Gottfried Fuchs facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gottfried Erik Fuchs; later Godfrey Fuchs |
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| Date of birth | 3 May 1889 | ||
| Place of birth | Karlsruhe, Germany | ||
| Date of death | 25 February 1972 (aged 82) | ||
| Place of death | Westmount, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1904–1906 | Düsseldorfer SC 1899 | ||
| 1906–1914 | Karlsruher FV | ||
| 1914–1920 | Düsseldorfer SC 1899 | ||
| National team | |||
| 1907–1913 | Germany | 6 | (13) |
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Gottfried Erik Fuchs (born May 3, 1889 – died February 25, 1972) was a famous German football player. He was also known as Godfrey Fuchs. He played for the German national team in the 1912 Olympics.
Fuchs set a world record by scoring 10 goals in one game. This happened when Germany beat Russia 16–0 in the 1912 Olympics. He was Jewish and had to leave Germany to escape the terrible events of the Holocaust. He later moved to Canada.
Contents
Early Life and Football Career
Gottfried Fuchs was a German Jew. Because of the persecution of Jewish people during the Holocaust, he had to leave Nazi Germany in 1937. He first went to England. Then, in 1940, he moved to Canada. His older brother, Richard Fuchs, was a composer and architect.
Fuchs started playing for the German national team when he was 18 years old.
Playing for Clubs
Gottfried Fuchs played for two main football clubs. From 1904 to 1906, and again from 1914 to 1920, he played for Düsseldorfer SC 1899.
His most successful time was with Karlsruher FV from 1906 to 1914. In 1910, his team won the German national title. They beat Holstein Kiel 1–0 in the final game. Two years later, in 1912, they played Holstein Kiel again in the final but lost 1–0.
Between 1911 and 1913, many people thought Fuchs was the best "centre" player in the world. During this time, he played six games for Germany and scored 13 goals. He was part of a strong attacking group at Karlsruher FV. This group included Fritz Förderer and Julius Hirsch. Sadly, Julius Hirsch was later killed during the Holocaust.
Record-Breaking Goals
Gottfried Fuchs was the first German player to score four goals in a single match. But he is most famous for something even bigger.
He scored an amazing 10 goals for Germany in one game. This happened on July 1, 1912, at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm. Germany won that game against Russia by a score of 16–0. Fuchs became the top scorer of the tournament.
This record of 10 goals in an international match was first set by Sophus Nielsen in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Fuchs tied this record. It was not broken until 2001. In 2001, Australia's Archie Thompson scored 13 goals against American Samoa.
Life After Football
Fuchs served in the German Army during World War I. He was an artillery officer. He received the Iron Cross, a special award for bravery.
In 1928, Gottfried and his family moved to Berlin. He joined a local tennis club. However, because he was Jewish, the club stopped him from being a member in 1935.
After World War II and the Holocaust, a German football coach named Sepp Herberger wanted to invite Fuchs back to Germany. This was in 1972, for the 60th anniversary of his famous 10-goal game against Russia. But the German Football Association did not agree to invite him.
Images for kids
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Gottfried Fuchs, a German football legend.
