It’s sad news. Former hockey representative Josef Horešovský died. His friends will remember him happily. “Pepík never spoiled any fun,” responds the legendary České Budějovice forward František Čech. Hockey fate brought the two together several times. In Jihlava, they were part of the team that won the championship in what was then Czechoslovakia. Horešovský later won precious metals mainly with Sparta. And in representation. He had gold from the World Championships in Prague in 1972. He died on Monday at the age of 79.
He also left a significant mark in the shirt of České Budějovice Motor. “We met in České Budějovice as players, later he also led us as a coach.”
Experiences with Pepík Horešovský will never be forgotten by Czechs. “We were sitting together in the evening, there were two sad young ladies next to us, they were always frowning, Pepík took the flower out of the vase and drank all the water.” The frowns were replaced by smiles. “He was great fun.
World hockey champion Josef Horešovský has died
Josef Horešovský:
Date of birth: 18 July 1946
Place of birth: Žilina, Czechoslovakia
Date of death: December 15, 2025 (age 79)
Children: 2
Balance in the highest competition: 16 seasons
Clubs: Kladno, Sparta, Dukla Jihlava and České Budějovice.
National team: 152 matches.
MS 1972: gold
OH: Grenoble 1968 silver, Sapporo 1972 bronze.
Assistant coach of Sparta in the 1990 and 1993 championship seasons.
Member of the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame.
In his role as a coach, he was not afraid to reach for radical solutions. Motor lost 0:1 in the match with Litvínov after the first period. “If that doesn’t change, I’ll reach into the lineup.” After the second period, the scoreboard, on the only clock on the shorter side of the stadium, still showed 0:1. “Whoever I’m not going to name is not playing,” he announced to the players during the second intermission. “Our names were not in the lineup. We didn’t start the third period, the youngsters turned it around and won 3:1,” František Čech remembers well. From his sleeve, he immediately spills the five that coach Horešovský took off from the match: Kočer, Dvořák – Pouzar, Mařík, Cech!
As a coach, he introduced an unprecedented innovation in Motor. A test of courage. Jump from the tower into the pool! “For Franta Mrázek, it was fun, he jumped the peg and washed us all down,” recalls František Čech. He doesn’t like to remember the “beaver of courage” himself. “I’m afraid of heights. I held on to the railing, I went step by step. I had to jump three times. Every player had to do that. Horešák brought it from Prague, where they jumped from ten meters in Podolí. Being such a tower in Budějovice, I still stand on top of it today,” added František Čech, a popular striker in southern Bohemia, with a smile.
Horešovský started in Kladno, they called him Medvěd. During his career, he became a legend of Sparta Prague. He had two championship titles. Both from Jihlava. František Čech was also with one of them.
