Åke Andersson (ice hockey)

Åke Gustav "Plutten" Andersson (8 June 1918 – 11 May 1982) was a Swedish ice hockey, football and bandy player and manager, known for representing Hammarby IF in all three sports.

Åke Andersson
Andersson in 1948
Born(1918-06-08)8 June 1918
Stockholm, Sweden
Died11 May 1982(1982-05-11) (aged 63)
Södertälje, Sweden
Ice hockey career
Position Defenceman, forward
Played for Hammarby IF
National team  Sweden
Playing career 1934–1958
Medal record
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place1952 OsloTeam
World Championships
Silver medal – second placePrague 1947Team
Silver medal – second placeParis 1951Team
Gold medal – first placeZürich/Basel 1953Team
Bronze medal – third placeStockholm 1954Team
Association football career
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Hammarby IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1937–1951 Hammarby IF 231 (40)
Managerial career
1951 Hammarby IF
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Bandy career
Playing position Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1934–1958 Hammarby IF

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

He represented his country at two Winter Olympic games, finishing fourth in 1948 and winning a bronze medal in 1952. He was the captain of the Swedish national team from 1945 until his retirement in 1954.[1]

Early life

Andersson grew up in a working-class home in a southern part of Stockholm known as Södermalm. His father was working as a groundskeeper at Hammarby Idrottsplats, the home of local club Hammarby IF which he joined at age 14.[2][3]

Athletic career
Andersson was the club captain for Hammarby IF.

Ice hockey

In 1934, Andersson started to play hockey with Hammarby IF in Elitserien, Sweden's top tier.[4]

He won six Swedish championships – in 1936, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1946 and 1951 – with the club.[5][6] In total, Andersson made 351 competitive appearances for Hammarby, scoring 150 goals.[4] He played 23 seasons in the Swedish top league, a domestic record.[7]

He was known as a hard-working player with a lot of stamina, possessing a good tactical mind and a great sense of play. He was also good at positioning himself and had good offensive qualities. Andersson was, among other awards and prizes, crowned as "Sweden's best hockey player" seven years in a row.[4][8][7] Andersson formed a strong defensive pairing with the physical defenceman Rune Johansson for several seasons.[9]

Andersson decided to stay with Hammarby during his whole career, even though he had frequent offers from other teams in Sweden.[3] About his love for Hammarby, Andersson said the following in November 1957:[10]

A club that has done so much for me, given me so much joy, I would never be able to disappoint. I would have felt like a criminal if I had done that.

He won 62 competitive caps for the Swedish national team, scoring a total of 18 goals, and regularly captained the side.[8] Andersson represented his country at six major tournaments, and his biggest achievements were winning the bronze medal in the 1952 Winter Olympics and Sweden's first ever World Championship win in 1953.[8][4][11]

He is a recipient of the honorary award Stora Grabbars Märke and was inducted into the Swedish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012; both awards are handed out by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association.[12][7] In total, he made 134 appearances for Sweden, including friendlies and exhibition matches, between 1937 and 1954.[4]

Andersson retired from hockey at the end of 1958, at age 40, due to a fracture.[13] He was the head coach of Hammarby between 1960 and 1962.[6]

Football

In 1937, at age 19, Andersson debuted in the senior football team of Hammarby IF.[14] Up until 1951, Andersson made 231 league appearances for Hammarby, mostly in the Swedish second tier Division 2, scoring 40 goals, playing as a midfielder.[15]

In 1939–40, Hammarby competed for one season in Allsvenskan, the domestic top league, with Andersson playing 13 of 22 fixtures, but was relegated immediately.[16][17][8]

Åke Andersson (right) with his brother Stig Emanuel Andersson (left), who played in different teams in 1949, Hammarby IF and Atlas Diesels IF.

He was the player-manager of Hammarby for one season in 1950–51 together with Folke Adamsson, after which he decided to retire from football.[18][8]

Bandy

Andersson was also a prominent bandy player for Hammarby IF between 1932 and 1947. He was a member of the Swedish national team and won a total of seven caps for his country.[19][8] As well as in ice hockey, Andersson is a recipient of the honorary award Stora Grabbars Märke in bandy, an award that is handed out by the Swedish Bandy Association.[20]

Personal life

He was the younger brother of Stig Emanuel Andersson, who also was a celebrated sportsman.[2] His nephew Börje Andersson also played hockey and made one season with Hammarby IF in 1968–69.[21]

References
  1. "Åke Andersson Biography". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  2. "Stig Emanuel Andersson" (PDF) (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  3. "Åke "Plutten" Andersson" (PDF) (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. "Åke "Plutten" Andersson" (in Swedish). Hammarby Hockey. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  5. "Svenska mästare i ishockey" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  6. "Åke Andersson" (in Swedish). Eliteprospects. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  7. "Åke Andersson" (in Swedish). Svenska Ishockeyförbundet. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  8. "Åke Andersson" (in Swedish). SOK. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. "Rune Johansson" (in Swedish). Swedish Olympic Committee. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  10. "Hammarbys återkomst till allsvenskan 1958" (in Swedish). HIF Hockey Historia. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. "The Sweden team rosters in World Championship, Olympic Games, World Cup of Hockey and Canada Cup year by year since 1920" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  12. "Stora Grabbar" (PDF) (in Swedish). Svenska Ishockeyförbundet. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  13. "1959" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  14. "1938" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  15. "Hammarby IF:s historia" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  16. "Här grundades Hammarby IF" (in Swedish). Tidningen Hammarby Sjöstad. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  17. "1940" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  18. "1951" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  19. "Rosa och Plutten invalda i Hall of Fame" (in Swedish). Hammarby Bandy. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  20. "Stora grabbar" (in Swedish). Svenska Bandyförbundet. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  21. "Börje Andersson" (in Swedish). Eliteprospects. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
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