STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sven Tumba, the Swedish sports icon who was honored in 1999 as the country’s best ever hockey player and later became a golf pioneer in Sweden and the former Soviet Union, has died. He was 80.
The Swedish Ice Hockey Association said on its website Saturday that Tumba died overnight after a period of illness at a hospital in Stockholm.
A three-sport star, he played for the national soccer side, attended an NHL training camp — but never signed a contract — and became a Swedish hockey champion. He later also became a serious golfer.
In 1997, he was inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame.
Tumba is survived by wife Mona and sons Tommie, Johan, Stefan and Daniel.
