Leon Sperling

Leon Sperling (August 7, 1900 – December 15, 1941) was a Polish Olympic footballer.[1][2]

Leon Sperling
Sperling (fourth from right) with the Cracovia Kraków team (1921).
Personal information
Date of birth 7 August 1900
Place of birth Kraków, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 15 December 1941(1941-12-15) (aged 41)
Place of death Lwów Ghetto, Poland
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
National team
Poland 16 (?)

Sperling was born in Kraków, and was Jewish.[3] He was a football forward, playing on the left wing. Sperling represented Cracovia,[4] the team he led in 1921, 1930, and 1932 to the Championship of Poland.[5] He also played in 16 games for the Polish National Team,[6] including Poland's lone game at the 1924 Paris Olympic Games.[7][8][9] He was regarded as a highly skilled dribbler. Sperling is one of Cracovia Kraków's legends.

Sperling was shot to death by the Nazis in the Lwów Ghetto in December 1941.[9][10][2][11] His Jewish teammate, Józef Klotz, was also killed in the Holocaust.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Тридцать лучших еврейских футболистов в мире за всю историю футбола". Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  2. Who Betrayed the Jews?: The Realities of Nazi Persecution in the Holocaust - Agnes Grunwald-Spier
  3. Jewish Life in Cracow 1918-1939 - Sean Martin
  4. Ezra Mendelsohn (2009). Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII. pg 17: Oxford University Press US. p. 384. ISBN 0-19-538291-9.CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. "Football and Murder: The Deadly Game"
  6. Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII
  7. Leon Sperling
  8. The Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics, and the Games
  9. Leon Sperling Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com
  10. Kay Schaffer & Sidonie Smith (2000). The Olympics at the Millennium: Power, Politics, and the Games. pg 61: Rutgers University Press. p. 318. ISBN 0-8135-2820-8.CS1 maint: location (link)
  11. "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.
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