György Szepesi (né Friedländer; 5 February 1922 – 25 July 2018) was a Hungarian radio personality, journalist and sports executive.
In 2006, Szepesi earned the record for the longest career as a sports commentator.
Early life
Szepesi was born György Friedländer into a Jewish family in
Budapest, Hungary.
He played basketball for Hungary's
Vác-Újbuda LTC until 1942. His father, Miklós Friedländer, died in the
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...
in 1945.
Szepesi himself was forced into a labour battalion in
Ukraine, which was disbanded in October 1944.
Szepesi then returned to Budapest and lived with Gábor Kocsis, a fellow battalion survivor, Kocsis' wife, and their four children, until mid-January 1945, when the German troops retreated from Hungary. Szepesi received his doctorate in
sports history
The history of sports extends back to the Ancient world. The physical activity that developed into sports had early links with ritual, warfare and entertainment.
Study of the history of sport can teach lessons about social changes and about the ...
from the University of Physical Education in Budapest.
Career
Szepesi began on
Hungarian Radio Hungarian may refer to:
* Hungary, a country in Central Europe
* Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946
* Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary
* Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignme ...
in April 1945.
He covered the
Olympic Games from 1948, and the
Football World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
from 1954.
Szepesi was a
Hungarian Olympic Committee member from 1962 to 2000, and was the
Executive Committee Chairman for the
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) from 1982 to 1994.
He was Chairman of the
Hungarian Football Association
The Hungarian Football Federation ( hu, Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség, MLSZ) is the governing body of football in Hungary. It organizes the Hungarian league and the Hungarian national team. It is based in Budapest.
Honours
;National Team
* Wor ...
(HFA) from 1978 to 1986.
He was the honorary chairman of the HFA, and an honorary member of FIFA's Executive Committee.
Written works
* (with László Lukacs) ''The match of the century'', Hungarian News and Information Service, 1953
* ''Népesedésünk ma és holnap'', Kossuth, 1986,
* ''Hungarian football rhapsody: 70 years of soccer history'', Pannonia Press, 1968
Death and legacy
Szepesi received the FIFA Medal in 1994, and the
Olympic Order from the
International Olympic Committee in 1995.
He received the Pillar of Achievement Award from the
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
In 2004, Szepesi was given the Prima Primissa Award in the Hungarian Electronic Press category. In 2005, Szepesi became an honorary citizen of Budapest. That same year, he was decorated with the Middle Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.
In 2015, The Szepesi Prize was created to recognize other significant figures in Hungarian and sports journalism. He died on 25 July 2018 in Budapest at the age of 96.
Gyász: elhunyt Szepesi György, a magyar rádiózás legendája
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szepesi, Gyorgy
1922 births
2018 deaths
Hungarian Jews
Hungarian radio presenters
Hungarian journalists
Mass media people from Budapest
Sports executives and administrators
International Olympic Committee members
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary