Ferdinand Wilhelm Fricke (October 11, 1863 – January 17, 1927) was a German

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and, at the age of 15, founder of the Deutscher FV 1878 Hannover, the oldest rugby union club in Germany. Fricke was also the first chairman of the

German Rugby Federation The German Rugby Federation (german: Deutscher Rugby-Verband or ''DRV'') is the governing body for rugby union in Germany. It organizes the German national team and the three league divisions: the Rugby-Bundesliga, the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga an ...

Biography

F.W.F., as he was called throughout most of his life, was born on 11 October 1863 in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, which was then the capital of the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hano ...

. As a 15-year-old, in 1878, Fricke, as a member of the ''Realgymnasium'' in

, like many of his school mates, watched

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

expatriates An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

play

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and association football in the ''English Hannover Football-Club''. F.W.F., as a leader of the pupils of the ''Realgymnasium'', initiated the formation of a football club and, together with 24 other young men, he formed the ''Deutschen Fußball-Verein Hannover gegründet 1878'', the oldest still existing rugby club in Germany. In the following years, other local school clubs like the ''Hannoversche Schüler-Football-Club'' and ''Germania'' joined the club in an attempt to improve its strength and to be able to challenge the strong English sides in town. He remained chairman of the ''DFV 78'' until 1898. In 1896, Fricke was instrumental in the formation of

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

, now the city's best-known football club. ''DFV 78'' was only open to people of higher education at the time and he wanted to further the sport of rugby by opening it up to the masses as well as creating a club ''DFV'' could play against. Fricke donated a rugby ball and then held exercises with a number of local youth who then went on to form the ''Hannoversche Fußball-Club von 1896'', upon his suggestion. In 1899, Fricke discovered the ideal playing area for the club, ''Am Schnellen Graben'', still its home ground today. F.W.F., now 37 years old and vice dean of the ''Bürgerschule Meterstrasse'' in Hannover, was part of the formation of the ''Deutsche Rugby Verband'', the

, on 4 November 1900. He served as its first chairman until 1901 and again in 1904-05. Ferdinand Wilhelm Fricke died on 17 January 1927, aged 63, in his hometown Hannover. In 1957, the city of Hannover honoured Fricke by naming a street after him, the ''Ferdinand-Wilhelm-Fricke-Weg'', where the club facilities of ''DSV 78'' are, behind the AWD-Arena.Die große Tat des Ferdinand-Wilhelm Fricke

DSV 78 Hannover DSV 78 Hannover, founded as ''DFV Hannover'' in 1878, is Germany's oldest rugby club. The club played in the 2nd Rugby-Bundesliga under the name DSV 78/08 Ricklingen, having formed an on-the-field union with SV 08 Ricklingen, another club fro ...

website - Article on F.W. Fricke, accessed: 25 January 2009 It is also the seat of the German Rugby Federation, the ''DRV''.

Sources

Die große Tat eines 15jährigen Penälers

website - Article on F.W. Fricke
Google book review
author:

Dirk Böttcher Dirk Böttcher (13 October 1921 – 23 January 2011) was a German printer master, author and president of the association of Friends of the Historisches Museum Hannover. Life Böttcher was born in Hanover. He passed his Abitur at the and was ...

, publisher: Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft, page: 122

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fricke, Ferdinand Wilhelm 1863 births 1927 deaths German schoolteachers Sportspeople from Hanover People from the Kingdom of Hanover Presidents of the German Rugby Federation Rugby union in Hanover