Early Hungarian Hockey

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This page overviews early hockey activities in Hungary, prior to the formation of the first national championship in 1936-37.

History

Budapesti Korcsolyázó Egylet (BKE Budapest) created a bandy hockey section in December 1899 and an inter-club match was staged on the 26th.[1] BKE played their first documented matches against other opponents in 1907-08, facing teams from Prague and Vienna. The Hungarian Winter Sports Federation was founded in 1908 and bandy was given a division within the federation.

Bandy and later hockey was always a noble sport in Hungary. It was only played by the social elite in the country. It was the favorite pastime of many counts, ministers, and other influential individuals. BKE Budapest was long one of the best bandy teams in Europe. They won the Ringhoffer Pokal and a tournament in St. Moritz in 1914. The same year the squad organized a domestic tournament, played in Budapest on February 1 and 2.

The bandy style of play remained at the forefront until the mid-1920s. BKE and Leipziger SC were easily the top bandy teams in Europe at the time. BKE invited the Englishman John Dunlop to teach them the basics of hockey with a puck in 1924. Dunlop had previously been in Vienna instructing the Austrians. Dunlop arrived to Hungary late in 1924 and an inter-squad match between BKE "white" and "blue" sides took place that December and a year later, BKE invited Wiener AC and VfB Wien from Vienna to play a couple exhibition games against them. WAC and VfB each won 1-0, on December 26 and 27, 1925. In 1926 the first artificial ice rink opened in Budapest (Stadion Városliget). Prior to that the rink at City Park had been used for bandy and hockey activities.

Hungary joined the International Ice Hockey Federation on January 24, 1927, and on the same day the Hungarian National Team made its international debut at the 1927 European Championship, hosted by Vienna. In their first game, they lost 6-0 to Austria, and Hungary finished winless at the tournament overall. The following year, the national team took part in the 1928 Winter Olympics. They lost all three games by close margins, falling 1-0 to Great Britain, 2-0 to France and 3-2 to Belgium. Their opponents were all much more seasoned than Hungary, so the results were pretty good. Budapest later played host to the 1929 European Championship.

Hungary also participated in the inaugural 1930 World Championship. The tournament was played in a knockout format, and the Hungarians defeated Italy 2-0 before being eliminated by Germany, 4-1. Domestically, the number of teams was quickly increasing. Some of the initial clubs (BKE, BBTE, FTC, and MHC) were soon joined by new outfits such as Magyar Úszó Egylet (MUE), Műegyetemi Atlétikai és Football Club (MAFC), Amateur Hockey Club (AHC), Újpesti Torna Egylet (UTE) and Budapesti Egyetemi Atlétikai Club (BEAC). As there was not yet a national championship, the teams faced one another in home tournaments. BKE and BBTE were also quite active internationally, facing other club teams from around Europe.

In 1932, BKE formed a youth section in order to train young players within the club itself. Prior to this point, youths were only able to take part in the KISOK Championships organized for high schools. Early Hungarian stars Béla Haray and István Hircsák played in these competitions. Pete Dewar,the brother of former NHL'er Tom Dewar, played for BKE Budapest between 1933 and 1935. Hungary won the 1933 Winter Universitaires (Academic Winter Games).

One of the more sensational results to this day by a Hungarian team was the 0-0 tie in Budapest against the Canadian Saskatoon Quakers in 1934. The same Saskatoon team became the World champions that year. The person who was mainly responsible for this upset was the 20-year old, aforementioned, István Hircsák. Hircsák had debuted for the Hungarian national team in 1933 and held that position for 20 years. He retired from hockey in 1958 as a 44 year old. It is worth noting that he became a Hungarian champion that last season (1958) with Ujpesti Dózsa.

Hircsák is probably the best Hungarian player ever. He was considered to be one of the top goalies in Europe during the 1930's and was on most occasions the guy who helped Hungary be competitive.The same Hircsák helped Hungary earn a 1-1 tie with Canada during the 1938 World Championship in Prague, another huge surprise.

During the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany) the Hungarians were led by Sándor Miklós' 8 goals in 6 games and Béla Haray's 4 goals in 6 games. Hungary finished in 7th place. Another member of that 1936 Olympic team was László Róna who later had an international career where he played for EHC Arosa (Switzerland), won the league title with KIF Helsinki (Finland) and also played for Karlberg (Sweden) and Paris Lions (France).

