Sven Olof Lennart Bergqvist (20 August 1914 – 16 December 1996) was a Swedish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

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, 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 team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, 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 playin ...

and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

. Bergqvist is one of only three athletes that has competed in the highest Swedish division in four different sports. He had 35 caps for the

Sweden men's national football team The Sweden men's national football team () represents Sweden in men's international Association football, football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Strawb ...

between 1935 and 1943, and received the honorary award

Stora Grabbars Märke Stora Enso Oyj (from and ) is a Finnish and Swedish forest industry company. It develops and produces various materials, mostly based on wood, for a range of industries and applications worldwide. It has headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, and ...

from the

Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association (, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and for women – and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in Solna and is a ...

. He played 55 games for the

Sweden men's national ice hockey team The Sweden men's national ice hockey team () is governed by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world and a member of the so-called " Big Six", the unofficial group of the six ...

at the World Championships and the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

, and 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 Interna ...

in 1999.

Early life

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

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 ...

known as

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

. 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, tenn ...

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 Hammarby IF.

Athletic career

Football

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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

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

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

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, that would have turned Bergqvist into the first professional Swedish footballer. Bergqvist remained 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. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of Hammarby. Bergqvist made a total of 212 competitive appearances during his two stints at the club. He also had 35 caps for the

between 1935 and 1943. In his second cap, on 30 June 1935, Sweden defeated

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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

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. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

on the pitch, which inspired a long lasting

fashion trend History of fashion design refers specifically to the development of the purpose and intention behind garments, shoes, accessories, and their design and construction. The modern industry, based around firms or fashion houses run by individual des ...

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

, which is handed out by the

Ice hockey

Bergqvist was also a prominent ice hockey defender, debuting for Hammarby Hockey 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, and ...

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 played 55 games for the

during his active career. He appeared in three major tournaments for his country – the 1935 World Ice Hockey Championships in

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

, the Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 Winter Olympics and the

1938 World Ice Hockey Championships The 1938 Ice Hockey World Championships were held between February 11 and February 20, 1938, at Štvanice Stadium in Prague, Czechoslovakia. It marked the 30th anniversary of the IIHF, and a special celebration was held with famous hockey player ...

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 Sweden national ice hockey team during the 1948 St. Moritz Winter Olympics, where the team finished in fourth place. In 1999, Bergqvist was inducted into the

. He is a recipient of the honorary award

, which is handed out by

Swedish Ice Hockey Association The Swedish Ice Hockey Association () 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, organized ice hockey in Sweden had been admi ...

. 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

Sweden national bandy team The Sweden national bandy team () represents Sweden in the sport of bandy. There are two separate national teams, a national bandy team for men, and a national bandy team for women. This article deals chiefly with Sweden's national men's bandy te ...

. Bergqvist was also a talented sportsman in

, playing one game in the highest Swedish division – though not for Hammarby IF, but

SoIK Hellas SoIK Hellas is a sports club in Stockholm, Sweden, established on 14 May 1899 as Pastorns gossar ("The Preacher's Guys") by Katarina Parish Confirmation (Lutheran Church), confirmation priest Ernst Klefbeck, before changing name to SoIK Hellas in ...

. He was offered to represent the

Sweden men's national handball team The Sweden men's national handball team () is Sweden's national team in men's handball and is controlled by the Swedish Handball Association. Its most successful periods were under coaches Curt Wadmark (1948–19 ...

in the sport of

field handball Field handball (also known as outdoor handball or grass handball) is a soccer-like outdoor predecessor of what is now (indoor) handball. It was played at the Olympics once, at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. It was dominated by Germany, winn ...

ahead of the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

, but chose to decline. Bergqvist also competed in the highest Swedish

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

division for the club IK City.

Later life and death

During his athletic career and 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. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

. 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 Sweden national team player Lennart Skoglund, 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 Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

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, were the first international Paralympic Games, following on from the Stoke Mandeville Games of 1948 and 1952. They were organised under ...

in Rome, but had to decline due to financial reasons, since he would have had to pay all expenses himself. 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 199 ...

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

Tele2 Arena 3Arena, formerly the Stockholmsarenan (and Tele2 Arena), is a retractable roof multi-purpose arena in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov, just south of Stockholm City Centre, Sweden. It is used mostly for concerts and Association football, footbal ...

, 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 c ...

was subsequently opened in July 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergqvist, Sven 1914 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Swedish sportsmen AIK Fotboll players AIK IF players Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Footballers from Stockholm Hammarby Fotboll managers Hammarby Fotboll players Hammarby Hockey (1921–2008) players Hammarby IF Bandy players Ice hockey people from Stockholm Ice hockey players at the 1936 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Men's association football goalkeepers Olympic footballers for Sweden Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden Sweden men's international footballers Sweden men's national ice hockey team coaches Swedish bandy players Swedish football managers Swedish men's footballers Swedish ice hockey defencemen