Arkadiusz Bieńkowski (12 January 1938 – 24 February 2007) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

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, rugby lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He played a total of 11 times and scored 1 goal in Poland's top football league.

Biography

During his early years Bieńkowski started playing football with many different clubs in the Tricity area, with Kolejarz Gdynia being his first club, but also spending time with the youth sides of Doker Gdynia, Start Gdańsk, and

Arka Gdynia Morski Związkowy Klub Sportowy Arka Gdynia () is a professional football club based in Gdynia, Poland, that plays in the Ekstraklasa after winning the 2024–25 I liga. The club was founded as Klub Sportowy Gdynia in 1929. History The h ...

. His senior career began with

Lechia Gdańsk Lechia Gdańsk () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Gdańsk. As of the 2025–26 Ekstraklasa, 2025–26 season, they compete in the Ekstraklasa. The club was founded in 1945 by people Polish population transfers (1944–1946 ...

on 17 March 1957 in a

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

game against

Górnik Zabrze Górnik Zabrze Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Górnik Zabrze S.A. or simply Górnik Zabrze (), is a Polish association football, football club from Zabrze. Górnik is one of the most successful Polish football clubs in history, winning ...

. Later that year Bieńkowski made his debut in the leagues, playing in the

I liga I liga (, ), currently named Betclic I liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga via promotion/rel ...

for the first time on 22 September 1957 in a 4–3 away win over

Lech Poznań Kolejowy Klub Sportowy Lech Poznań S.A., commonly referred to as KKS Lech Poznań or simply Lech Poznań (), is a Polish professional football club based in Poznań and currently competing in the Ekstraklasa, the nation's highest division. ...

. He went on to make 6 appearances in the league over two seasons before his transfer to

Zawisza Bydgoszcz Zawisza Bydgoszcz () is a sports club from Bydgoszcz, Poland, founded in 1946. Its name commemorates a legendary Polish 15th-century knight, Zawisza Czarny (Zawisza the Black). The club holds many sections: football, track and field athletics, b ...

in 1959. As with many players at the time, the transfer to Zawisza was most likely due in part to his mandatory military service which was in force at the time, with Bieńkowski returning to Lechia two years later. He spent a final season with Lechia, making another 5 appearances and scoring 1 goal during the 1961 season, and playing 12 times and scoring 1 goal in all competitions for the club during his two spells. From 1962 until 1966 Bieńkowski played with

until his retirement. After his playing career Bieńkowski had spells in management with two clubs,

Gryf Wejherowo Gryf Wejherowo is a Polish football club in Wejherowo, Poland. The club plays in the IV liga Pomerania. It was founded as in 1921, but after World War II the club was renamed to Gryf Wejherowo. Gryf Wejherowo is the oldest football club in Po ...

and Flota Gdynia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bieńkowski, Arkadiusz 1938 births 2007 deaths Polish men's footballers Polish football managers Lechia Gdańsk players Zawisza Bydgoszcz players Arka Gdynia players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Gdynia 20th-century Polish sportsmen