After more than 10 years of domestic hockey activities in Hungary, the national federation finally organized the first Hungarian Championship for the 1936-37 season. Three teams from Budapest (BBTE, BKE, and FTC) indicated that they would participate, as did Debrecen from the countryside. FTC withdrew from the competition after it was ruled that a Canadian player on the club, Frank Stapleton, would not be allowed to participate. Debrecen did not play in the end either, so BKE also entered a second team in the championship. The competition was abbreviated owing to a heavy schedule of international matches for both the clubs and national teams, and BKE Budapest was named the inaugural Hungarian champion after the first round.

Results

Note: For results in all games involving BKE prior to 1918, please see Budapesti Korcsolyázó Egylet.

1913
  • February 2: MAC Budapest - FTC Budapest 12:4[2]
1914
  • January 11: MAC Budapest - FTC Budapest 13:3[2]
1916
  • February: There was a youth tournament played for the "BKE Youth Challenge Prize". Qualification matches: Barcsay-utcai gimnázium – Kegyesrendi gimnázium 9:4, V. ker. főgimnázium – IV. ker. főreál 16:0. Final: Evangelikus gimnázium - Barcsay-utcai gimnázium 14:1.[3]
1922
  • February 14: BKE Budapest - FTC II 13:3 - a game for the Budapest Graf Cup.[4]
1923
  • December: BKE Budapest I - BKE Budapest II 5:2 (3:1, 2:1). Rosters: I. Heinrich G. – Pásztor, Barna Lator – Kehrling – Péter Krempels, Minnich, - II. Boros – Gruber, Kropuska – Weiner – Vojnics, gr. Bethlen, Izsák. Game was played at City Park. Referee: Minder Frigyes.[5]
1924
  • January 6: MAC - Magyar Hockey Club 3:3
  • January 6: BKE Budapest - FTC Budapest 17:0[6]
  • January 26: FTC - BBTE 4:1, MAC - Kassa 6:1, BKE - BBTE 13:0[7]
  • January: A tournament for the Zsigmondy Prize was played in January 1924 and was won by BKE Budapest. The tournament was played among five teams at the City Park rink in Budapest. MAC finished second while MHC came in third. BKE's game results: BKE-FTC 4:0, BKE-MAC 4:0, BKE-MHC 3:0, BKE-BBTE 11:0.[8]
  • December: BKE Budapest Blue (Kékek) 6 - BKE Budapest White (Fehérek) 0 (3-0, 2-0, 1-0)[9]
  • Rosters: Blue: Lőrincz – Gruber, Milán – Kehrling, Dr. Lator , Count István Bethlen. Reserve: Reiter. White: Dunlop – Barna, Oláh – Count Bethlen Gábor, Beck, Szandovita. Reserves: Pozel, Pásztor. Referee: Minder Frigyes.
  • Details: This was the first game of "Canadian" ice hockey with a puck to be played in Hungary. It was played in three periods of 20 minutes at the City Park in Budapest. The first 20 minutes, Dunlop's excellent goalkeeping did not prevent Lator from scoring three goals for the Blue. In contrast, the blue defense turned away all attacks led by Beck of the white team. Lator scored two more goals for the blue in the second period. Meanwhile, Dunlop left his goal and played out for the white. In the final period, Count István Bethlen scored again for the blue. The game was played at a quick from the start and the players mostly played individually, while the passing game largely neglected. This is understandable because of the unusual rules of the game, forward passing was restricted. After the match, John Dunlop, a famous English goalkeeper, expressed his satisfaction over the fast skating of the Hungarian players, but stressed that they were still a long ways off from perfecting the art of playing ice hockey.
1925
  • January 25: Graf Csaky Cup: Leipziger SC - MAC 9:1 (4:0, 5:1), BKE - BBTE 9:1 (6:0, 3:1), BKE - MAC 1:0 (1:0, 0:0), BBTE - MAC 1:1 (1:0, 0:1), BKE - Leipziger SC 3:3 (2:0, 1:3), Leipziger SC - BBTE 6:3 (4:2, 2:1)[10]
1926
  • January 21: There were plans for a hockey tournament involving BKE, FTC, MAC, MHC, and BHC.[11]
  • January 22-24: "Sagody Ervin Memorial" - FTC - BBTE 2:1, FTC - MAC 1:0, FTC - BHC 3:0, FTC - MHC 4:0, BKE - FTC 6:0[12]
