Werner Baßler (2 October 1921 – 21 October 1999) 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, rugby lea ...

who played as a forward.

Early life

Baßler's footballing career started at the youth side of

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

, where he played with

Fritz Walter Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany an ...

and Richard Schneider. He was a multi-talented athlete who played handball, track, field and he also cycled.

Career

Gauliga

In 1938 Baßler appeared in the first team of

. In the 1939–40 season were the champions of the Saarpfalz region in the Gauliga Südwest, however could not advance to the finals of the German Championship, after losing 7–4 on aggregate to

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Fussball-Club Kickers, commonly known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left establis ...

. In the 1941–42 Gauliga Westmark season, Baßler scored 21 goals. For the first time 1. FC Kaiserslautern advanced to the German Championship. On 10 May 1942, 1. FC Kaiserslautern beat

Waldhof Mannheim SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of ove ...

7–1 with Baßler scoring a goal. 1. FC Kaiserslautern could not progress further, as they lost 9–3, on aggregate, to a

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

side that boasted the likes of

Fritz Szepan Friedrich "Fritz" Szepan (2 September 1907 – 14 December 1974) was a German footballer in the period leading up to and including World War II. He spent his entire career with Schalke 04 where he won six national championships and one German Cup ...

and

Ernst Kuzorra Ernst Kuzorra (16 October 1905 – 1 January 1990) was a German footballer of the pre-war era. During his entire career, he played for Schalke 04, whom he led to six national championships and one national cup. He is commonly regarded as the gre ...

. Baßler was drafted into the navy in 1942 and would play as a war-guest for

Holstein Kiel Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein von 1900 e.V., commonly known as Holstein Kiel () or KSV Holstein, is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. From the 1900s through the 1960s, the club was o ...

for two seasons. He would play just a few more games for 1. FC Kaiserslautern before the introduction of the Oberliga.

Oberliga

Baßler's first game in the Oberliga came against Phoenix Ludwigshafen, He scored 3 in a 10–0 victory. Up until 1950–51,

would win four Oberliga Sudwest championships. 1947–48 was a great year for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, as they won the championship with a 151:18 ratio of goals scored to goals conceded. Baßler ended up with 28 goals in the championship, which put him in 4th place. First place was none other than teammate

Ottmar Walter Ottmar Kurt Herrmann Walter (6 March 1924 – 16 June 2013) was a German footballer who played as a forward. He played together with his brother, Fritz Walter, at the club 1. FC Kaiserslautern. They also played together for the West Germany n ...

with 51 goals. The next season would be even better for Baßler as he totalled a record 54 goals for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. The following season Baßler scored another 45 goals, equal to Ottmar Walter. In 1951, Baßler finished with 25 goals, behind Ottmar Walter, who scored 28 goals. In 1951, together with the 1. FC Kaiserslautern team, he was awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf. In the Oberliga Südwest he played 215 games from 1945 to 1957, scoring 226 goals. Baßler played his last competitive game for the Red Devils in the final round of 1957 on 9 June in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, against the defending champions

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

, when Lautern lost 3–2 in front of 75,000 spectators, he had to deal with the 23-year-old Borussia left winger

Helmut Kapitulski Helmut Kapitulski (born 29 September 1934) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the m ...

Later life

Baßler was employed as a construction mechanic by the sewing machine manufacturer Pfaff in

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town 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 Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...

and, after his return from

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

, also ran a lottery and pools acceptance point. According to his own records, Baßler scored at least 1388 goals during his career.Werner Skrentny, Teufelsangst vorm Erbsenberg, Die Geschichte der Oberliga Südwest 1946–1963, S. 26.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baßler, Werner 1921 births 1999 deaths German men's footballers Men's association football forwards VfR Mannheim players Holstein Kiel players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players West German men's footballers People from Kaiserslautern (district) People from the Palatinate (region) Footballers from Rhineland-Palatinate Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II Military personnel from Rhineland-Palatinate