
, was going to die from pneumonia he contracted at Stalin's funeral. General František Janda, the Chairman of the State Committee for the Physical Education and Sport ordered the team home, and Gottwald died the next day, March 14, 1953. The team was disqualified, their results annulled and their remaining games cancelled.
On January 12, 1953, Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association
The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey play in Canada from 1914 until 1994 when it merged with the Canadian Hockey Association or Hockey Canada....
president W.B. George stated Canada would not be sending a team to the 1953 World Championships. George told the press: "Every year we spend $10,000 to send a Canadian hockey team to Europe to play 40 exhibition games. All these games are played to packed houses that only enrich European hockey coffers. In return we are subjected to constant, unnecessary abuse over our Canadian style of play."
It was hoped that the USSR would participate but they did not, sending observers, including legendary coach Anatoli Tarasov
Anatoli Tarasov
Anatoli Vladimirovitch Tarasov was an ice hockey coach, styled by Encyclopædia Britannica "the father of Russian hockey", who established the Soviet Union as "the dominant force in international competition"...
to scout the tournament. It is believed that an injury to their star player Vsevolod Bobrov
Vsevolod Bobrov
Vsevolod Mikhailovich Bobrov was a Soviet athlete, who excelled in both football , bandy, and ice hockey. He is considered one of the best Russians ever in all of those sports.- Biography :...
was the reason behind the decision.