1920

The twenties begin with that IFK Helsingborg seriously challenges HIF about the title as the towns best football team. IFK is good and has now Sigge Lindberg in the goal. During 1920 the teams play six competition matches against each other and all are equally even. 2.500 spectators at Olympia sees the 1-1 match in the DM-semifinal. A historical match since it is the first time in Helsingborg that the price of admission is subject to entertainment duty. HIF wins the replay with 1-0. In the Swedish championship they succeed to decide first in the third match and in the final match about the Svenssonska cup it becomes victory after prolongation. HIF shows finally who rule the roost, and sign later Sigge till spring 1921.

From 1921 the international exchange takes speed. Just during 1921 and 1922 Olympia is visited by nine football teams from Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland and England. (Danish teams don’t count as foreign).
Among the guests are teams like Arsenal, West Ham, Huddersfield, Hamburger S.V. Wiener Amateure, Rapid Wien, Milan, FTC and UTE Budapest. The English teams stand for speed and force, the continental for fantasy and elegance. This applies especially to Wiener Amateure (later Austria Wien) that at its first visit 1921 wins with 4-1 after the best play that has been seen at Olympia. The summer after HIF make its maybe best match ever and wins with 5-1.

Sunday the 21:st of May 1922 HIF plays against Arsenal before 3.300 spectators, new attendance record for club football at Olympia. Arsenal is a fully fledged professional club and the only real interest is about how many goals the Englishmen shall score. The game is not much to talk about, and Arsenal finally wins with just 1-0, thanks to Sigge Lindbergs phenomenal play in the goal.

Friday the 15:th of June 1923 it is time for the match of the season at Olympia. HIF encounter Huddersfield that wins the even and hard match with 3-2, which is considered a great success for HIF. Sigge Lindberg saves among others a penalty kick shot by Smith, the man who did the victory goal for Huddersfield in the English cup final the year before precisely on a penalty kick. It is said that he never before had missed a penalty kick.

Sunday the 3:rd of August 1924 it is premiere for the modern allsvenskan with twelve teams. The optimist’s tip that HIF will get a draw against Gais at Olympia. But there are also plenty of pessimists. Is HIF good enough for allsvenskan? One member in the club expression his fears:
”Shall it go so far, that HIF shall become a cheap victim for various teams from Gothenburg and other football cities and besides to scorn and derision for the football interested Sweden, it is almost better, if the team cease to play football.”
HIF looses with 2-1, one as it is called narrow and unjust loss against a mechanically playing Gais. The team plays pretty well but the criticism is not merciful. Sigge Lindberg should have taken the second goal, the forward line can not score and the defense is worthless.

The Sunday after, the 10:th of August, HIF plays at Olympia again. Two home- or away games in a row and limping table is no new phenomenon. One cause can be that there is three Gothenburg teams in allsvenskan, therefore it is hard to get together a schedule with every other match away, varannan home. Well!, HIF beats IFK Malmö with 4-2 but the play is nothing to write home about by comparison with the match against Gais.
It complains genarally, despite the four goals. HD means among other that: ”the innertrio Dahl-Malm-Olsson is among the most inefficient one can see on a football ground.
It is to have pretensions. On his totally 500 A-team matches Otto ”Petter” Malm scores 735 goals. He leads in a superior manner all times leading goalscorers in HIF. Second is Albin Dahl who scores 343 goals at 367 matches. ”Little” Gunnar Olsson, the distributor of the ball, scores ”only” 173 goals in 400 matches. His attitude to scoring is evident from the following statement: ”Goal – my best goal! I now by principle don’t score, because such football child's play i delegate gladly to those, who still have interest for such.”

Despite whining and gloomy prophecy HIF ends four in the first allsvenska series that is finished early summer 1925. Only the three Gothenburg teams, Gais, IFK and Örgryte are before.

Till the second allsvenska season HIF introduce a completely new way of playing that takes the whole football Sweden by surprise. (In theory a 4-1-5 system, in practice it is 4-2-4). After the five first matches autumn 1925 HIF has full point and the overwhelming goal difference 31-9. And audience come as never before. The match HIF-Gais the 30:th of August ends 2-0 and is seen by 7.000 spectators. A attendance record that is exceeded with interest when Örgryte visits the 4:th of October. It is the season’s first loss for HIF (0-1) but the attendance is incredible for a town f Helsingborgs size. Fully 10.633 pays entrance, with complimentary tickets it is over 11.000 that see the match.
At the winterbreak HIF leads the series. But spring 1926 is one big disappointment and its again a fourth place after the three Gothenburg teams. HIF is ”on the edge of the precipice” as someone express.

