Folke "Hinken" Holmberg (30 January 1927 – 22 February 2015) was a Swedish football player, best known for representing Hammarby IF.

Folke Holmberg
Folke Holmberg in 1954.
Personal information
Full name Folke Holmberg
Date of birth (1927-01-30)30 January 1927
Place of birth Stockholm, Sweden
Date of death 22 February 2015(2015-02-22) (aged 88)
Place of death Stockholm, Sweden
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1942–1946 Hammarby IF
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946–1951 Hammarby IF 86 (69)
1951–1953 Djurgårdens IF 24 (12)
1953–1957 Hammarby IF 57 (20)
Total 167 (101)
International career
1951 Sweden 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Hammarby IF edit

 
Holmberg was a prolific goalscorer for Hammarby IF.

Holmberg made his debut at age 18 for Hammarby IF in Division 2, Sweden's second tier.[1]

In 1946–47, Hammarby finished last in Division 2, and got relegated to Division 4 due to a restructuring of the Swedish league system.[2]

Holmberg decided to stay with the club and led the club to several promotions. He became known as a physically gifted player and prolific goalscorer in the lower divisions.[3] When he left the club in 1951, Hammarby was back in Division 2, and Holmberg had scored a total of 69 goals in 86 league games.[4]

Djurgårdens IF edit

In 1951, Holmberg moved to rivals Djurgårdens IF in Allsvenskan, the highest domestic league. He went on to make 24 appearances for the side during the next two seasons and scored 12 goals.[5]

Return to Hammarby edit

Holmberg returned to Hammarby before the 1953–54 season and led the side to a promotion to Allsvenskan.[6] After three seasons with Hammarby in the highest domestic league, Holmberg left the club again in 1957, having scored 20 goals in 57 appearances.[4]

In the 1960s, he made a brief comeback as the player-manager of Stureby SK in the lower divisions.[7][8]

International career edit

On 11 November 1951, Holmberg won his first and only cap for Sweden, in a 1–1 friendly away draw against Italy.[7]

Personal life edit

His son Lars-Ove Holmberg also played for Hammarby from 1968 to 1973.[8] Folke Holmberg died on 22 February 2015, aged 88.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ "1946" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  2. ^ "1946/47 – Ner i fyran" (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Svenske legendaren avliden: "Det är sorg"" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Hammarby IF:s historia" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  5. ^ Glanell, Thomas; Lundgren, Lars; Stark, Janne & Strömberg, Robert (1988). Persson, Gunnar (ed.). Allsvenskan genom tiderna. Stockholm: Strömbergs idrottsböcker. ISBN 91-86184-35-0.
  6. ^ "1954" (in Swedish). HIF Historia. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Landslagsdatabasen: Folke Holmberg" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Magnusson möter: Lars-Ove Holmberg" (PDF) (in Swedish). Hammarby Fotboll. Retrieved 30 October 2020.