Jørgen Alfred Hviid (; 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 (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

. He was primarily an

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, but also competed in

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

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, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

. Hviid grew up in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, 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 2023. 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 Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and joined the

Danish resistance movement The Danish resistance movements () 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 authority allowed the democratic govern ...

at the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 1949 Ice Hockey World Championships were the 16th 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 Can ...

. 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 Sports governing body, 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 Federatio ...

. 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 is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. 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, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, 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 An iceboat (occasionally spelled ice boat or traditionally called an ice yacht) is a recreational or competition sailing craft supported on metal runners for traveling over ice. One of the runners is steerable. Originally, such craft were boats ...

races on lakes in Latvia. Later in Denmark he practiced

on the Peblingesøen in Copenhagen, and became the Danish champion in barrel jumping.

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) ** Smal ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. 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 Danish ice hockey team in Copenhagen currently playing in the third tier Danish ice hockey league, the second division. The team is the old ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. 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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. 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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in its first game, and lost 1–25 to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in its second game, and 3–8 to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in its third game. Denmark withdrew from the championships without playing its fourth and fifth games to illnesses. At the time,

newspapers in Denmark The number of national daily newspapers in Denmark was 127 in 1950, whereas it was 37 in 1965. In 2009 the number of newspapers was 36. The European Journalism Centre (EJC) categorizes Danish newspapers into five groups: National newspapers with l ...

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 countries in World War II, neutral, but that neutrality did not prevent Nazi Germany from Military occupation, occupying the country soon after the outbreak of ...

, he served in the

with the

Danish Brigade in Sweden The Danish Brigade in Sweden () 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 supplied by Sweden, the brigade was cr ...

, where he trained with the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

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 cla ...

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 ...

. He later achieved the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

(). 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, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

, then held defence posts at the

Holmen Naval Base Naval Station 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 attraction with many historical b ...

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 List of islands of Denmark, 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. I ...

, Stockholm and

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. 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; , CISM) is an international sports association, established in 1948 and headquartered in Brussels. It is the world's second-largest multi-discipline sports organisation, after the International Ol ...

. 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 Birkerød Church (Danish language, Danish: ''Birkerød Kirke'') is a church at Birkerød, Rudersdal Municipality, Copenhagen, Greater Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of two churches in the parish of Birkerød, the other being Høsterkøb Church in ...

. The couple had two sons, Torsten and Jesper, who later played on the Danish national team at the

1962 Ice Hockey World Championships The 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 29th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Colorado Springs and Denver, United States from 8 to 18 March 1962. This was the first World Championship hosted in No ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

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

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, 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 ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

, 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 sportsmen 20th-century Royal Danish Navy 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 hockey people from Moscow Ice hockey people from Riga Ice yachting IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Immigrants to Denmark Latvian ice hockey forwards Sailors (sport) from Copenhagen Speed skaters from Moscow