Josef Mikoláš
Encyclopedia
Josef Mikoláš ˈjozɛf ˈmɪkolaːʃ (born 23 January 1938 in Frýdek-Místek
, Czechoslovakia
, now the Czech Republic
) was a Czechoslovak ice hockey
goaltender
of the 1950s and 1960s. His biggest success came in 1961 when he helped the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team
win silver medals at the World Ice Hockey Championships in Geneva
, Switzerland
and in 1963 when they took bronze in Stockholm
, Sweden
. Altogether he played in 29 matches for the national team.
and rickets
. When he was five years old, he still could not walk. Despite this he later attended a coal mining apprentice school
in Ostrava
and worked as a coal miner
after he finished it. He lived in Ostrava and started his ice hockey career here.
, who were playing in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, the highest league in former Czechoslovakia
. He quickly got recognition for both his goaltender's skills and courage with which he faced the shots, although he was not wearing any head protection in that time.
In 1959 he was elected the best Czechoslovak goaltender of the season. His career culminated in 1961, when he was nominated into the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team
for the World Ice Hockey Championships in Geneva
, Switzerland. The team won most of the matches and surprisingly beat even the Soviet Union 6 – 4. They drawed with Canada 1 – 1 and finally took silver due to Canada's better overall score
. For his performance Josef Mikoláš won the trophy of the Czechoslovak Sportsperson of the Year
. In 1962 the World Championships took place in Colorado Springs
, USA, but the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia boycotted the tournament. In 1963 they took bronze at the World Championships in Stockholm
, Sweden.
in spite of the fact that he did not wear any face protection. In his time only some goaltenders experimented with home-made masks, but he refused to use any. Throughout his career he lost eight teeth and suffered a broken cheekbone, double fracture
of his lower jaw and 35 sutured injuries. As the most painful he described a shot of Karel Gut
, which cost him four teeth at one moment. Altogether he had about eighty stitches all over his head. He tried wearing a goaltender mask only a short time before the end of his career.
, where he got married again and played for VTŽ Chomutov until 1968. Then he returned to Ostrava but in 1970 he finally finished his ice hockey career and worked as a sports journalist. He has three daughters.
Frýdek-Místek
Frýdek-Místek is a city in Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It is the administrative center of Frýdek-Místek District. It comprises two formerly independent towns, Frýdek and Místek, divided by the Ostravice River...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, now the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
) was a Czechoslovak ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
of the 1950s and 1960s. His biggest success came in 1961 when he helped the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team
Czechoslovak national ice hockey team
The Czechoslovak national men's ice hockey team was one of the world's premiere teams during the Soviet dominated international hockey era, often fighting Sweden for second place but sometimes beating the Soviets...
win silver medals at the World Ice Hockey Championships in Geneva
1961 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 28th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland from March 1 to March 12, 1961. Canada, represented by the Trail Smoke Eaters, won their nineteenth international title...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and in 1963 when they took bronze in Stockholm
1963 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1963 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 30th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Stockholm, Sweden from March 7 to March 17, 1963...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Altogether he played in 29 matches for the national team.
Early life
Josef Mikoláš was born to a single mother and had three younger siblings. When he was a small boy, he suffered from several serious illnesses, including pneumoniaPneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and rickets
Rickets
Rickets is a softening of bones in children due to deficiency or impaired metabolism of vitamin D, magnesium , phosphorus or calcium, potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries...
. When he was five years old, he still could not walk. Despite this he later attended a coal mining apprentice school
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in Ostrava
Ostrava
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...
and worked as a coal miner
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
after he finished it. He lived in Ostrava and started his ice hockey career here.
Ice hockey career
Josef Mikoláš started playing for ice-hockey team Pracovní zálohy Ostrava in 1956, but soon he came to another Ostrava team, VŽKG VítkoviceHC Vítkovice
HC Vítkovice Steel is an ice hockey club based in Ostrava in the Czech Republic, competing in the Czech Extraliga. It plays in the newly reconstructed ČEZ Aréna ....
, who were playing in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, the highest league in former Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. He quickly got recognition for both his goaltender's skills and courage with which he faced the shots, although he was not wearing any head protection in that time.
In 1959 he was elected the best Czechoslovak goaltender of the season. His career culminated in 1961, when he was nominated into the Czechoslovak national ice hockey team
Czechoslovak national ice hockey team
The Czechoslovak national men's ice hockey team was one of the world's premiere teams during the Soviet dominated international hockey era, often fighting Sweden for second place but sometimes beating the Soviets...
for the World Ice Hockey Championships in Geneva
1961 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 28th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland from March 1 to March 12, 1961. Canada, represented by the Trail Smoke Eaters, won their nineteenth international title...
, Switzerland. The team won most of the matches and surprisingly beat even the Soviet Union 6 – 4. They drawed with Canada 1 – 1 and finally took silver due to Canada's better overall score
Score (game)
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
. For his performance Josef Mikoláš won the trophy of the Czechoslovak Sportsperson of the Year
Sportsperson of the Year (Czechoslovakia)
Sportsperson of the Year was a prize awarded annually to the best athletes of Czechoslovakia from 1959 to 1992 by the Club of Czechoslovak Sports Journalists. The first winner was white-water canoer Vladimír Jirásek. From 1961 the prize was also given to the best sports team; the first team...
. In 1962 the World Championships took place in Colorado Springs
1962 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1962 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 29th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Colorado Springs and Denver, United States from March 8 to March 18, 1962. The Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia both boycotted this tournament...
, USA, but the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia boycotted the tournament. In 1963 they took bronze at the World Championships in Stockholm
1963 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1963 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 30th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Stockholm, Sweden from March 7 to March 17, 1963...
, Sweden.
Injuries
Josef Mikoláš was acknowledged for his courage, with which he faced the puckPuck (sports)
A puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.- Etymology :The origin of the word "puck" is obscure...
in spite of the fact that he did not wear any face protection. In his time only some goaltenders experimented with home-made masks, but he refused to use any. Throughout his career he lost eight teeth and suffered a broken cheekbone, double fracture
Bone fracture
A bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone...
of his lower jaw and 35 sutured injuries. As the most painful he described a shot of Karel Gut
Karel Gut
Karel Gut is a ice hockey player who played in the Czechoslovak Extraliga. He won a three bronze medals on the World Championships. He was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.-External links:*...
, which cost him four teeth at one moment. Altogether he had about eighty stitches all over his head. He tried wearing a goaltender mask only a short time before the end of his career.
End of the career and off-ice life
Soon after the World Championships in Sweden Mikoláš's career started declining. In 1965 he got divorced and moved to ChomutovChomutov
Chomutov is a city in the Czech Republic, in the Ústí nad Labem Region.Chomutov has been a statutory town since 1 July 2006. It occupies an area of 29,26 km² and has 50 782 inhabitants , thereby making it the 20th largest town in the Czech Republic, the 4th largest in the Ústí nad Labem...
, where he got married again and played for VTŽ Chomutov until 1968. Then he returned to Ostrava but in 1970 he finally finished his ice hockey career and worked as a sports journalist. He has three daughters.