1947 Ice Hockey World Championships
First post-war championships, won by Czechoslovakia in round robin.
The 1947 Ice Hockey World Championships were the 14th World Championships and 25th European Championship, and the first held after the Second World War. The tournament took place from 15 to 23 February 1947 at Štvanice Stadium in Prague, Czechoslovakia, with eight teams participating. Notably, the reigning world champion, Canada, was absent. The world champion was decided for the first time by round robin league play, and Czechoslovakia won the world championship for the first time, also claiming the European championship for the seventh time.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 1947
- Country
- Czechoslovakia
- Dates
- 15–23 February
- Num Teams
- 8
- Venues
- 1
- Second
- Sweden
- Third
- Austria
- Fourth
- Switzerland
- Games
- 28
- Goals
- 337
- Scoring Leader
- TCH Vladimír Zábrodský 29 goals
- Prevseason
- 1939
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The 1947 congress of the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) was the first meeting of the organization since World War II. During the war, the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) united with the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States (AHAUS) to form the International Ice Hockey Association, inviting the British Ice Hockey Association to join. This new group, led by CAHA president W. G. Hardy, was a means of shifting control of world hockey from Europe to Canada. The CAHA severed ties with the LIHG in 1944 and pledged allegiance to the International Ice Hockey Association, and a closer relationship with AHAUS. In 1946, the CAHA and AHAUS agreed to propose a merger with the LIHG to oversee international ice hockey, seeking to alternate the World Championships between Europe and North America and to have Olympic hockey played under CAHA and NHL rules. At the 1947 LIHG meeting, the CAHA pushed for the definition of amateur to be anyone not actively engaged in professional sport. The LIHG agreed to a merger where the presidency would alternate between North America and Europe every three years, and recognized AHAUS as the governing body of hockey in the United States instead of the Amateur Athletic Union. The CAHA was permitted its own definition of amateur as long as Olympic teams adhered to existing LIHG rules.
Reader's Guide
The 1947 championships marked a pivotal moment in international ice hockey governance. The LIHG's first post-war congress saw the CAHA and AHAUS successfully push for a merger that shifted the balance of power toward North America, with the presidency alternating every three years and the CAHA allowed its own amateur definition. Rule changes standardized the game to three 20-minute periods and standardized net size, while eliminating one- and three-minute penalties and instituting penalty shots. Japan and Germany were barred from participation, though the LIHG emphasized that politics, not people, were at fault, and allies like Austria and Italy were admitted. On the ice, the tournament was decided by round robin for the first time. King Gustav V sent a telegram of congratulations to the Swedish team after they beat the Czechoslovaks, but Sweden then lost to Austria, costing them the gold medal. Czechoslovakia won its first world championship and seventh European championship, establishing a new post-war order in European hockey.
More in International and Olympic Ice Hockey, Part 3 1-24
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