Leon Sperling

Leon Sperling
Sperling (fourth from right) with Cracovia in 1921
Personal information
Date of birth (1900-08-07)7 August 1900
Place of birth Kraków, Austria-Hungary
Date of death c. 15 December 1941(1941-12-15) (aged 41)
Place of death Lwów Ghetto, Poland
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1914–1916 Jutrzenka Kraków
1917 Cracovia
1918–1920 Jutrzenka Kraków
1920–1934 Cracovia
International career
1921–1930 Poland 16 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Leon Sperling (7 August 1900 – c. 15 December 1941) was a Polish footballer.

Life

Sperling was born in Kraków, and was Jewish. He was a forward, playing on the left wing. Sperling represented Cracovia, the team he led in 1921, 1930, and 1932 to the Championship of Poland. He also played in 16 games for the Poland national team, including Poland's lone game at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games. He was regarded as a highly skilled dribbler. He also coached in Lviv. Sperling is one of Cracovia Kraków's legends.

Sperling was shot to death by the German Nazis in the Lwów Ghetto in December 1941. His Jewish teammate, Józef Klotz, was also killed in the Holocaust.

Honours

Cracovia

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SPERLING Leon". polska-pilka.pl (in Polish). 14 April 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "Тридцать лучших еврейских футболистов в мире за всю историю футбола". Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Grunwald-Spier, Agnes (7 January 2016). Who Betrayed the Jews?: The Realities of Nazi Persecution in the Holocaust. The History Press. ISBN 9780750958011 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Leon Sperling". Olympedia. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Std, Associate Curator for Jewish History Sean Martin; Martin, Sean (7 September 2004). Jewish Life in Cracow 1918-1939. Vallentine Mitchell. ISBN 9780853035077 – via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Ezra Mendelsohn (2009). Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII. Oxford University Press US. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-19-538291-4.
  7. ↑ "Football and Murder: The Deadly Game". 12 November 2014.
  8. ↑ Mendelsohn, Ezra (31 March 2009). Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199724796 – via Google Books.
  9. ↑ Leon Sperling
  10. ↑ Schaffer, Kay; Smith, Sidonie (7 September 2000). The Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics, and the Games. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813528205 – via Google Books.
  11. 1 2 "Leon Sperling Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 18 April 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  12. 1 2 Bolchover, David (6 May 2019). "Remembering the cream of Jewish footballing talent killed in the Holocaust". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  13. ↑ Kay Schaffer & Sidonie Smith (2000). The Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics, and the Games. Rutgers University Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-8135-2820-8.
  14. ↑ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  15. ↑ "Sperling Leon". muzeumsportu.waw.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 7 August 2024.