Sven Olof Lennart "Svenne Berka" Bergqvist (20 August 1914 – 16 December 1996) was a Swedish football and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

player, known for representing

Hammarby IF Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differ ...

in both sports. He also played

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

and handball. Bergqvist is one of only three athletes that has competed in the highest Swedish division in four different sports.

Early life

Sven Bergqvist grew up in a working-class home in a southern part of Stockholm known as

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wa ...

. He had several siblings and frequently acted as a

ball boy Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids are individuals, usually human youths but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tennis ...

during the football matches of the local club

during his youth, studying his idol Victor Olsson. At the age of 14, in 1928, he began his football career at said club.

Athletic career

Football

In 1932, at the age of 17, he debuted in Hammarby's senior football team. Bergqvist would stay as the team's regular

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

up until 1935, playing in the Swedish second tier then known as Division 2. He enjoyed a short stint at the

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football le ...

club AIK, during the season of 1936 because the national team required first division players in the Olympics. After the tournament Bergqvist reportedly turned down a move abroad to then French giants

Racing Club de Paris Racing Club de France Football (, also known as Racing Paris, RCF Paris, Matra Racing, Racing Club, or Racing) is a French association football club based in Colombes, a suburb of Paris. Racing was founded in 1882 as a multi-discipline spo ...

, that would have turned Bergqvist into the first professional Swedish footballer. "Svenne Berka" would then remain as a prolific player at Hammarby until 1946. During this period he was a part of a successful promotion campaign to Allsvenskan in 1939. Between 1944 and 1946, he also acted as a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of Hammarby. Bergqvist made a total of 212 competitive appearances during his two stints at the club. He also won 35 caps for the Swedish national football team between 1935 and 1943. In his second cap, on 30 June 1935, Sweden defeated

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

in a memorable victory. His nickname "Svenne Berka" originated from the supporters of Hammarby, who shortened his full name in accordance to the then reigning Stockholm dialect.

Alice Babs Hildur Alice Nilsson (26 January 1924 – 11 February 2014), known by her stage name Alice Babs, was a Swedish singer and actress. She worked in a wide number of genres – Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera. While she was best known i ...

referred to Bergqvist as "Svenne Berka" in the song "Vårat gäng" during the 1940s. Bergqvist was also characterized as always wearing an own sewn

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

on the pitch, which inspired a long lasting fashion trend among male youngsters living in Södermalm. In 2004, he was voted as Hammarby Fotboll's fifth biggest profile throughout the history of the club. He is also a recipient of the honorary award

Stora Grabbars Märke Stora Enso Oyj (from sv, Stora and fi, Enso ) is a manufacturer of pulp, paper and other forest products, headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. The majority of sales takes place in Europe, but there are also significant operations in Asia and ...

, which is handed out by the

Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association ( sv, Svenska Fotbollförbundet, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and Damallsvenskan for women – and the men's and women's n ...

Ice hockey

Bergqvist was also a prominent ice hockey defender, debuting for

Hammarby Hockey Hammarby IF Ishockeyförening (''"Hammarby IF Ice Hockey Club"'', or simply Hammarby Hockey) is an ice hockey club founded as "Bajen Fans IF" in 2008 by supporters of the previous incarnation of Hammarby Hockey which went bankrupt that same yea ...

in 1932, also aged 17. He would play 13 seasons for the club in the Swedish top division, with Hammarby being crowned

champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

on five occasions during his tenures: in 1933, 1937, 1942, 1943 and 1945. He represented AIK during one season in 1935/36, before returning to Hammarby. In total, he made 209 appearances for Hammarby, scoring 63 goals. He also won 55 caps for the Swedish national ice hockey team during his active career. He appeared in three major tournaments for his country – the

1935 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1935 Ice Hockey World Championships were held from January 19 to January 27, 1935, at the Eisstadion Davos in Davos, Switzerland, in which a record 15 countries took part. The teams first played in four preliminary round groups (three groups o ...

in Davos, the Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 Winter Olympics and the 1938 World Ice Hockey Championships in Prague – but failed to win any of them. After his playing career, he made one season as the manager of Hammarby Hockey in 1946. He also coached the Swedish national ice hockey team during the 1948 St. Moritz Winter Olympics, where the team finished in fourth place. In 1999, Sven Bergqvist was inducted 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 Origina ...

. He is a recipient of the honorary award

, which is handed out by

Swedish Ice Hockey Association The Swedish Ice Hockey Association ( sv, Svenska Ishockeyförbundet (SIF)) in Swedish, is an association of Swedish ice hockey clubs. It was established in Stockholm on 17 November 1922 by representatives from seven clubs. Before then, organize ...

. Only two persons have been awarded the badge in both ice hockey and football.

Other sports

At the early age of 16, in 1931, he made his debut as a bandy goalie in Hammarby Bandy's senior team. He played another four seasons in the highest Swedish division before quitting. He also represented the

Swedish national team Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. Bergqvist was also a talented sportsman in handball, playing one game in the highest Swedish division – though not for Hammarby IF, but SoIK Hellas. He was offered to represent the

in the sport of

field handball Field handball (also known as outdoor handball or grass handball) was a form of what is now handball and was played at the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Ga ...

ahead of the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...

, but chose to decline. "Svenne Berka" as well competed in the highest Swedish

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thoug ...

division for the club IK City.

Later life and death

During his whole active athletic career an onwards, Bergqvist worked full-time as a

salesman Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...

. On 3 December 1955, he was severely injured in an automobile accident and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Bergqvist was a close friend of fellow Hammarby and Swedish national player

Lennart Skoglund Karl Lennart "Nacka" Skoglund (; 24 December 1929 – 8 July 1975) was a Swedish footballer who played as left winger. He began his career in his home country with Hammarby IF, but later played for several Italian clubs, most notably Inter Mil ...

, who visited him in the hospital after the incident. Bergqvist's injuries however did not stop him from continuing to exercise sport at an elite level. He took up archery and was chosen to represent Sweden at the

1960 Summer Paralympics The 9th Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games, retroactively designated as the 1960 Summer Paralympics ( it, Giochi paralimpici estivi del 1960),

in Rome, but had to decline due to financial reasons, since he would have had to pay all expenses himself. Sven Bergqvist died on 16 December 1996, at the age of 82. He was buried at the cemetery of

Katarina Church Katarina kyrka (''Church of Catherine'') is one of the major churches in central Stockholm, Sweden. The original building was constructed 1656–1695. It has been rebuilt twice after being destroyed by fires, the second time during the 1990 ...

, close to his childhood home at Södermalm in Stockholm. Upon the construction of the

Tele2 Arena The Stockholmsarenan, known as the Tele2 Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov, just south of Stockholm City Centre, Sweden. It is used mostly for concerts and football ...

, Hammarby Fotboll's new home stadium, Bergqvist was honoured with a nearby square being named after him. "Svenne Berkas torg" in

Johanneshov Johanneshov () is a district in Stockholm located at the intersection of national road 73 and national road 75 in the borough of Enskede-Årsta-Vantör, southern Stockholm, Sweden. The icehockey arena Hovet is located in Johanneshov, its ...

was subsequently opened in July 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergqvist, Sven 1914 births 1996 deaths AIK Fotboll players AIK IF players Association football goalkeepers Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Hammarby Fotboll managers Hammarby Fotboll players Hammarby Hockey (1921–2008) players Hammarby IF Bandy players Ice hockey players at the 1936 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Olympic footballers of Sweden Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden Sportspeople from Stockholm Sweden international footballers Sweden men's national ice hockey team coaches Swedish bandy players Swedish football managers Swedish footballers Swedish ice hockey defencemen