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IIHF Men's World Hockey Championships
World Championships Artifact
World Championships Photo The 1953 tournament in Switzerland was the only World Championship to be attended solely by European teams. Canada's decision not to participate was explained this way by Canadian Amateur Hockey Association President W.B. George: "Every year we spend $10,000 to send a Canadian team over to Europe to play 40 exhibition games (plus the World Championship). All of these games are played to packed houses that only enrich European hockey coffers. In return we are subjected to constant, unnecessary abuse over our Canadian style of play." In the absence of Canada and the United States, only four nations were included in the main group of the tournament. The schedule copied the double round-robin format of the 1932 Olympics. Sweden won its first World Championship gold medal with relative ease. They outscored their three opponents in the "A" Pool by an aggregate of 38-1. West Germany won the silver medal and Switzerland the bronze. It was West Germany's best finish in the history of the World Championship. The Germans earned the silver medal despite a record of just one win and three losses because Czechoslovakia's players returned home without finishing the tournament as a gesture of mourning over the death of its President Klement Gottwald. Third-place Switzerland was awarded the Fair Play Cup. There was some talk that the Soviet Union would make its international hockey debut at the 1953 tournament. Instead, hockey experts from the USSR - including legendary coach Anatoly Tarasov - were in Switzerland as observers.
1953 Zurich, Basel Summary
Click on a team below to see its roster and stats.
Rank Country Games Wins Losses Ties Points GDF GF GA
1 Sweden 5 5 0 0 10      
2 West Germany 6 1 5 0 2      
3 Switzerland 5 1 4 0 2      
4 Czechoslovakia 4 3 1 0 6      

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