Lee Young-min (; 1 December 1905 – 12 August 1954) was a South Korean versatile sportsman who played in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, baseball and athletics.

Early life

Lee's birthplace wasn't precisely known, but it is being assumed that Chilgok or

Yecheon Yecheon County is a county in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea. It is 661 km2 in area, and in 2004 had a population of 52,311. It has lost over 2/3 of its inhabitants since the mid-1960s. It consists of twelve administrative d ...

. When Lee became a student of Paichai High School, located in Keijō (the former name of Seoul, and also known as Gyeongseong or Kyungsung in Korean), he played as an athlete of his school in football, baseball and athletics. He won a high school competition of the

Gyeongin The name Gyeongin refers to the Seoul- Incheon corridor in South Korea, and is used as a name for the Gyeongin railway line, the Gyeongin Expressway, and the Gyeongin Canal (which was completed in 2011 and is now called the Arabaetgil Canal), al ...

Ekiden Championship and a high school division of the

All Joseon Football Tournament The All Joseon Football Tournament ( ko, 전조선축구대회, 全朝鮮蹴球大會) was the first Korean national football competition, held annually by the Joseon Sports Council or Joseon Football Association. The tournament of the Joseon S ...

with his team.

Playing career

Lee's school

Yonhi College Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

participated in the senior division of All Joseon Football Tournament since 1927, and he won the 1927 and 1928 tournament. In 1928, Lee won five titles at an All Joseon Athletics Games, and especially in the 400 m sprint, he set a new competition record. In the same year, he also hit the Korean first official home run in a baseball match against Gyeongseong Medical College. In 1929, Lee became the only Korean in the baseball club of Chōsen Shokusan Bank by joining the club after his graduation, and started to play in the

Intercity baseball tournament The intercity baseball tournament (都市対抗野球大会 ''Toshi Taikō yakyū taikai'') of Japan, commonly known as "Summer All-star" (真夏の球宴 ''manatsu no kyūen''), is an annual nationwide inter-city baseball Baseball i ...

(Japanese national competition) and the Chōsen Semi-professional Baseball League. Lee also participated as a player of Gyeongseong's football team in the football series between Gyeongseong and Pyongyang since 1930, and played for

Kyungsung FC Kyungsung Football Club was the Korean football club based in the city of Seoul. The term Kyungsung or Gyeongseong was used instead of Seoul during the period of Japanese rule. After independence from Japan, the club revived and changed the name ...

after it was formally founded. In 1933, Lee helped to found the Joseon Football Association, currently

Korea Football Association The Korea Football Association () is the governing body of football and futsal within South Korea. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur football in South Korea. Founded in 1933, the governing body became affiliated with F ...

. In the same year, he participated in the Intercity Tournament with Zenkeijō, the selection of Japanese Baseball players who were living in Gyeongseong including Shokusan Bank players, and led his team to finish as runners-up. In November 1934, Lee was selected for the Japanese Baseball All-Star Team, and also played games against American All-Star Team who visited Japan. He took a picture with Babe Ruth at that time. In

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

, Lee took on both roles player and manager of Kyungsung FC in the Japanese FA cup

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

, and won the title.

Managerial career

Lee became the first manager who managed South Korea national football team at an international competition by participating in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

. He accomplished South Korean first ever victory in an international football competition against Mexico in the first round of the tournament.

Death and legacy

Lee led a promiscuous life and was unconcerned with his family. On 12 August 1954, Lee's third son In-seop, who had run away from home, returned home to try a burglary with his friends, but one of In-seop's friends killed Lee during the burglary. The

Korea Baseball Association The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA; ko, 대한야구소프트볼협회) is the governing body of baseball in South Korea. KBA was founded in 1946 as Joseon Baseball Association ( ko, 조선야구협회), and renamed in 1954. KBA has ...

made the in 1958 to commemorate Lee's death, and it has been awarded to the overall batting champion in nine high school baseball competitions in South Korea.

Football honours

Yonhi College *

: 1927, 1928 Yeonu Gurakbu *

runner-up: 1929 Gyerim FC *

runner-up: 1932 Kyungsung FC *

runner-up: 1933 *

* Chōsen Shrine Games: 1935 *

Meiji Shrine Games The were a national sporting event held in Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, wh ...

: 1935

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Young-min 1905 births 1954 deaths South Korean men's footballers South Korean baseball players South Korean football managers Kyungsung FC players Men's association football players not categorized by position Sportspeople from North Gyeongsang Province South Korea national football team managers