PHOTO: Bildbyrån
He is one of Swedish hockey’s great goalie heroes.
Today we pay tribute to the legendary Leif Holmqvist on his birthday.
Better known by his classic nickname “Honken”.
He may have been over 80 years old, but to this day the nickname “Honken” commands respect in Swedish hockey. Leif Holmqvist is one of our greatest Tre Kronor heroes and a role model for so many Swedish hockey goalies.
Honken’s career
The icon guarded the posts in the national team in the years 1965 to 1975 and salvaged a total of seven WC medals. Honken became hugely popular with the public during his active career and still is today, many years later.
The article continues after the picture.
He broke through in the parent club Strömsbro IF, but instead of moving on to the local big club Brynäs, Holmqvist chose Stockholm and AIK as his new club address. There were the most matches in the black and yellow shirt, but Holmqvist also managed short stays in the London Lions, Indianapolis Racers, HV71 and Hanhals.
The nasty accident
During his time in England and the London Lions, the goalkeeping legend witnessed a life-changing moment that left a deep impression on him. Almost 50 years later, Honken tells the truth about what really happened on the day he could have been one of the 346 people who lost their lives in the terrible plane disaster in Ermenonville on March 3, 1974.
The article continues after the picture.
For Leif Holmqvist and the Lions teammates Ulf Sterner and Tord Lundström each had their saving angel by their side.
– We had played a match somewhere in France, I think. We were stationed in London. Sometimes European teams came to London to play, and sometimes we traveled to Europe and played teams in Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia. We even faced Swedish teams in a tournament in Sweden. On this day, we were on our way home and were to travel on a plane that came from Turkey and would stop in Paris and fly on to London, says Leif in an old interview with Aftonbladet.
– Our bus driver overslept, which meant we missed the flight.
READ MORE: Markus Näslund says exactly what he thinks of Henrik Lundqvist – points out the crucial detail about “Henke”
After a while of waiting, the club management called for taxis for the players, but they quickly realized that they would not make it to the airport and therefore rebooked the trip home. Once they arrived at the airport in Paris, they were greeted by the terrible news that Turkish Airline, flight 981, had crashed and that all on board had died.
– There were no mobile phones at the time, so Lotta (Leif’s wife) at home in London was beside herself with worry, she was absolutely sure that I had died in the accident. The first thing I thought of then was that I had been damn lucky, but at the same time I thought of all the poor people on board the plane, says Honken to the evening newspaper.
Despite the terrible situation, Leif “Honken” Holmqvist still has no fear of flying today.
– No, I know that after all it is safer to fly than to drive a car, he admits.
Share the article to congratulate the legendary “Honken” on his birthday!
Share