Stanisław Ryszard Burzyński (19 October 1948 – 5 November 1991) was a Polish

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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. The majority of his career was spent with teams in the Tricity area, with the exception of a spell in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

Biography

Burzyński started his playing career 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 ...

in 1966, making his senior debut in the

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 ...

in the 3–0 victory over Wisła Nowe. In total, Burzyński made 22 appearances in all competitions over the span of three seasons with Lechia. In 1969, he moved to Lechia Gdańsk's main rivals,

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 ...

. He spent seven seasons with Arka over the course of two spells, becoming a fan favourite during that time. In total, he made 199 appearances for Arka, with 166 of those coming in the league, and helped Arka to the top division by winning the

II liga II liga (Druga liga, ), currently named Betclic II liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is a Polish football league that sits at the third tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, ''II Liga'' referre ...

during his first spell with the club. In 1975 Burzyński moved to

Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-wh ...

, one of the biggest teams in Poland at the time. During his time with Widzew, the team finished 2nd in the league three times, only failing to become Polish Champions in 1978–79 due to goal difference. Widzew also finished runners-up in the

final in 1977. In total, Burzyński played 177 times for Widzew from 1975 to 1980. In 1980, his career was put on hold after being sent to prison for driving under the influence of alcohol and killing an 86-year-old man in an accident. He was released from prison in 1981, moving back to the Tricity to play for

Bałtyk Gdynia Bałtyk Gdynia is a Polish football club from Gdynia. The club is named after the Baltic Sea. They currently compete in the IV liga Pomerania, the fifth tier of Polish league competition. History The club was established in 1930 by football e ...

and MOSiR Gdańsk. Before the accident he was due to join English club

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

which fell through due to his time in prison. Due to what Burzyński saw as a missed opportunity in his career, he fell into alcoholism, failing to regain his form at any of his final three clubs until he retired in 1988. After his career, Burzyński still struggled with his alcohol issues, committing suicide by jumping from his 9th floor apartment window on 5 November 1991.

Honours

Arka Gdynia * II liga North: 1973–74 Widzew Łódź *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

runner-up: 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80 *

runner-up: 1976–77

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burzyński, Stanisław 1948 births 1991 deaths Footballers from Gdańsk Footballers from Pomeranian Voivodeship Men's association football goalkeepers Polish men's footballers Poland men's international footballers Lechia Gdańsk players Arka Gdynia players Widzew Łódź players Bałtyk Gdynia players Ekstraklasa players I liga players Polish people convicted of manslaughter Suicides by jumping in Poland Sportspeople convicted of crimes 20th-century Polish sportsmen