Léon Pawlak
Léon Pawlak (born January 27, 1906 in Recklinghausen , † September 8, 1977 ) was a French football player . In the 1930s he was under contract with various clubs and experienced the early years of professional football in France.
Career
Pawlak was born in the West German city of Recklinghausen and his name points to Polish ancestors, but he spent his entire career as a football player in France, of which he was also a citizen. Several players of his generation have a similar background, such as Stefan Dembicki , who was born to Polish parents in the Ruhr area and came to France in his youth. Léon Pawlak was 26 years old when in 1932 Division 1 was introduced, a first division throughout France; this was subject to professional conditions and thus founded professional football in France. During the 1932/33 season, the midfielder was under contract with Red Star Olympique and was one of the league's co-founders. The competition, which was always held on a single track from 1933, was still divided into two seasons of 10 teams in the first year, with Red Star in Group B, despite a clearly positive goal difference, only occupying eighth place in the table and thus relegated. The club from Saint-Ouen in the vicinity of Paris had to start the course in the newly introduced Division 2 , but Pawlak joined the also second-rate RC Calais . With Calais he finished last in the northern group of Division 2 in the 1933/34 season, but the team was allowed to remain in the league.
Despite the poor performance of his team, Pawlak was able to convince the first division promoted Racing Strasbourg in 1934 and was committed by this. In Strasbourg he fought for a permanent place and was part of a surprisingly strong team, which at the end of the 1934/35 season, just behind FC Sochaux, finished second in the table and thus became runner-up. After this success he changed clubs again and signed with league rivals AS Cannes . With the southern French, he finished fifth the following year. With the move to Stade Reims , the now 30-year-old player returned to the second division in 1936. In Reims he was only part of the team for the duration of the 1936/37 season. Thus, Pawlak had been under contract with five different clubs in the first five years of French professional football.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Football: Léon Pawlak , footballdatabase.eu
- ↑ Leon Pawlak , racingstub.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pawlak, Léon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French soccer player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 27, 1906 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Recklinghausen , Germany |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 8, 1977 |