1927
  • February 3: There was a tournament scheduled for February 4-6 involving BHC, BKE, BBTE, MHC, and FTC.[13]
  • February 4: "Kornel Memorial Prize" - BKE - BHC 17:0 (6:0, 11:0), FTC - MHC 1:0 (0:0, 1:0), BBTE - BHC 11:0 (5:0, 6:0)[14]
  • February 8: "Kornel Memorial Prize" - MHC - PHC 6:2, BKE - BBTE 8:1, FTC - BBTE 4:1, BKE - MHC 1:0 - BKE won tournament[15]
  • December 26: BBTE Juniors - BKE Juniors 3:1 (2:0, 1:1, 0:0)
  • December 26: BKE kombinalt - KISOZ 2:1[16]
1928
  • February 19: "MUE Bandy Goblet" - FTC - MUE 6:2, FTC - BKE 3:1[17]
  • December 30: BKE Budapest - BKE Budapest II 0:0[18]
1929
  • February 15: Evangélikus gimnázium - Kölesey rg. 3:0 - KISOK Championhip match[19]
  • February 17: FTC Budapest - MAFC 13:2[17]
  • February 18: Magyar Hockey Club - FTC Budapest 2:1[17] - game was part of a tournament, won by BKE
  • February 20: BKE Budapest - FTC Budapest 6:1 - BKE Tournament[17]
  • February 24: KISOK - FTC Budapest 3:1 - BKE Tournament[17]
  • February 25: BBTE Budapest - FTC Budapest 4:1 - BKE Tournament[17]
  • March 2: MHC Budapest - BBTE Budapest 9:5 (5:2, 4:3)[20]
  • December 1: BKE Budapest - Kombinalt 4:1 (0:1, 2:0, 2:0)[21]
  • December 8: BKE Budapest - BKE Budapest II 10:3 (7:1, 2:1, 1:1)[22]
  • December 22: BKE Budapest - MHC Budapest 12:2 (3:1, 3:0, 6:0)
  • December 22: BKE Budapest II - BBTE Budapest 4:2 (2:1, 1:0, 1:1)[23]
  • December 24: BKE Budapest - MHC Budapest 12:1[24]
  • December 25: BKE Budapest II - FTC Budapest 4:3[17] - BBTE Christmas Tournament
  • December 26: Magyar Hockey Club - FTC Budapest 2:1[17] - BBTE Christmas Tournament 3rd place game (BBTE won tournament)
  • December 29: BKE Budapest komb. - FTC Budapest 4:2 (1:1, 3:0, 0:1)[25]
1930
  • January 5: FTC Budapest - MAFC 5:1 - FTC Tournament[17]
  • January 6: BKE Budapest II - FTC Budapest 5:2 - FTC Tournament[17]
  • January 6: BKE Budapest - BKE Budapest II 8:1 (2:0, 3:1, 3:0)[26]
  • January 11: FTC Budapest - AHC 5:2 - MUE Tournament[17]
  • January 18: FTC Budapest - MAFC 4:2 - MHC Tournament[17]
  • January 19: BKE Budapest II - BEAC Budapest 10:0 (5:0, 2:0, 3:0)[27]
  • January 20: FTC Budapest - BBTE Budapest 0:0 - MHC Tournament[17]
  • January 23: Magyar Hockey Club - FTC Budapest 4:0 - MHC Tournament[17]
  • January 26: BKE II - FTC 0:0 - match was part of "MHC Tournament": Final standings: 1. MHC 6 pts, 2. BKE II 3 pts, 3. FTC 2 pts, 4. BBTE 1 pt.[28]
  • February 3: FTC Budapest - MUE 5:2 - MUE Tournament final[17]
  • February 9: BKE Budapest - BBTE Budapest 3:1 (0:0, 0:0, 3:1)[29]
  • February 26: BKE Budapest - FTC Budapest 2:0 - BKE Cup[17]
  • February 27: BBTE Budapest - FTC Budapest 3:2 - BKE Cup[17]
  • December 26: FTC Budapest - BBTE Budapest 4:1 - BKE Christmas Tournament[17]
  • December 28: BKE Budapest - FTC Budapest 3:1 - BKE Christmas Tournament[17]
1931
  • January 15: BBTE Budapest - FTC Budapest 2:1 - MUE Tournament[30]
  • January 22: MUE - FTC Budapest 3:2 - MUE Tournament[30]
  • March 3: BKE Budapest - FTC Budapest 4:0 - BKE Tournament[30]
1932
  • January 3: FTC Budapest - MUE 4:1 - MUE Tournament[30]
  • January 15: FTC Budapest - Magyar Hockey Club 4:3 - MUE Tournament[30]
1933
  • February 13: BKE Budapest - BBTE Budapest 5:0 (0:0, 2:0, 3:0)[31]
  • December 10: BBTE Budapest - FTC Budapest 3:2[32]
  • December 28: Klub A - Klub E 4:1[33]
1934
  • February 18: BKE Budapest - FTC Budapest 3:0 (0:0, 2:0, 1:0)[34]
  • December 16: BKE Budapest - BBTE Budapest 3:1[35]
1935
  • January 24: Reál - Tanítóképző 4:0 (0:0, 3:0, 1:0, 1:0)[36]
  • February 7: Gimnazium - MESE 1:0 - KISOK Championship[37]
  • February 9: Gimnazium - Tanitokepzo 1:1 (0:0, 0:0, 1:1) - "
  • February 9: MESE - Eredmény 4:1 (0:0, 3:0, 1:1) - "[38]
  • November 24: BKE Budapest - BBTE Budapest 7:2 (2:1, 3:0, 2:1)[39]

