ŚKS Naprzód Lipiny is a sports club from
Świętochłowice's district of
Lipiny (
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
), founded in 1920 by Alfons Maniura, who became Naprzód's first chairman. Throughout the years, the club changed its name many times. From 1920 to 1939 and from 1945 until 1965, it was named ''Naprzód Lipiny''; in 1939–1945, during
German occupation – Turn und Sportverein (TuS) Lipine. In 1965–1969 – Naprzód-Czarni Świętochłowice (after a merge of clubs Naprzód Lipiny and Czarni Chropaczów). In 1969, the name was changed to SKS Naprzód Świętochłowice.
In interwar Poland, Naprzód won the regional Upper-Silesian league (1929, 1931, 1933, 1937). In the late 1930s, some Naprzod's players were key members of
Poland national team, including brothers
Ryszard Piec and
Wilhelm Piec, as well as
Erwin Michalski. Also, Naprzód's own
Rochus Nastula was one of the best scorers of the league while representing
Czarni Lwów
Czarni Lwów was one of the first Polish professional sports clubs with a well-developed football section as well as ice hockey, among several other sports. The football club was started in the late 19th century in Lwów as a school football se ...
in the late 1920s. Another famous Naprzód player was
Antoni Piechniczek, who represented the team in the 1960s.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
German occupiers changed club's name to Turn und Sportverein (TuS) Lipine. It joined the
Gauliga Oberschlesien in 1941, winning the league in 1943–44, its last completed edition. The team, with the Piec brothers, was a sensation in the 1942–43 season of Tschammer Cup (
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...
) games. TuS reached as far as semifinals of the tournament, only then to lose 0–6 to the professionals of
TSV 1860 Munich
, commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's association football, football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football league system ...
.
After the war, Naprzod in 1949 won promotion to newly created Second Division. It played there in the years 1949–1952 and 1955–1962. Twice Lipiny's side was very close to winning promotion to First Division, however referees and soccer authorities did not like Naprzod and in mysterious circumstances, teams of
Arkonia Szczecin and
Gwardia Waraw finished games in front of it. In 1950–51, Naprzod reached the quarter-finals of
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 ...
. Currently, the team plays in Upper Silesian, regional B-class.
Naprzód, however, is famous not only for its
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team, but also boxers.
Jerzy Rudzki was for three times boxing champion of Poland – 1931, 1932, 1933. Naprzód's table-tennis players won three Polish championships, in 1947, 1948 and 1950.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naprzod Lipiny
Świętochłowice
Football clubs in Poland
Association football clubs established in 1920
Sport in Silesian Voivodeship
Football clubs in Silesian Voivodeship
Football clubs from former German territories