Vilhelm Wolfhagen

Vilhelm Wolfhagen was selected to play for Denmark at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, his international début. After two hands-down victories against the two French teams, Denmark lost 2-0 to Great Britain (England) in the final and won silver. Wolfhagen played in all three games scoring eight times against the teams from France. At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Denmark had a bye in round one and defeated Norway and the Netherlands convincingly to reach the final. Here they lost 4-2 to Great Britain (England) winning Olympic silver. Wolfhagen played in all three matches for the Danish team and scored once against Norway. In total, he played 18 international matches from 1908-17 scoring 14 goals. In 1917, his last goal for Denmark was also the national team’s 100th goal.

Left-winger Wolfhagen played his entire career from 1906-18 with Kjøbenhavns Boldklub (KB), with whom he has won the Danish championships in 1914, 1917 and 1918. He ended his career in 1918 after playing a total of 88 games for the club due to meniscal surgery. He was also General Secretary of the Danish Football Association for several years.

Wolfhagen was also an excellent bandy player. He played for Fredriksberg Skating Association from 1902-22 and participated in the 1909 and 1917 Nordic Games in 1909 and 1917. In 1929, he was a member of the Copenhagen team, who played against the Swedish club Södertälje SK. The match was regarded as the first international game for a Danish ice hockey team. From 1931-33, he was a member of the board of the Danmarks Idrætsforbund (Danish Sports Confederation, DIF). His sister Ellen (1885-1969) took part in the gymnastics demonstration in 1908 and became a prominent hockey player.

Like his father, Wolfhagen pursued a military career and joined the Army as a first lieutenant in 1911. He served in the Ministry of War from 1922-25 and chief of the artillery school’s experimental department from 1932-36. Eventually he was promoted to colonel in the artillery and was commander of the 3rd field artillery regiment in 1945, also the year of his retirement. In 1916, he married Helga Sandbech-Petersen (1891-1958), who ranked among Denmark’s best female hockey players and was part of the Danish women’s gymnastics team, which gave a demonstration at 1920 Olympics at Antwerpen.