Tadeusz Adamowski
Encyclopedia
Tadeusz "Ralf" Adamowski (November 19, 1901 – August 1994) was a Polish
-American
ice hockey
player who competed in the 1928 Winter Olympics
, and a supporter and popularizer of the sport in early twentieth century Poland.
made up the Adamowski Trio. He was the brother of Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni
, film and stage actress and humanitarian associated with the founding of UNICEF. He was also a cousin of the Polish pianist and diplomat Ignacy Paderewski.
Adamowski was born in Lucerne
, Switzerland
when his parents, Polish immigrants to the USA, had traveled there so that his mother could avoid being in the spotlight in her advanced pregnant condition. His family resided in Brookline, Massachusetts
, and were actively engaged in the music world in Boston but also traveled frequently to Europe. He finished a degree in economics
at Harvard (Cambridge, Massachusetts
) in 1922. While in school he played American football
, tennis
, basketball
and ice hockey. He was a member of the Harvard hockey team, and the school's fencing
team.
.
Between 1926 and 1931 he was the center of the Polish national team and was considered to be one of the most technically skilled hockey players in Europe. He was chosen as the fourth most popular athlete in Poland in 1927 (and 7th in 1929).
In 1926 Adamowski took part in the European Hockey Championship
in Davos
, as part of the first-ever international appearance of the Polish ice hockey team. Adamowski played in the European Championships six times in all (1926, 1927, 1929-silver medal, 1930, 1931-silver medal, and 1933).
He participated in the World Championships
three times (1930, 1931, and 1933). In 1928 Adamowski skated in the Olympic tournament
, also with Poland's national hockey team. In 1930, during the World Championships in Davos was appointed to represent Europe at the game with Canada. One of his greatest hockey successes came in 1931 at the World Championship in Krynica
, when the Polish team with Adamowski as its leader took fourth place, after Canada, USA, and Austria
, making it the second team in Europe.
He became the coach of the Polish national team in 1927 and served until 1930, as well as in 1932. As a coach he popularized Canadian hockey methods and strategy which stressed teamwork over individual players. Along with Aleksander Tupalski he also served as a coach for the Gdańsk club Gedania.
In the 1930s he worked initially for the group General Motors (delegation in Warsaw), and then in the enterprise "Gdynia-America shipping" S.A.
in the 21st Regiment of Vistula Uhlans (21 Pułk Ułanów Nadwiślańskich) near the towns of Bydgoszcz and Grudziądz
. Captured by the Germans, he was imprisoned in Oflag II-C
in Woldenberg (Dobiegniew
). While in the camp he participated in educational activities for prisoners, organized classes for studying English and played basketball on the camp team. At the end of the war he managed to reach American troops stationed in Europe. He moved to the United States, where for many years he worked for UNICEF. He died in New York
in 1994.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
player who competed in the 1928 Winter Olympics
1928 Winter Olympics
The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated February 11–19, 1928 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The 1928 Games were the first true Winter Olympics held on its own as they were not in conjunction with a Summer Olympics...
, and a supporter and popularizer of the sport in early twentieth century Poland.
Early life
He was the son of Polish musicians Józef and Antonina Adamowski née Szumska, who with Józef’s brother Tymoteusz AdamowskiTimothee Adamowski
Tymoteusz "Timothee" Adamowski was a Polish-born American conductor, composer, and violinist. Born in Warsaw, he studied in that city's conservatory, later moving on to further studies in Paris. He served as the first conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra...
made up the Adamowski Trio. He was the brother of Helenka Adamowska Pantaleoni
Helenka Pantaleoni
Helen Tradusa "Helenka" Adamowska-Pantaleoni was an American silent film actress and humanitarian who was the founding director of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF, a role that she held for 25 years...
, film and stage actress and humanitarian associated with the founding of UNICEF. He was also a cousin of the Polish pianist and diplomat Ignacy Paderewski.
Adamowski was born in Lucerne
Lucerne
Lucerne is a city in north-central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of that country. Lucerne is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and the capital of the district of the same name. With a population of about 76,200 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and...
