Karl Franz (soccer player)

Karl Franz (born April 26, 1892 in Fürth ; † September 4, 1914 ) was a German football player.

Career

Franz was used for the first time in the senior team of SpVgg Fürth at the age of 18 in the 1910/11 season , for which he played point games in four seasons in the championships held by the South German Football Association in the Eastern District , in one of four regional highest divisions.

The up-and-coming club, which was only founded in 1903, was on its way to becoming a top German team and at that time had created one of the most modern facilities in German football with the stadium Sportplatz am Ronhofer Weg - inaugurated on September 11, 1910.

In the 1911/12 season he was already part of the regular line-up of the team around goalkeeper Karl Burger , the left runner "Bumbes" Schmidt and the men in the storm, Oswald Segitz and Sebastian Seidel. With thirteen point games in which he scored seven goals, he contributed to the first regional title, the Eastern District Championship. This entitled to participate in the final round of the South German Championship, which he finished with his team in third place. The English coach William Townley, who came from Karlsruhe FV in April 1911, played a decisive role in the success . With his work, the East District Championship was won again in the following two seasons and the South German Championship in the third attempt; Franz, however, developed into the best goalscorer of the “clovers”.

As South German champions, the team had proven that they would also play in the final round of the German championship. It started on May 3, 1914 in Leipzig, as SpVgg 1899 Leipzig was defeated 2-1 thanks to the winning goal in the 83rd minute by the “Kleeblätter” striker.

The semi-finals scheduled for May 17, 1914 in Fürth turned out to be no less exciting. Staying in the stadium sports field at Ronhofer way you had the Berliner BC , who won the Berlin championship, the first (and only) time and may have been motivated accordingly. Against this team, SpVgg Fürth were 2-0 down until the 44th minute, before Frigyes Weicz scored the all-important goal and equalized in the 62nd minute.

Since nothing had changed in the result after 90 minutes, it was extended to overtime - according to the rules of the time, additional stoppage times of 10 minutes each followed - until a decision was made. Again it was up to Franz to not only achieve the new lead in the 103rd minute, but also the 4: 3 winning goal in the 146th minute, after the Berlin Prussian with his goal in the 119th minute for the interim equalization would have.

On May 31, 1914, he and his team faced none other than the defending champion from Leipzig in the final . 6,000 spectators had gathered around the Viktoria sports field in Magdeburg to attend the event. Again it was Franz who scored the 1-0 lead after 17 minutes, which was only equalized by Eduard Pendorf in the 83rd minute. In extra time, Weicz took the lead again in the 103rd minute, which only lasted four minutes as Curt Hesse scored to equalize. Once again it was reserved for Franz to score the winning goal to 3-2 in the 153rd minute on presentation of Weicz; seven minutes later referee Kurt von Paquet whistled off the game - SpVgg Fürth were German champions.

successes

• German champion 1914
• South German champion 1914
• Eastern district master 1912 , 1913 , 1914

Others

With the beginning of the First World War he was called up for military service; near Hoéville (north of Lunéville , Lorraine, France) he suffered severe wounds, from which he died two days later.

Web links

• Karl Franz in the database of weltfussball.de
• Karl Franz on kleeblatt-chronik.de