Wacław Michał Kuchar (16 September 1897 – 13 February 1981) was a Polish sports champion, Olympian, and multiple

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 ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

and

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...

champion of the country. Kuchar excelled in many sports – track and field, football (firstly – as a forward, then as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, and finally at the end of his career – as a defender),

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

. Even though born in Łańcut, his whole life was connected with

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, where he played for

Pogoń Lwów LKS Pogoń Lwów is a former Polish professional sports club which was located in Lwów, Lwów Voivodeship (now Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the L ...

– one of the most important and most popular sports clubs of interwar Poland. After finishing his career, he became a referee, coach and sports official. To this day Kuchar is regarded as an excellent example of fair play. In 1926, in a poll held by the Polish sports daily ''

Przegląd Sportowy ''Przegląd Sportowy'' (, ''Sports Review'') is the oldest and now the only Polish sports daily, founded in 1921 in Kraków. In 1926 it initiated an annual, popular plebiscite for the Polish Sportspersonality of the Year. Its current editor-in-ch ...

'', Kuchar was chosen as the athlete of the year. A year later he came in 10th in the same poll. In 1924, at the Paris

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, he played on the

Poland national football team The Poland national football team () represents Poland in men's international Association football, football competitions since their first match in 1921. It is governed by the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the governing body for football ...

Club career

As a 15 year old, Kuchar made his debut for

, however he was never meant to play in this match. Before the game, several players fell ill, so the coach decided to play young Kuchar. To the coaches surprise, Kuchar scored a hat-trick as

won 7–1 against Pogoń Stryj. When Kuchar was 16, him and his three brothers played a match against Cracovia II, winning 3–1 with Wacław scoring twice. Their parents were so proud of their sons all playing in the same game. As a footballer representing Pogoń Lwów, Kuchar achieved these successes: * years of career – 1912–35, * won the Polish championship:

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

, * top scorer of Poland: 1922 (21 goals), 1926 (11 goals), * In 1923, he scored 88 goals in unofficial games, * 9 goals in a match against Rewera, * 4 goals in 5 minutes in a match against WKS Lublin, * altogether he played in 1126 games, scoring 1065 goals.

International career

Kuchar earned 23

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Poland national football team, scoring 5 goals. His debut came on 18 February 1921, in a 0–1 loss to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. He played his last game internationally seven years later, on 27 October 1928, appearing in a 2–3 loss to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. From 1947 to 1949, he also coached the Poland national team.

Athletics

Wacław Kuchar was champion of Poland in: * 800-meter race (1920, 1921), * 110-meter hurdle race (1920), * 400-meter hurdle race (1923), * high jump (1921, 1923), * pentathlon (1923, 1924).

Ice-skating

Kuchar as an ice skater: * participated in the

European Speed Skating Championships for Men The International Skating Union has organised the European Speed Skating Championships for Men since 1893. Unofficial championships were held in the years 1891–1892. History Program * In the years 1891–1892, three distances had to be skated: ...

of 1925, * 22-time Champion of Poland (Including single-distance titles) in the period 1922–29.

Military

Kuchar was a captain in the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

. He participated in the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919 as well as the Polish-Soviet War of 1920; for his merits Kuchar was decorated with several medals.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuchar, Waclaw 1897 births 1981 deaths People from Łańcut Polish Austro-Hungarians Sportspeople from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Sportspeople from Subcarpathian Voivodeship Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Poland men's international footballers Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Poland Polish men's footballers Polish football referees Polish ice hockey players Polish male high jumpers Polish male hurdlers Polish male middle-distance runners Polish male speed skaters Pogoń Lwów players Ekstraklasa players Polish football managers FC Dynamo Lviv managers Polonia Bytom managers Legia Warsaw managers Polonia Warsaw managers Ekstraklasa managers Poland national football team managers Polish expatriate football managers Polish Army officers Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish people of the Polish–Ukrainian War Recipients of the commemorative badge Orlęta Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Cross of Independence 20th-century Polish sportsmen