Klaus Hirche - Born june 7, 1939 in Weißwasser, East Germany - Died May 3, 2022 was a German ice Hockey goalie and coach.

- 1966 European Championships Bronze Medal Winner with GDR.

Klaus Hirche was one of the first European goalies to play with a mask, and by painting his mask black, Hirche could be the very 1st goalie to have have a "Painted Goalie Mask" something that is now a very artistic way for modern goalies to show and share their creations.

Klaus Hirche played for SG Dynamo Weißwasser for 14 seasons, winning 11 championships - 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 1969, 1970, 1971.

Hirche represented the GDR national team in 118 international games - including eight World Championships and the 1968 Winter Olympics.

At the 1968 Winter Olympics, the two Germanys played each other at the Palais des Sports in Grenoble, France on February 17, 1968, a historic 1st for the Olympic Games. The game was won by West Germany 4-2, resulting in a seventh place finish for West Germany and eighth for East Germany. As a result, in 1970 the East German government decided not to give further state support to ice Hockey.

After retiring as a player, Hirche began working as a coach. He coached the SG Dynamo Weißwasser team for four years and won three championship titles during this time. During the two years he worked as coach of the GDR national ice Hockey team, he took part in two world championships.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Klaus Hirche ended his work as a coach and served as team manager of the Weißwasser team until 2002.

Klaus Hirche was also inducted into the German Ice Hockey Museum Hall of Fame / EisHockeyMuseum Hall of Fame Deutschland.

NOTE
At the 1963 World Ice Hockey Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, a sports reporter coined his nickname: "The man with the black mask".