Wacław Kuchar
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Waclaw_Kuchar.jpg/220px-Waclaw_Kuchar.jpg)
Wacław Michał Kuchar (16 September 1897 in Łańcut – 13 February 1981 in Warsaw) was a Polish sports champion, olympian, and multiple football, track and field and speed skating champion of the country.
Kuchar excelled in many sports – track and field, football (firstly – as a forward, then as a midfielder, and finally at the end of his career – as a defender), skiing, speed skating and ice hockey. Even though born in Łańcut, his whole life was connected with Lwów, where he played for Pogoń Lwów – one of the most important and most popular sports clubs of interwar Poland. After finishing his career, he became a referee, coach and sports official. To this day Kuchar is regarded as an excellent example of fair play.
In 1926, in a poll held by the Polish sports daily Przegląd Sportowy, Kuchar was chosen as the athlete of the year. A year later he came in 10th in the same poll. In 1924, at the Paris Olympic Games, he played on the Poland national football team.[1]
Wacław Kuchar was champion of Poland in:
- 800-meter race (1920, 1921),
- 110-meter hurdle race (1920),
- 400-meter hurdle race (1923),
- high jump (1921, 1923),
- pentathlon (1923, 1924).
As a footballer representing Pogoń Lwów, Kuchar achieved these successes:
- years of career – 1912–1935,
- Champion of Poland: 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926,
- top scorer of Poland: 1922 (21 goals), 1926 (11 goals),
- altogether he played in 1052 games, scoring 1065 goals.
On the Poland national football team he achieved:
- 23 official international games,
- 5 goals,
- debut – 18 February 1921, Hungary – Poland 1–0 (it was the first, historic game of the Polish team)
- last game: 27 October 1928, Czechoslovakia – Poland 3–2
- Trainer of Polish National Team 1947–1949.
Kuchar as an ice skater:
- participated in the European Speed Skating Championships for Men of 1925,
- 22-time Champion of Poland (Including single-distance titles) in the period 1922–1929.
Kuchar is most famous for his sports achievements, but also he was a captain in the Polish Army. He participated in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919 as well as the Polish-Soviet War of 1920; for his merits Kuchar was decorated with several medals.
See also[]
- Pogoń Lwów
- Polish-Ukrainian War
- Polish-Soviet War
- List of famous Leopolitans
- History of football in Poland
References[]
- ^ "Wacław Kuchar". Olympedia. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
External links[]
- Wacław Kuchar at Olympic.org (archived)
- Wacław Kuchar at OlympicChannel.com (archived)
- Wacław Kuchar at Olympics.com
- Wacław Kuchar at Polish Olympic Committee (in Polish)
- Wacław Kuchar at Olympedia
- Wacław Kuchar at FIFA
- Wacław Kuchar at FootballDatabase.eu
- Wacław Kuchar in SpeedSkatingBase.eu
- Wacław Kuchar at SpeedSkatingNews.info
- Wacław Kuchar at SpeedSkatingStats.com
- 1897 births
- 1981 deaths
- People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
- Sportspeople from Podkarpackie Voivodeship
- Association football defenders
- Association football midfielders
- Association football forwards
- FC Dynamo Lviv managers
- Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics
- Olympic footballers of Poland
- Legia Warsaw managers
- People from Łańcut
- Pogoń Lwów players
- Poland national football team managers
- Polish expatriate football managers
- Polish football managers
- Polish footballers
- Polish ice hockey players
- Polish male high jumpers
- Polish male hurdlers
- Polish male middle-distance runners
- Polish male speed skaters
- Polish military personnel
- Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War
- Polish people of the Polish–Ukrainian War
- Polonia Bytom managers
- Polonia Warsaw managers
- Polish Austro-Hungarians
- Poland international footballers