Lars Björn

Lars Björn was one of the top Swedish ice hockey players in the 1950s. A defenseman, Björn played his entire career from 1949-66 with Djurgårdens IF and won a record nine Swedish titles with them (1950, 1954, 1955, 1958-63). Björn was capped 217 times with the Swedish national team between 1952-61. He won Olympic bronze in 1952, was World Champion in 1953 and 1957 and won bronzes at the 1954 and 1958 World Championships. He was named as the best defenseman at the 1954 World Championships tournament and captained the Swedish 1957 World Championships team. He also was European Champion in 1952, 1953 and 1957, while taking silvers at the 1954, 1956 and 1958 European Championships and bronzes at the 1955, 1959, 1960 and 1961 European Championships. Björn was awarded the Stora Grabbars Märke (Big Boys’ Badge) #35 in ice hockey, a Swedish sports honorary award created in 1928 by Bo Ekelund. After finishing his sporting career, Björn ran his own trucking company and was a board member with Djurgårdens IF in the 1980s. He was elected to the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1998. His grandson Douglas Murray also became an ice hockey player, representing Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics.