Eberhard Schöler

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Eberhard Schöler and Diane Rowe, 1962

Eberhard Schöler (born December 22, 1940 in Flatow , West Prussia) is a former German table tennis player . After the end of his active career, he took on tasks within the DTTB , the European ETTU Association and the ITTF World Association .

Greatest successes

Schöler's greatest successes were the vice world championship in 1969 ( both individually and with the team), 3rd place at the world championships in 1965 and 1967 and winning the German championship nine times. He won the International German Championship four times . In addition, with his teams DJK TuSA 06 Düsseldorf and Borussia Düsseldorf he was German team champion several times. Between 1961 and 1973 he played 155 times for the national team.

Schöler was also present when the table tennis Bundesliga was introduced in 1966. As a result, he took part in the team fights 224 times without interruption before he was suspended for the first time in February 1979.

Style of play

Schöler was a pure defensive player . Mostly he stood far behind the table, let the opponent attack and fended off the balls on both sides with a variable undercut. For his opponents it was particularly difficult to assess the extremely flat and fast backhand undercut defense, even on hit balls. Since Schöler used different rubbers on the forehand and backhand side (backhand side: classic "English" pimple rubber , forehand side: pimple inside surface (backside) ), his table tennis bat was basically the forerunner of the combination bat . Although he only turned the club occasionally - his undercut and especially the change of cut (between the forehand and backhand side) was feared. In addition, he could come to the table in a flash and also shoot relatively flat stopballs hard ( Schöler whip ). In addition to his extreme precision and ball security, he was particularly distinguished by his patience and strong nerves, which earned him the name of Mr. Pokerface - also because of his stoically immobile face . Schöler was also feared because of his hard forehand topspins. Usually he placed the ball with an extreme undercut in the middle of the plate half of his opponent in order to prevent him from returning. Many defensive players still play with Schöler's so-called “hacking technique”, a defensive strike with heavy use of the wrist.

Career

Schöler had studied business administration and was a businessman and specialist in glass blocks. He played table tennis for the first time in 1953. His first clubs were SV Rot-Weiß Scheeßel and TTC Schwarz-Weiß 37 Düsseldorf. In 1957 he joined DJK TuSA 06 Düsseldorf . He first appeared internationally at the six-country tournament in Rotterdam in early 1960. In early 1966 he married the English table tennis player Diane Rowe . In 1968 he moved to PSV Borussia Düsseldorf (now Borussia Düsseldorf ). In 1974 he ended his international career, in August 1979 he also retired from active national competitive sport.

He was German individual champion nine times. Together with Conny Freundorfer , he held the record until 2015, which Timo Boll then beat with his tenth title win.

In 1982 he became German senior champion, in 1986 he competed again in the senior world championships and took second place in the over 40 class.

After 1974 he took on honorary positions at the DTTB and also at international associations:

Honors

Schöler received several awards for his services to table tennis and for his exemplary sporting behavior.

The North Rhine-Westphalian Prime Minister Franz Meyers presented him with the sports badge of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1966 . In the same year he was awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf of the Federal Republic of Germany for outstanding sporting achievements. After the World Cup in Munich in 1969, he received the Swaythling Club International's Barna Trophy for fair play. In the same year he took second place in the election for athlete of the year . On behalf of the German sports journalists, Max Schmeling presented him with the Fair Play Cup . In 1990 Schöler received the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia . In 1999 he was awarded the Georg von Opel Prize for “Unforgotten Winners”.

In August 2009 Eberhard Schöler received the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon . In 2011 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of German Sports . In 2014 the ETTU Congress named him an honorary member of the European Table Tennis Union ETTU .

Unforgettable games

International battle against China in 1963

The world champion China competed in Nuremberg with his strongest team. But Schöler won all three individual fights against the top Chinese players Zhuang Zedong , Liao Weng-ting and Xu Yinsheng .

WM 1965

At the 1965 World Cup in Ljubljana, Schöler reached the quarter-finals after winning against Hans Alsér and Edvard Vecko . Here he competed against the third in the world rankings Zhang Xielin from China. Zhang Xielin had never lost to a European before. Around 10,000 spectators followed the game.

Both opponents were among the world's best defense specialists. Schöler won the first two sets with 21:15 and 21:14. In the third set, when Schöler scored 6: 5, the time game began. The Chinese won this set, also the fourth set with 23:21, after Schöler was already leading 20:17. In the decisive fifth set you got (from Schöler's point of view) via 5:10, 10:11, 10:15, 13:17 to 21:20. Zhang Xielin equalized with an edge ball. After both net and edge balls, Schöler finally won happily with 27:25.

This fight had lasted almost two hours. Half an hour later, Schöler had to face Zhuang Zedong in the semi-finals . Here, however, he was already very exhausted, he lost 0: 3 without a chance.

"This is no longer a matter between Schöler and the Chinese, this is the battle between Europe and Asia"

- Hungarian television commentator - DTS magazine , 1965/9 issue West page 19

German championship 1969

On January 19, 1969, Schöler faced Bernt Jansen in the final of the German individual championship in Hagen . It took three sets of wins to win. After 11:21, 21:11, 19:21, 21:13 it was after sentences 2: 2. The fifth sentence had to decide. At 15:15, Jansen moved away to 20:15, but Schöler fended off all match points. The time game started at 21:21. Schöler started with a service error, Jansen postponed the following rally - leveling 22:22. Schöler fought for the next two points and won the set with 24:22. He was again German champion.

The magazine Deutscher Tischtennis Sport describes this thriller as "The Miracle of Hagen".

"Extremely strange, this game"

- Eberhard Schöler's first comment immediately after the end of this fight - DTS magazine , 1977/18 page 8

1969 World Cup final

At the 1969 World Cup in Munich, Schöler reached the final after victories over Anatoli Amelin (Soviet Union), Jaroslav Staněk (CSSR) and Tokyo Tasaka (Japan). Here he faced Shigeo Itoh from Japan in front of 6,700 spectators on April 27th . The system provided three sets of wins. Schöler won the first two sets (21:19 and 21:14), but Itoh was able to turn the tide again, he won the 3rd set with 21:19 and in the 4th set with 21:15. Schöler then lost the 5th set with no chance with 21: 9. Thus only the title of vice world champion remained for him.

It was not until the 2003 World Cup that a defender, the Korean Joo Se-hyuk , reached the final again.

Private

Schöler still has siblings, his eldest brother is Karl-Heinz , he and Reinhard Schöler († 2004) were among the best players in WTTV in the mid-1950s . The Schöler couple have two children: daughter Cindy (* 1968) and son Christian (* 1974).

Eberhard Schöler founded the mail order company for table tennis items schöler table tennis , which was taken over in 1977 by Wilfried Micke in schöler + micke .

successes

  • National German championships
    • 1961 Wolfsburg - double 3rd place (with Dieter Forster )
    • 1962 Freiburg - single 1st place, double 2nd place (with Dieter Forster)
    • 1963 Lübeck - singles, 1st place, 2nd place mixed (with Ingrid Kriegelstein )
    • 1964 Siegen - single 1st place, double 1st place (with Dieter Forster), 3rd place mixed (with Rosemarie Seidel )
    • 1965 Wiesloch - single 1st place, double 2nd place (with Dieter Forster), 2nd place mixed (with Ingrid Kriegelstein)
    • 1966 Osnabrück - single 1st place, double 2nd place (with Dieter Forster), 2nd place mixed (with Agnes Simon )
    • 1967 Berlin - singles 1st place, 1st place mixed (with Diane Schöler )
    • 1968 Böblingen - single 1st place, double 3rd place (with Dieter Forster), 1st place mixed (with Agnes Simon)
    • 1969 Hagen - single 1st place, double 2nd place (with Ernst Gomolla ), 3rd place mixed (with Diane Schöler)
    • 1970 Frankfurt / Main - single 2nd place, double 3rd place (with Dieter Forster), 3rd place mixed (with Diane Schöler)
    • 1971 Hanover - single 1st place, double 3rd place (with Dieter Forster), 3rd place mixed (with Diane Schöler)
    • 1972 Karlsruhe - single 2nd place, double 3rd place (with Ernst Gomolla), 3rd place mixed (with Diane Schöler)
    • 1973 Munich - 1st place mixed (with Diane Schöler)
    • 1974 Saarbrücken - single 2nd place, double 3rd place (with Ernst Gomolla)
    • 1976 Essen - 3rd place singles
    • 1977 Berlin - 3rd place mixed (with Edit Wetzel )
    • 1982 Senior Championship in Essen - 1st place individual
  • International German championships
    • 1962 St. Ingbert - 1st place individual
    • 1963 Frankfurt / Main - 1st place individual
    • 1964 Wolfsburg - 1st place individual
    • 1965 Frankfurt / Main - 3rd place individual
    • 1966 Lübeck - 3rd place individual
    • 1970 Oberhausen - 1st place individual
  • World championships
    • 1963 in Prague: 3rd place with the men's team
    • 1965 in Ljubljana: 3rd place singles, 10th place with the men's team
    • 1967 in Stockholm: 3rd place singles, mixed quarter-finals, 4th place with the men's team
    • 1969 in Munich: 2nd place singles, mixed quarter-finals, 2nd place with the men's team
    • 1971 in Nagoya: 3rd place mixed with Diane Schöler, 6th place with the men's team
    • 1973 in Sarajevo: 9th place with the men's team
    • 1986 in Rimini at Senior World Championships: 2nd place in individual (40+)
  • European championships
    • 1962 in Berlin-West: 3rd place singles, 3rd place doubles (with Dieter Forster ), 2nd place mixed with Agnes Simon , 3rd place men's team
    • 1964 in Malmö: 3rd place singles, quarter-finals doubles with Ernst Gomolla , 6th place men’s team
    • 1966 in London: Round of 16 singles, 7th place men's team
    • 1968 in Lyon: Round of 16 singles, 8th place men's team
    • 1970 in Moscow: quarter-finals singles, quarter-finals doubles, quarter-finals mixed, 5th place men's team
    • 1972 in Rotterdam: Round of 16 singles, 3rd place doubles with János Borzsei (Hungary), 5th place men's team
  • International championships
    • 1960 Austria: 2nd place mixed
    • 1961 Italy: 2nd place doubles
    • 1961 Netherlands: 1st place singles, 1st place mixed with Agnes Simon
    • 1962 France: 2nd place individual
    • 1962 Netherlands: 1st place mixed with Agnes Simon
    • 1963 France: 3rd place individual
    • 1963 Yugoslavia: 2nd place individual
    • 1964 Belgium: 1st place singles, 1st place doubles with Conny Freundorfer
    • 1964 Austria: 1st place doubles with Ernst Gomolla
    • 1964 Wales: 1st place singles, 1st place doubles with Martin Ness , 1st place mixed with Diane Rowe
    • 1965 England: 1st place individual
    • 1965 Netherlands: 2nd place mixed
    • 1965 Hungary: 2nd place individual
    • 1966 Yugoslavia: 2nd place mixed
    • 1966 Wales: 3rd place singles, 2nd place mixed
    • 1967 Belgium: 1st place individual
    • 1968 Netherlands: 2nd place singles, 1st place mixed with Diane Schöler
    • 1969 Belgium: 2nd place singles, 2nd place doubles, 1st place mixed with Diane Schöler
    • 1969 England: 1st place mixed with Diane Schöler
    • 1969 Hungary: 2nd place doubles, 1st place mixed with Diane Schöler
    • 1969 Scandinavia: 2nd place mixed with Diane Schöler
    • 1970 Italy: 1st place doubles
    • 1970 Switzerland: 1st place doubles, 1st place mixed with Diane Schöler
    • 1971 Scandinavia: 3rd place doubles
    • 1972 Austria: 2nd place mixed
    • 1973 Switzerland: 2nd place doubles
  • German team championships each 1st place
    • 1962 in Frankfurt / Main: TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1963 in Frankfurt / Main: TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1964 in Neuss: TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1965 in Essen: TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1967 TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1969 Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1970 Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1971 Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1974 Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1975 Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1978 Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1979 Borussia Düsseldorf
  • German cup championships
    • 1964 in Essen: TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1965 in Düsseldorf: TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1966 in Osnabrück: TuSA Düsseldorf
    • 1970 in Düsseldorf: Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1971 in Nidderau: Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1974 in Reutlingen: Borussia Düsseldorf
    • 1975 in Bad Segeberg: Borussia Düsseldorf

Results from the ITTF database

Association event year place country singles Double Mixed team
FRG European Championship 1972 Rotterdam NED last 16 Semifinals
FRG European Championship 1970 Moscow URS Quarter finals Quarter finals Quarter finals
FRG European Championship 1968 Lyon FRA last 16
FRG European Championship 1966 London CLOSELY last 16
FRG European Championship 1964 Malmo SWE Semifinals Quarter finals
FRG European Championship 1962 Berlin FRG Semifinals Semifinals silver
FRG EURO TOP12 1973 Boeblingen FRG 7th
FRG EURO TOP12 1972 Zagreb YUG 11
FRG World Championship 1973 Sarajevo YUG last 32 last 32 last 16 9
FRG World Championship 1971 Nagoya JPN last 64 last 32 Semifinals 6th
FRG World Championship 1969 Munich FRG silver last 32 Quarter finals 2
FRG World Championship 1967 Stockholm SWE Semifinals last 64 Quarter finals 4th
FRG World Championship 1965 Ljubljana YUG Semifinals last 32 last 16 10
FRG World Championship 1963 Prague TCH last 64 last 32 last 32 3

literature

  • Extremely strange, this game , DTS magazine , 1977/18 page 8
  • KR: Record in second places - Seelenruhig 12.0 , table tennis magazine , 1960/2 issue West page 2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Chronicle of RW Scheeßel ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Homepage of SV Rot-Weiß Scheeßel, accessed on December 2, 2015  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rot-weiss-scheessel.de
  2. tischtennis magazine , 1956/22 West issue, page 6
  3. tischtennis magazine , 1957/15 West issue, page 11
  4. tischtennis magazine , 1960/4 West issue, page 1
  5. NDM in Chemnitz: Boll's tenth title a record for eternity / Solja overjoyed ( memento of the original from January 16, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. News from March 8, 2015 on tischtennis.de (accessed on March 10, 2015)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tischtennis.de
  6. tischtennis magazine , 1982/10 issue south-west, page 45
  7. SH: Schöler no longer a member of the ETTU Presidium , report of October 17, 2012 ( memento of the original of October 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on October 19, 2012)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tischtennis.de
  8. ^ Report on the ETTU Congress - magazine tischtennis , 2012/11 page 29
  9. tischtennis magazine , 2013/7 page 7
  10. DTS magazine , 1966/15 issue Süd-West, page 2
  11. Merit holders since 1986. (PDF) State Chancellery of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on March 11, 2017 .
  12. tischtennis magazine , 2009/9 page 7
  13. Report on tischtennis.de ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on September 27, 2014)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tischtennis.de
  14. DTS magazine , 1963/10 West issue, page 2
  15. ^ Adolf Hüngsberg: The most insane game that ever existed , DTS magazine , 1965/9 West issue, page 19
  16. DTS magazine , 1974/13 page 6
  17. ^ Journal DTS 1987/1 regional West page 1 - To distinguish Eberhard Schöler was often referred to as "Schöler III" at the end of the 1950s.
  18. Eberhard Schöler Results from the ITTF database on ittf.com (accessed on September 14, 2011)