Ottmar Kurt Herrmann Walter (6 March 1924 – 16 June 2013) was a German

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

who played as a striker. He played together with his brother, Fritz Walter, at the club 1. FC Kaiserslautern. They also played together for the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...

in the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

. Walter scored four goals in the tournament as West Germany won their first ever World Cup title. In total, Walter earned 20 caps and scored 10 goals for Germany. For his club 1. FC Kaiserslautern he scored an unequaled 336 goals in 321 league and cup matches. Walter debuted in the first team at the age of 18 in 1942 as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in a 7–1 rout of SV Waldhof Mannheim. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Walter was drafted into the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

and suffered heavy injuries in his right knee. After several operations, he was forced to end his career in 1958.

Career

Club career

Born in

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfu ...

, Walter and his two brothers Fritz and Ludwig all joined local club, 1. FC Kaiserslautern. After making his debut for the club in 1942 he was posted by the navy to

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, where he played for Holstein Kiel. By the late-1940s, Walter was the

center forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the rol ...

of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Like his brother Fritz, he treated the ball elegantly and was also pacy and possessed a powerful shot. As a center forward he also often moved to the wing.

Post-football

After the end of his career, he concentrated on operating a gas station which he had taken at rent in 1954. When the contract was signed, Walter had failed to notice the fine print in the contract which determined that if the contract got withdrawn, the gas station and the goods on the ground of the gas station would subrogate to the new leaseholder. This happened in 1969 and in consequence of this Walter tried to commit suicide. However, he survived and later described that attempted suicide as a "panic reaction". Later Walter found a job as an employee of the city of

. He died 16 June 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walter, Ottmar 1924 births 2013 deaths People from Kaiserslautern People from the Palatinate (region) Association football forwards Footballers from Rhineland-Palatinate German footballers Germany international footballers Germany B international footballers 1. FC Kaiserslautern players Holstein Kiel players 1954 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II