Þorsteinn Hallgrímsson

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Þorsteinn.

Þorsteinn Hallgrímsson (born 25 July 1942) is an Icelandic former basketball player. Nicknamed Doddi,^[1] he won the Icelandic championship nine times and the Danish championship four times during his career.^[2] At his peak, he was considered to be one of the Nordic countries best basketball player.^[3]

Þorsteinn Hallgrímsson

Personal information
Born	(1942-07-25) 25 July 1942 (age 82) Kingdom of Iceland
Nationality	Icelandic
Career information
Playing career	1959–1980
Position	Forward
Career history
As player:
1959–1965	ÍR
1965–1968	SISU BK
1968–1971	ÍR
1971–1975	SISU BK
1975–1977	ÍR
1980	ÍR
As coach:
1976–1977	ÍR
Career highlights and awards
As player: Icelandic Team of the 20th century 2x Úrvalsdeild Player of the Year (1969, 1971) 9x Icelandic champion (1960–1964, 1969–1971, 1977) 4x Danish champion (1966, 1967, 1972, 1973) As coach: Icelandic champion (1977)

Playing career

Þorsteinn played his first game in 1959 with ÍR.^[4] He was a key player in the ÍR team that won the Icelandic championship for five straight seasons, from 1960 to 1964.^[2] In 1965, Þorsteinn joined SISU BK in the Danish Basketball League and helped the club to the national championship in 1966 and 1967. He left SISU midway through the 1967–68 season, with the club in first place, and rejoined ÍR.^[2][5]

Þorsteinn was named the Úrvalsdeild Player of the Year in 1971. After the season he moved back to Denmark and rejoined SISU,^[2] winning the Danish championship in 1972 and 1973.^[4]

Þorsteinn retired after winning the 1977 Icelandic championship with ÍR,^[4][6] but later appeared in three games during the 1979-1980 season before quitting for good.^[7]

National basketball team

Þorsteinn, at the age of 16, played in the Iceland's first official national team game,^[8] against Denmark.^[2] Overall, Þorsteinn played 34 games for the Iceland's national basketball team from 1959 to 1975.^[9] He led all players in scoring during the 1964 Polar Cup and was considered one of the best Nordic players during that period.^[2][10]

Team of the 20th century

In 2001 Þorsteinn was voted to the Icelandic team of the 20th century in basketball as a player.^[11]

References

1. "Doddi er á við 2 blökkumenn". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 20 September 1975. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
2. Skapti Hallgrímsson (2001). Leikni framar líkamsburðum. Icelandic Basketball Federation. pp. 62, 92, 170–171, 117. ISBN 9979-60-630-4.
3. Kristján Jónsson (28 October 2017). "Þorsteinn var í fremstu röð". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 6 October 2024.
4. Kjartan L. Pálsson (7 November 1975). "Hef alltaf jafn gaman af þessu". Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 23 November 2017.
5. "Íslenzku félagsliðin eru betri en þau dönsku". Tíminn (in Icelandic). 23 February 1968. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
6. "ÍR-ingar tóku við bikarnum eftir sigur gegn Ármanni í baráttuleik". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 29 March 1977. pp. 24–25. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
7. "Þorsteinn Hallgrímsson: Ferillinn í úrvalsdeild". kki.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 23 November 2017.
8. "Léku fyrsta landsleikinn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 31 August 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
9. "A-landslið karla". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Federation. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
10. Sigmundur Ó. Steinarsson (10 March 2007). "Fimm prinsar á ferð á gullárum ÍR". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). pp. 6–7. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
11. Lið aldarinnar hjá KKÍ tilkynnt í bikarúrslitaleikjunum á laugardaginn