Józef Klotz
Polish footballer (1900–1941)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Józef Klotz (2 January 1900 – 1941) was a Jewish Polish footballer who played as a forward.[1][2] He scored the first ever goal for the Poland national team. He was killed by the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1941.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 January 1900 | ||
| Place of birth | Kraków, Galicia, Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 1941 (aged 40–41) | ||
| Place of death | Warsaw Ghetto, General Government | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1910–1912 | Jutrzenka Kraków | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1912–1925 | Jutrzenka Kraków | ||
| 1925–1929 | Makabi Warsaw | ||
| International career | |||
| 1922 | Poland | 2 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Biography
Klotz was born in Kraków, southern Poland, and was Jewish.[1][3] His father was a shoemaker.[4]
He scored the first ever goal for the Poland national team. He scored it against Sweden in Stockholm in May 1922, in the team's third international match.[3][5][1][6][7]
Klotz played for two clubs. He played first for Jutrzenka Kraków, which he joined as a youth team player and played for from 1912 to 1925, and then for Makabi Warsaw from 1925 to 1929 (both teams were Jewish minority teams).[8][4][9] He retired as a player in 1930.[4]
He was imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940. He was murdered there by the Germans in 1941.[3][10][7][1][4]
In 2019, Klotz was honored by the Polish Football Association.[3][11]