Bela Ordody Was Oldest Hockey Olympian

This dapper looking fellow is Bela Ordody of Budapest. He is a notable football (soccer) player in Hungary, but he also represented the nation as the goaltender of the national hockey team in the 1928 Olympics in St. Moritz.

He only played one game - a 1-0 loss to Great Britain. But in playing that game he set a record that still stands to this day. At the age of 48 years and 29 days, Bela Ordody is the oldest hockey player ever to compete in the Olympic games.

Ordody, who was a chemical engineer by trade, was better known as a footballer, as well as a water polo champion. He played bandy prior to the arrival of ice hockey in Hungary.

Hungary has never been much of a hockey nation. Only three times (1928, 1936 and 1964) have they qualified for the Olympic hockey tournament.