Photographs

  • An early bandy match played in Hungary.

    An early bandy match played in Hungary.

  • BKE Budapest in 1909

    BKE Budapest in 1909

  • FTC in 1924

    FTC in 1924

  • BKE Budapest in 1929

    BKE Budapest in 1929

  • A picture of three individuals from the first ice hockey game played in December 1924. John Dunlop was in the center.

    A picture of three individuals from the first ice hockey game played in December 1924. John Dunlop was in the center.

References

  1. ↑ Allgemeine Sport-Zeitung, December 31, 1899
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 FTC napló 1911-1921
  3. ↑ A BKE ifjusági vándordíja
  4. ↑ Prager Tagblatt, February 14, 1922
  5. ↑ BKE I. - BKE II. 5:2 (3:1)
  6. ↑ Napi Hírek, 1/26/1924
  7. ↑ Napi Hírek, 1/26/1924
  8. ↑ Jéghockey – A Zsigmondy-díj
  9. ↑ BKE kék csapat – BKE fehér csapat 6:0
  10. ↑ Napi Hírek, 1/25/1925
  11. ↑ Napi Hírek, 1/21/1926
  12. ↑ FTC napló 1925-1927
  13. ↑ Napi Hírek, 2/3/1927
  14. ↑ Napi Hírek, 2/4/1927
  15. ↑ Nyírvidék, 2/8/1927
  16. ↑ Napi Hírek, 12/26/1927
  17. ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 17.12 17.13 17.14 17.15 17.16 17.17 17.18 FTC napló 1928-1930
  18. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/31/1928
  19. ↑ Sportkiadás, 2/16/1929
  20. ↑ Sportkiadás, 3/2/1929
  21. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/1/1929
  22. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/8/1929
  23. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/22/1929
  24. ↑ Nyírvidék, 12/24/1929
  25. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/29/1929
  26. ↑ Sportkiadás, 1/12/1930
  27. ↑ Sportkiadás, 1/19/1930
  28. ↑ Sportkiadás, 1/26/1930
  29. ↑ Sportkiadás, 1/26/1930
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 FTC napló 1931-1933
  31. ↑ Sportkiadás, 2/13/1933
  32. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/10/1933
  33. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/28/1933
  34. ↑ Sportkiadás, 2/18/1934
  35. ↑ Sportkiadás, 12/16/1934
  36. ↑ Esztergom és Vidéke, 1/24/1935
  37. ↑ Eger, 2/7/1935
  38. ↑ Eger, 2/9/1935
  39. ↑ Sportkiadás, 11/24/1935


Origins of Hockey
By Country:    Austria • Finland • Germany • Great Britain • Hungary • Netherlands • Norway • Russia • Sweden • Switzerland
Key Propagators:   Harold Blackett • Franjo Bucar • James Creighton • George Meagher • Pim Mulier • Peter Patton • William Pollock Wylie • Josef Rossler-Orovsky • Tebbutt Family
Other topics:   First indoor hockey game (1875) • Early Canadian Seasons (1875-1886) • Halifax Rules • Montreal Rules
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