News
The Birth of Wisła
Published: 20-06-2008 12:54In October 1906 two teams, which later contributed to the founding of Wisła, took part in the "Fall Tournament".
It is no coincidence that the Błonia field in Kraków, as well as the Park of Games and Physical Recreation established by the physician dr. Henryk Jordan, are the cradles of Kraków football. To this day these areas have retained their recreational – sporting character, and serve youth, bicyclists, those who like to go on walks, and even parachutists.
It was here, on the Błonia field, that in October 1906 the first official “Fall Tournament” was held, organized and led by dr. Tadeusz Konczyński. Sixteen different football teams from Kraków’s middle schools took part in the tournament. Some of the teams were dressed in sports’ outfits provided by the tournament’s organizer. Two teams, which later contributed to the founding of Wisła, took part in the tournament:
- “The Blues” – students of the IInd Real School under the leadership of their captain and goalkeeper Józef Szkolnikowski – who came up with the team’s later name, Wisła. Professor Tadeusz Łopuszański supervised the team.
- “The Reds” – a team with its founder and supervisor Jenkner. They played in red outfits.
In 1907 Wisła combined together with the Reds to form one team – with the name Wisła being retained, in addition to the red jerseys, to which two blue stars were added. The jerseys were supplemented by black shorts and football socks. The outfits were ordered from a company from Berlin called Steingl with money gathered from the students – football players, and their supervisors. Memoirs describing the moment when the package was picked up at the Post Office have survived to this day. Professor Jan Weyssenhoff recalls: “When we unwrapped the package from Berlin we saw something beautiful – red jerseys with two symmetrically placed blue five-pointed stars. We were happy.”
The next organizational step was to select the club’s first president. The post was filled by professor Tadeusz Łopuszański, the supervisor of Józef Szkolnikowski’s team, who was a mathematics and physics teacher at the IInd Real School, later changed to the Piotr Michałowski IXth General High School. The players from the first football team became the member of the board, which took on the name – Wisła Kraków Sports Club. A red shield with a blue star with the name and date of the club’s founding became the club’s crest from this moment on.
In 1908 the club began efforts to obtain an area on which a football pitch could be built. Up until this time matches had been played on the Błonia field, or on the pitches of the dr. Henryk Jordan Park of Games and Physical Recreation, where Wisła’s locker room was also located.
The year 1910 was a turning point in the history of KS Wisła. On February 7th of that year the Association’s Statute was accepted by the Central Committee of the Galician Regency in Lwów and listed under the entry L.XIII 632. This document has survived to this day and is kept in the Kraków archives.
The years 1910/1911 brought a fundamental change in the footballers outfits. A five-pointed star appeared on the left side of the red jerseys, while the black shorts were changed to blue, which for a long time served to differentiate Wisła’s players when they played on domestic and foreign sports arenas. The club’s crest was changed – a white star and the club’s name “Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła” (Wisła Sports Association) and founding year, 1906, appeared on the backdrop of a red shield. The club president and board’s efforts brought a long awaited decision to give Wisła a parcel of land on the post-exhibition square in Oleandry Street, in addition to permission to build a pitch and stand with locker rooms and facilities. The opening match on the new pitch was played between Wisła and Czarni (Blacks) Lwów on April 6th 1914. The Lvovians didn’t spoil the festivities as Wisła won 3-2.
The outbreak of the First World War led to the suspension of Wisła’s activity for a period of five years. The club handed their sports facilities over to the Polish Legions, which were being organized under the command of Józef Piłsudski at the time. Many of the players voluntarily joined the legions. A lack of supervision and carelessness led to a fire breaking out in 1915, which burned down the stand, locker rooms, and stadium facilities. The entire complex was completely destroyed.
During this pioneering period Wisła played 123 friendly matches. They won 66 matches, tied 15, and lost 43. Goal balance: 363 – 224. 81 footballers played on the team.
If you would like to find out more about the history of Wisła, click here.
Wisła Kraków SA Press Office
- “The Blues” – students of the IInd Real School under the leadership of their captain and goalkeeper Józef Szkolnikowski – who came up with the team’s later name, Wisła. Professor Tadeusz Łopuszański supervised the team.
- “The Reds” – a team with its founder and supervisor Jenkner. They played in red outfits.
In 1907 Wisła combined together with the Reds to form one team – with the name Wisła being retained, in addition to the red jerseys, to which two blue stars were added. The jerseys were supplemented by black shorts and football socks. The outfits were ordered from a company from Berlin called Steingl with money gathered from the students – football players, and their supervisors. Memoirs describing the moment when the package was picked up at the Post Office have survived to this day. Professor Jan Weyssenhoff recalls: “When we unwrapped the package from Berlin we saw something beautiful – red jerseys with two symmetrically placed blue five-pointed stars. We were happy.”
The next organizational step was to select the club’s first president. The post was filled by professor Tadeusz Łopuszański, the supervisor of Józef Szkolnikowski’s team, who was a mathematics and physics teacher at the IInd Real School, later changed to the Piotr Michałowski IXth General High School. The players from the first football team became the member of the board, which took on the name – Wisła Kraków Sports Club. A red shield with a blue star with the name and date of the club’s founding became the club’s crest from this moment on.
In 1908 the club began efforts to obtain an area on which a football pitch could be built. Up until this time matches had been played on the Błonia field, or on the pitches of the dr. Henryk Jordan Park of Games and Physical Recreation, where Wisła’s locker room was also located.
The year 1910 was a turning point in the history of KS Wisła. On February 7th of that year the Association’s Statute was accepted by the Central Committee of the Galician Regency in Lwów and listed under the entry L.XIII 632. This document has survived to this day and is kept in the Kraków archives.
The years 1910/1911 brought a fundamental change in the footballers outfits. A five-pointed star appeared on the left side of the red jerseys, while the black shorts were changed to blue, which for a long time served to differentiate Wisła’s players when they played on domestic and foreign sports arenas. The club’s crest was changed – a white star and the club’s name “Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła” (Wisła Sports Association) and founding year, 1906, appeared on the backdrop of a red shield. The club president and board’s efforts brought a long awaited decision to give Wisła a parcel of land on the post-exhibition square in Oleandry Street, in addition to permission to build a pitch and stand with locker rooms and facilities. The opening match on the new pitch was played between Wisła and Czarni (Blacks) Lwów on April 6th 1914. The Lvovians didn’t spoil the festivities as Wisła won 3-2.
The outbreak of the First World War led to the suspension of Wisła’s activity for a period of five years. The club handed their sports facilities over to the Polish Legions, which were being organized under the command of Józef Piłsudski at the time. Many of the players voluntarily joined the legions. A lack of supervision and carelessness led to a fire breaking out in 1915, which burned down the stand, locker rooms, and stadium facilities. The entire complex was completely destroyed.
During this pioneering period Wisła played 123 friendly matches. They won 66 matches, tied 15, and lost 43. Goal balance: 363 – 224. 81 footballers played on the team.
If you would like to find out more about the history of Wisła, click here.
Wisła Kraków SA Press Office
