Karabet "Garo" Hamamcıoğlu (born April 27, 1945, in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) is a former Turkish

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player of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

descent and current chairman of the sports club

Taksim SK Taksim Spor Kulübü is a sports club located in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, Turkey. The football team of the club plays in the Istanbul Super Amateur League. The club was founded in 1940 by mostly members of the Armenian community of Istanbul when Ate� ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Biography

Hamamcıoğlu was born in

Playing career

He began his football career with Taksim SK in 1963. Taksim SK is a football club represented to Armenian community in Istanbul. He played for the team two seasons. He was then conscripted into Turkish Army in 1965. Whilst serving for military, he also played for Gölcük Denizgücü for one season.Lacivert Beyaz
After completing the military service, Hamamcıoğlu transferred in 1967 to the Turkish Second Division team Sarıyer G.K. He played for them for 13 seasons and retired in 1980. Hamamcıoğlu played 483 games in total for Sarıyer G.K., scoring 165 goals. He is currently the third most capped player for Sarıyer G.K. He was four times the top striker at the Turkish Second Division. Many first division teams tried to sign him, but he stayed with Sarıyer G.K. until his retirement from playing football. Hamamcıoğlu also briefly played for Taksim SK in the Istanbul Amateur League at the age 35 after he was returned from retirement.

Club chairman

After retiring as a player, Hamamcıoğlu returned to Taksim SK, but this time as an executive. He is currently chairman of the club.

Other information

Garo Hamamcıoğlu was also co-captain of the Turkish-Armenian squad, at the PanArmenian Games. He is one of the forerunner Armenian origin Turkish nationals, who try to improve relations between Turkish and Armenian people. He is also a peace activist.Istanbul Times
/ref> He was against the

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’s vote on a controversial bill that criminalises denial of the

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References

Turkish men's footballers Turkish people of Armenian descent 1945 births Living people Footballers from Istanbul Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Armenian men's footballers Men's association football forwards 20th-century Turkish sportsmen {{Armenia-footy-bio-stub