| Paul Loicq was born on August 1, 1888 in Brussels, Belgium. He began skating as a 16-year-old in 1906 and was selected to the national hockey team in his native Belgium three years later. Loicq represented his country at the first World Championships held in conjunction with the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. Off the ice, he had graduated from university as a lawyer and served with distinction in the Belgian army during World War I.
Loicq was elected president of the International Ice Hockey Federation in 1927 and held the office for 20 years. During that time, hockey's popularity increased rapidly across Europe, with both the World and Olympic championships doing much to increase the game's international status. His career as an international referee lasted from 1924 until 1937 during which time he officiated at the Olympic Winter Games and IIHF World and European Championship tournaments. Paul Loicq passed away in 1953. In 1961, Loicq became the first European inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. |
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