Whit Monday 1927 it is time for the allsvenska completion round. HIF lays two points after Gais and has approximately the same goal average. With a little luck it can be allsvenskt gold. But HIF looses with 3-2 against Örgryte at Olympia and it becomes a final third place.

The 17:th of August 1927 is the first allsvenska Helsingborg derby played at Olympia. HIF encounter Stattena before 4.885 spectators. A thrilling match that Stattena leads by both 1-0 and 2-1. But HIF equalizes and decide at free kick four minutes before the final whistle.

Before the last round in allsvenskan, Sunday the 3:rd of June 1928, HIF and Örgryte has the same point. HIF goes to Eskilstuna and at Olympia meets Stattena and Örgryte before nearly 5.000 spectators. At half-time HIF leads by 2-0, while Stattena only lays under by 1-0. It is enough by a comfortable margin. But in the second half everything changes. Eskilstuna reduces and Örgryte increase to 4-0. All in all is that Örgryte wins allsvenskan with barely 1/100 better goal average (goal average is counted, not goal difference)
After the dreadful and dramatic completion there are many helsingborgers that
fear that higher powers once and for all have decided that HIF never shall winn allsvenskan.

In autumn 1928 HIF is really going. The 21:st of October is settled all times goal record for allsvenskan. HIF wins at Olympia with 13-1 against Eskilstuna. At the beginning of second half the team scores six goals in eight minutes.

Spring 1929 HIF is again involved in the gold fight. Sunday the 27:th of May 1929 thousands of helsingborgers are in Landskrona and sees HIF win with 2-0. Never has there been seen so many cars in Landskrona. Sunday the 2:nd of June is a great day in the club’s history. HIF leads allsvenskan before the last round, one point before IFK Göteborg. The record audience (12.213 payers) shout for joy when HIF wins with 4-1 over Gais and secures the first allsvenska gold. The goals are scored by Harry Lundahl, Charles Brommesson, Knut Kroon and Albin Dahl. After the final whistle comes happiness and tears of joy.

Since allsvenskan started 1924 has HIF had the placings 4-4-3-2. Now finally the goal is reached. And it is not only the helsingborgers that think the gold end up where it belongs. Totally comes 102 telegrams from colleagues, hereditary foes, private persons and helsingborgers scattered abroad. From Boden up north to Paris in the south. From Copenhagen and Köping, London and Lund, Svalöv and Strömstad. From the waiters at s/s Öresund and from the receptionist at the principal hotel in Borås. Norrbottens football association: ”The shout for joy in the whole wide Norrbotten over Your victory in allsvenskan can fully be compared to Harsprångets deafening roar.”
IFK Göteborgs telegram aim at the milk cow – the crowd-puller - HIF: ”Accept our hearty congratulations to the awarding of prizes and thank you for the milk”

During the first gold season HIF scores 89 allsvenska goals and Harry Lundahl wins leading goalscorers with 31 goals. What is it that lies behind the gold? Does HIF play the playful and elegant football that one preferably remembers? No, Wille Engdahl in Fotbolls-Kavalkad 1850-1950 characterize rather the team like this:
”For my part I was enormously impressed by Hälsingborgs IF just before 1930. There was technique, strength and weight, but so was this HIF with Sigge Lindberg, Massa Alfredsson and Harry Lundahl as prominent figures a rare closely connected peer group, that has hit the absolut secure road to lasting success. At the road sign stand: Traning and training again. This HIF-team was brilliant but never playful. Rather it seemed to play in some kind of holy anger, and the opponent, who wanted to escape reasonably slightly away, should be careful with teasing the wild animals. HIF also had a team manager that coped with stormy weather - John ”Bill” Pettersson – according to me one of the best team managers our country has had, therefore that he to knowledge, authority and all that other had a good portion genuine humanity”

1929 Stattena wins division II as it is called and goes up to allsvenskan fr the second time.
The 7:th of August it is derby at Olympia. HIF is strongest as usual and wins with 2-0.
The 18:th of August meet AIK and HIF at Olympia in the seasons first so called series final. It becomes 5-0 and the old attendance record goes, dependent on how one counts. It is 12,683 persons that watch the match, but only 11,771 pay entrance. The rest is possessors of sightseeing tickets (approximately like today’s HD-pass) and complimentary tickets.