 Sperling (fourth from right) with Cracovia in 1921 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 August 1900 | ||
| Place of birth | Kraków, Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | c. 15 December 1941 (aged 41) | ||
| Place of death | Lwów Ghetto, Poland | ||
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | 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.[1][2][3][4]
Sperling was born in Kraków, and was Jewish.[5] He was a forward, playing on the left wing. Sperling represented Cracovia,[6] the team he led in 1921, 1930, and 1932 to the Championship of Poland.[7] He also played in 16 games for the Poland national team,[8] including Poland's lone game at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games.[9][10][11] He was regarded as a highly skilled dribbler.[12] He also coached in Lviv.[12] Sperling is one of Cracovia Kraków's legends.
Sperling was shot to death by the Nazis in the Lwów Ghetto in December 1941.[11][13][3][14] His Jewish teammate, Józef Klotz, was also killed in the Holocaust.[3]
- ^ "SPERLING Leon". polska-pilka.pl (in Polish). 14 April 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Тридцать лучших еврейских футболистов в мире за всю историю футбола". Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ "Leon Sperling". Olympedia. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Football and Murder: The Deadly Game". 12 November 2014.
- ^ Mendelsohn, Ezra (31 March 2009). Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199724796 – via Google Books.
- ^ Leon Sperling
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Leon Sperling Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 18 April 2020. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
- ^ a b Bolchover, David (6 May 2019). "Remembering the cream of Jewish footballing talent killed in the Holocaust". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.