Josef Kompalla holds a print of one of the most famous hockey photos of all time, from Game 8 of the Summit Series.
photo: Szymon Szemberg
Josef “Jupp” Kompalla, one of Germany’s most accomplished and respected referees, died Sunday after a short, serious illness. He was 90 years old. Kompalla was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2003, eleven years after receiving the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany. In addition to an international career that lasted some 15 years, Kompalla officiated more than 2,000 games in the German league.
"With Jupp Kompalla, the ice hockey world loses an extraordinary personality who helped shape the sport in Germany for many years," the German Federation said in a statement. The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) also commented on Kompalla’s passing. "The German ice hockey family loses one of its greats in Jupp," said managing director Gernot Tripcke.
Kompalla refereed at three Olympics (17 games from 1976 to 1984), nine World Championships, between 1972 and 1986, one game of the 1981 World Juniors, and two games of the Summit Series (Game 6 and, most famously, Game 8).
Born in Katowice, Kompalla had a lengthy career as a player both in Poland and West Germany. A defenceman, he won two league championships in Poland in the early 1950s and, after moving to Germany, he played in the Bundesliga for Preussen Krefeld from 1954 to 1969.
Kompalla joined the German Ice Hockey Federation as a referee in 1970 and two years later earned his first nomination at the politically-charged World Championship in Prague. Over the course of the tournament, Kompalla refereed ten games and earned admiration for his abilities. Just a few months later, he was assigned to the Summit Series, including Game 8, one of the most important and significant games ever played.
The Series posed a unique set of challenges for the officials. The games comprised only of two referees, so they had to not only call penalties but offsides, and they handled all the faceoffs. More significantly, the consequences of the games were enormous, and Kompalla was front and centre of one of its defining moments in the final game.
After calling a penalty on J-P Parise, the player skated towards Kompalla and swung his stick at him in anger, stopping just before making contact but causing Kompalla to raise his arms in defence. The image personified the drama, the intensity, the high stakes of the Series.
"For me personally it was the highest thing a referee could ever achieve. There will never be a series like that again,” he said in an interview many years later of being on ice in Game 8.
Kompalla’s final event as a ref was the Deutschland Cup in 1992, after which he served on the IIHF’s Officiating Committee until 1998. Even after that, he continued to contribute as a referee supervisor for the IIHF. He held a similar position with the DEL for many years as well, retiring only in 2003, when he was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
At the time, he said: “Being inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame was a final great moment in my ice hockey career and also a good opportunity to step down from my role as the DEL's referee supervisor. Of course, after so many decades, I can't give up my beloved sport and will therefore continue to be available to the German Ice Hockey League as an official game observer and its representative on the DEB Referee Committee.”
Even still, Kompalla could never really leave the game. For years he was a celebrity referee at charity games, finally retiring at age 75 when he reffed a Legends Game between Germany and Russia prior to the 2010 World Championship.
His daughter, Nicole Kompalla-Doucet, also was an official. She was the only professional female referee in the 1980s, in Germany, and she was a linesperson for four games of the inaugural Women’s World Championship in Ottawa in 1990.
"With Jupp Kompalla, the ice hockey world loses an extraordinary personality who helped shape the sport in Germany for many years," the German Federation said in a statement. The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) also commented on Kompalla’s passing. "The German ice hockey family loses one of its greats in Jupp," said managing director Gernot Tripcke.
Kompalla refereed at three Olympics (17 games from 1976 to 1984), nine World Championships, between 1972 and 1986, one game of the 1981 World Juniors, and two games of the Summit Series (Game 6 and, most famously, Game 8).
Born in Katowice, Kompalla had a lengthy career as a player both in Poland and West Germany. A defenceman, he won two league championships in Poland in the early 1950s and, after moving to Germany, he played in the Bundesliga for Preussen Krefeld from 1954 to 1969.
Kompalla joined the German Ice Hockey Federation as a referee in 1970 and two years later earned his first nomination at the politically-charged World Championship in Prague. Over the course of the tournament, Kompalla refereed ten games and earned admiration for his abilities. Just a few months later, he was assigned to the Summit Series, including Game 8, one of the most important and significant games ever played.
The Series posed a unique set of challenges for the officials. The games comprised only of two referees, so they had to not only call penalties but offsides, and they handled all the faceoffs. More significantly, the consequences of the games were enormous, and Kompalla was front and centre of one of its defining moments in the final game.
After calling a penalty on J-P Parise, the player skated towards Kompalla and swung his stick at him in anger, stopping just before making contact but causing Kompalla to raise his arms in defence. The image personified the drama, the intensity, the high stakes of the Series.
"For me personally it was the highest thing a referee could ever achieve. There will never be a series like that again,” he said in an interview many years later of being on ice in Game 8.
Kompalla’s final event as a ref was the Deutschland Cup in 1992, after which he served on the IIHF’s Officiating Committee until 1998. Even after that, he continued to contribute as a referee supervisor for the IIHF. He held a similar position with the DEL for many years as well, retiring only in 2003, when he was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
At the time, he said: “Being inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation's Hall of Fame was a final great moment in my ice hockey career and also a good opportunity to step down from my role as the DEL's referee supervisor. Of course, after so many decades, I can't give up my beloved sport and will therefore continue to be available to the German Ice Hockey League as an official game observer and its representative on the DEB Referee Committee.”
Even still, Kompalla could never really leave the game. For years he was a celebrity referee at charity games, finally retiring at age 75 when he reffed a Legends Game between Germany and Russia prior to the 2010 World Championship.
His daughter, Nicole Kompalla-Doucet, also was an official. She was the only professional female referee in the 1980s, in Germany, and she was a linesperson for four games of the inaugural Women’s World Championship in Ottawa in 1990.