No 29 LES HODY
6 feet 4 inch (192cm) Forward/Guard
1964 Olympic Games
The Dutch shipping line MV “Johann van Oldenbarnevelt” weighed anchor on her voyage to Australia. It was November 1956, the Soviets had brutally put down the Hungarian Uprising and the ship’s passenger list was made up of over 600 Dutch migrants and 140 Hungarian refugees. Down in the bowels of the ship two very tall, healthy, physically strong young men were working their way to Australia by washing dishes. Les and John Hody were fleeing Hungary and leaving behind their parents, two brothers and a sister who they hoped would join them one day. The boys did have their girlfriends with them one of whom was Vera Neszmelyi(Les’s fiancée) who in 1954 as a sixteenyear old had lost a 100metres race in Warsaw to Shirley Strickland of Australia who ran a world record11.3 seconds. The young Vera set a European record 11.5that was to stand for ten years. It was not going to be an enjoyable journey for the Hody brothers Les and John but they were escaping to freedom in a new country.
Laszlo “Les”Hody was born on July 10, 1934 in Szeged, Csongrad, Hungary. His parents owned a shoe manufacturing factory and the largest shoe and textile shop in Szeged. With the Soviet takeover of Hungary after World War Two Les describes his family as being seen as “enemies of the nation”… they were capitalists in a communist country. His parents were stripped of all their assets and his father was in and out of prison because of his past life.
Les Hody (Courtesy L. Hody)
In high school in Szeged Les was coached and encouraged by a teacher who represented Hungary in basketball. Les was a first division handball, basketball and volleyball player. The government forced Les to choose one sport and he chose basketball.
In the 1951 European Basketball Championships Hungary finished third in the tournament held in Tirana, Albania and the decision was made to select a younger team for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Les was selected to represent Hungary as a seventeen year old for the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games.
The team didn’t do well in Helsinki and missed the top eightin the Olympic Games, butdid finish 2nd in the European Championships. In 1953 the Hungarians with the young Les in the starting five players finished 2nd in the European Championshipsin Moscow. The World University Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary in 1954 and Les was on the team that finished in first place. In 1955 the Hungarian’s with Les being a major player won the European Championships. The Czechs and Soviets finished in second and third place.
The period from 1952 to 1955 was a “Golden Age” for Hungarian men’s basketball. They were in the elite in world basketball. Les had been voted the best forward in European basketball. This was all to come crashing down in 1956 with Soviet crackdown after the Hungarian Uprising.
As European Champions, Hungary had direct qualification to play in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Unfortunately due to financial reasons the team did not go to Melbourne. “The government did not have the money to send us,” recalls Les.
The Soviet domination was taking its toll on the people and life was hard. “The country was poor and the Russians punished us harshly,” says Les.
Players worked hard to get into the army’s exclusive Sport Institutionso that they could be looked after and pursue their sport. “That was a big incentive,” says Les. “Before the revolution against the Russians we beat the Soviets by 14 points and were ranked 2nd or 3rd in the world. During the revolution many of the team playersleft Hungary. Men’s basketball in the country never recovered from that loss.”
The Russian army brutally destroyed the Hungarian revolution and restored communism by force. Les and his brother John fled to Vienna as refugees.They migrated to Australia soon afterwards.
After Les and John arrived in Adelaide Australia in March 1957 they started a team called Budapest SC which along with the Latvian teams quickly dominated Adelaide basketball. Les and John were ineligible to play for South Australia as they were not Australian citizens and they usually played by invitation. As an example, in the 1960 Australian Championships for States fourHungarians and three others played as “Adelaide” and won all their games comfortably against the State teams but were not allowed to win the Championships.
At this time Les’s reputation in Australian basketball was well established. He was an outstanding leader and multi-skilled forward who could play any position and the player you want to have the ball in his hands when the game was on the line. Les did play twice for SA (after he was nationalized) in the National Championships and the State won the national title both times.
Les had missed the Melbourne Olympics with the Hungarian Basketball Team but life was now about establishing himself in a new country as well as playing some basketball. Unfortunately Les also missed selection on the Australian 1960 Rome Olympic basketball team as he was not yet naturalized. He would have been a very strong addition to that team which failed to get past the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bologna, Italy. His brother John was selected to the Australian team for the 1962 World Championships in the Philippines however FIBA withdrew its sanction of the tournament and the Championships became an “Invitational Tournament”. John broke his knee in that tournament and did not play basketball again.
In 1963 Les moved to Victoria for one year, became an Australian citizen and at 30 years of age was selected on the 1964 Australian team to contest the Tokyo Olympics.
“I was the youngest team member (for Hungary) in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and the oldest team member in Tokyo. It was difficult for me to play for another country as the Hungarian team was also in Tokyo. Luckily we didn’t have to play against them,” Les recalls.
Les feels that the Australian Men’s Basketball Team was unlucky in Tokyo in 1964. “We could have finished in the first four, and definitely the first eight if things had gone our way,” says Les. Les cites the overtime loss to Yugoslavia and the loss next morning to Finland as devastating. Nevertheless the team performed brilliantly and won through the Qualification Tournament in Yokohama and went to the Olympic Finals in Tokyo and finished ninth overall in the Olympics. A brilliant result!
The 1964 Australian Olympic team established Australia’s international reputation and laid the platform for Australia’s future direct entry into the Olympics through the Oceania Region Championships.
Les retired from basketball in 1967 after an outstanding career by a player that many regard as one of the best to play in this country.
As a postscript to the Hody brothers’ departure from Hungary in 1956 his family continued to be penalized and despite Les and John’s best efforts the family could not get out of Hungary. In 1958 the communist government granted the whole family visas to go to Vienna but withdrew the visas the day before they were to leave. Les’s father was sent to prison with hard labour for one year. John and Les were sentenced in absentia to three years prison for escaping from Hungary. Their sentence was commuted and they were given amnesty six years later. Les and Vera, his fiancée on the trip to Australia were married in 1957.
Times do change and countries change and in 1995 Les was awarded the “Gold Cross of the Hungarian Republic” one of the country’s highest awards.
In 2005 he was awardedthe“Gold Ring Insignia” of the Hungarian Republic for outstanding life achievement. Finally in 2012 during 100 Years Anniversary celebration of the World and the Hungarian Basketball Association, Les was made a “Legend” of Basketball and a cast of his hand is exhibiting in the “Hall of Fame” in Budapest.
Les Hody receiving one of his awards in Hungary in 2012 (L. Hody)
Les scores against Malaysiaat the 1964 Olympics while Carl Rodwell (10) watches the action
(Courtesy of L. Hody))
Les (13) rebounding over Carl Rodwell while Michael Ah Matt (8) waits the outcome
(Courtesy of L. Hody)