Gustl Specht

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameGustl•Specht
Used nameGustl•Specht
Other namesGustav Specht, August Specht, Gustav Groß, August Groß
Born19 January 1926 in Wien (Vienna), Wien (AUT)
AffiliationsWEV, Wien (AUT)
NOC Austria

Biography

Austrian Gustl Specht began his hockey career in Wien (Vienna) in the mid-1940s, playing for Strassenbahn Wien and Wiener EV. Selected for the national team to compete at the 1948 Olympic Games in Sankt Moritz, Switzerland, Specht had a fairly successful tournament there, leading the Austrian team in goals with seven.

He continued to play for WEV for two seasons following the Olympics before finishing his hockey career in Italy where he was a top player for HC Bolzano and HC Alleghe until the mid-1950s. Specht also served as playing coach for HC Alleghe for a season.

Specht was also a very successful and notable tennis player in addition to his ice hockey career, first gaining prominence in the sport as a teenager at age 13. He won the national junior singles title in 1941, and won several other national titles in the sport, including one in doubles alongside fellow ice hockey player and Olympian Konni Staudinger, as well as the men’s singles title in 1951.

Specht’s tennis career included playing for the Austrian Davis Cup team in 1948, 1951, and 1952, and also competing at Wimbledon in 1952. He later became a tennis coach at a club in Klosterneuburg in the 1960s following the conclusion of his ice hockey career.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1948 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) AUT Gustl Specht
Ice Hockey, Men (Olympic) Austria 7

Errata

Also referred to by the surname Groß/Gross, including in the 1948 Official Report and in various newspaper coverage of the Olympic ice hockey tournament, though it is unclear as to why. All newspaper references throughout his sporting career from the early 1940s to mid-1950s use the surname "Specht". In addition, his given name is frequently stated inconsistently as either "August" or "Gustav" in newspapers (again, it is unclear which is correct).