The inaugural Four Hills tournament was held in January 1953. It was in planning since 1949, but in the post-war years German athletes were not allowed to compete internationally. The organizers were German and Austrian ski jumpers who knew each other from competing together for Germany under the Nazi regime
At the time, ski jumping was an amateur sport and the winners were given material prizes like portable radios or cooking pots.
The first competition was held on New Year's Day, making it the only Four Hills tournament that did not start in December, although the New Year's Day competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen would eventually become traditional.
Participating nations and athletes
Nation Number of Athletes Athletes 14 Hermann Anwander, Friedl Brandner, Toni Brutscher, Franz Dengg, Franz Eder, Toni Eisgruber, Robert Engel, Willi Fischer, Willy Gotthold, Sepp Hohenleitner, Hans Karg, Heini Klopfer, Toni Landenhammer, Sepp Weiler 8 Sepp Bradl, Rudi Dietrich, Ferdi Kerber, Alwin Plank, Fritz Rüpp, Erwin Steinegger, Walter Steinegger, Toni Wieser 3 Asgeir Dølplads, Erling Kroken, Halvor Næs 4 Harry Bergquist, Karl Holmström, Toivo Lauren, Axel-Hermann Nilsson 1 Fritz Schneider 3 Karel Klančnik, Janez Polda, Jože Zidar
Results
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Große Olympiaschanze, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1 January 1953
Rank Name Points1 Asgeir Dølplads221.52 Sepp Bradl220.53 Toni Brutscher219.54 Halvor Næs218.55 Toivo Lauren215.06 Sepp Weiler212.57 Sepp Hohenleitner209.58 Erling Kroken209.09 Walter Steinegger204.510 Franz Dengg198.0
Oberstorf Schattenbergschanze, Oberstorf 4 January 1953
Rank Name Points1 Erling Kroken217.02 Sepp Bradl215.53 Asgeir Dølplads215.04 Halvor Næs214.55 Karl Holmström213.0 Sepp Weiler213.07 Toni Brutscher212.08 Toivo Lauren211.59 Franz Eder210.0 Sepp Hohenleitner210.0 Walter Steinegger210.0
Innsbruck Bergiselschanze, Innsbruck 6 January 1953
Rank Name Points1 Sepp Bradl224.02 Asgeir Dølplads223.03 Harry Bergquist219.04 Halvor Næs216.55 Sepp Hohenleitner215.06 Karl Holmström213.57 Toni Brutscher212.08 Janez Polda211.59 Toivo Lauren209.510 Fritz Schneider209.0 Sepp Weiler209.0
Bischofshofen Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze, Bischofshofen 11 January 1953
Before the last event, Sepp Bradl was leading the tournament ranking by only half a point ahead of Asgeir Dølplads, who in turn had a ten-point lead to fellow Norwegian Halvor Næs. In the competition however, it was Næs rather than Dølplads who put Bradl's tournament victory in danger. Winning the Bischofshofen event clearly, he reduced the distance to Bradl from 10.5 to 1.1 points but ultimately could not prevent him from becoming the first Four Hills winner.
Rank Name Points1 Halvor Næs228.02 Sepp Bradl218.63 Harry Bergquist216.44 Franz Eder210.75 Sepp Weiler209.46 Karl Holmström208.67 Asgeir Dølplads208.38 Toivo Lauren207.99 Erling Kroken205.310 Janez Polda204.3
Final ranking
Rank Name Garmisch-Partenkirchen Oberstorf Innsbruck Bischofshofen Points1 Sepp Bradl2nd2nd1st2nd878.62 Halvor Næs4th4th4th1st877.53 Asgeir Dølplads1st3rd2nd7th867.54 Toni Brutscher3rd7th7th12th847.05 Toivo Lauren5th8th9th8th843.9 Sepp Weiler6th5th11th5th843.97 Sepp Hohenleitner7th9th5th14th827.78 Walter Steinegger9th9th13th11th822.99 Karl Holmström17th5th6th6th813.610 Erling Kroken8th1stN/A9th631.3
References
External links FIS website Four Hills Tournament web site