, 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....
when his parents, Polish immigrants to the USA, had traveled there so that his mother could avoid being in the spotlight in her advanced pregnant condition. His family resided in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, and were actively engaged in the music world in Boston but also traveled frequently to Europe. He finished a degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at Harvard (Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
) in 1922. While in school he played American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and ice hockey. He was a member of the Harvard hockey team, and the school's fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
team.
In Poland
In 1925 "he went to Warsaw as an agent for the General Motors Corporation". In Warsaw he ran into Polish hockey players, associated with the club AZS Warszawa, who asked him to join their team after he explained he had played hockey at Harvard. With Adamowski on the team, AZS Warszawa five times in a row won the Polish championship (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 and 1931)Polska Liga Hokejowa
The Polish Hockey Superleague is the premier ice hockey league in Poland.-Teams 2010-11 season:*Aksam Unia Oswiecim*Akuna Naprzod Janow*Ciarko KH Sanok*Comarch Cracovia*GKS Tychy*JKH GKS Jastrzebie...
.
Between 1926 and 1931 he was the center of the Polish national team and was considered to be one of the most technically skilled hockey players in Europe. He was chosen as the fourth most popular athlete in Poland in 1927 (and 7th in 1929).
In 1926 Adamowski took part in the European Hockey Championship
Ice Hockey European Championships
The Ice Hockey European Championship was an annual ice hockey tournament for European countries associated to the International Ice Hockey Federation...
in Davos
Davos
Davos is a municipality in the district of Prättigau/Davos in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of 11,248 . Davos is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur and Albula Range...
, as part of the first-ever international appearance of the Polish ice hockey team. Adamowski played in the European Championships six times in all (1926, 1927, 1929-silver medal, 1930, 1931-silver medal, and 1933).
He participated in the World Championships
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
three times (1930, 1931, and 1933). In 1928 Adamowski skated in the Olympic tournament
Ice hockey at the 1928 Winter Olympics
At the 1928 Winter Olympics, the ice hockey event was contested by 11 teams. The competition was held from Saturday, February 11, 1928 to Sunday, February 19, 1928....
, also with Poland's national hockey team. In 1930, during the World Championships in Davos was appointed to represent Europe at the game with Canada. One of his greatest hockey successes came in 1931 at the World Championship in Krynica
Krynica
Krynica-Zdrój is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland in the Beskids mountains, inhabited by over eleven thousand people. It is the biggest spa town in Poland called The Pearl of Polish Spas; a tourist and winter sport centre. It was first recorded in 1547 and became a...
, when the Polish team with Adamowski as its leader took fourth place, after Canada, USA, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, making it the second team in Europe.
He became the coach of the Polish national team in 1927 and served until 1930, as well as in 1932. As a coach he popularized Canadian hockey methods and strategy which stressed teamwork over individual players. Along with Aleksander Tupalski he also served as a coach for the Gdańsk club Gedania.
In the 1930s he worked initially for the group General Motors (delegation in Warsaw), and then in the enterprise "Gdynia-America shipping" S.A.
During World War II
In 1939, during the Nazi invasion of Poland he was called up from the reserves into the Polish army and fought as a lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the 21st Regiment of Vistula Uhlans (21 Pułk Ułanów Nadwiślańskich) near the towns of Bydgoszcz and Grudziądz
Grudziadz
Grudziądz is a city in northern Poland on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants . Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship .- History :-Early history:...
. Captured by the Germans, he was imprisoned in Oflag II-C
Oflag II-C
Oflag II-C Woldenburg was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located about from the town of Woldenberg, Brandenburg...
in Woldenberg (Dobiegniew
Dobiegniew
Dobiegniew is a town in Poland, in Lubusz Voivodeship, in Strzelce-Drezdenko County. It has 3,189 inhabitants .It was part of Germany until 1945. In WWII, the Oflag II-C POW camp was located nearby.-External links:*...
). While in the camp he participated in educational activities for prisoners, organized classes for studying English and played basketball on the camp team. At the end of the war he managed to reach American troops stationed in Europe. He moved to the United States, where for many years he worked for UNICEF. He died in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in 1994.