Max Grünwald (born in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

) was an early twentieth century Austrian

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

who played professionally in Austria and the United States.

Club career

Grünwald joined

Hakoah Vienna SC Hakoah Vienna (; ' means "the strength" in Hebrew) is a Jewish sports club in Vienna, Austria. Prior to World War II, it produced several Olympic athletes and was notable for fielding an entirely Jewish association football team with players ...

in 1920. In 1926, Hakoah toured the United States. Grünwald and several of his team mates decided to remain in the country to join local clubs. Grünwald signed with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

of the American Soccer League. He played with the Giants for three seasons, taking second in the league’s scoring table behind Andy Stevens in 1929. With the onset of the “Soccer Wars” between the ASL and the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

, Grünwald jumped to the

Eastern Professional Soccer League Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

, the ASL having been declared an “outlaw league” by the USFA and

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

. When he made the move, he signed with

New York Hakoah New York Hakoah is an American soccer club based in New York City, which takes its name from two earlier, defunct clubs. ''Hakoah'' (roughly translated as "strength" from Hebrew) is a frequent name for sport and social Jewish clubs around the wor ...

which won the

1929 National Challenge Cup Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * ''19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * ''Dician ...

. Grünwald scored in the second game as Hakoah easily disposed of St. Louis Madison Kennel. The end of the “Soccer Wars” brought the merger of the ASL and ESL. When that occurred, New York Hakoah merged with

Brooklyn Hakoah Brooklyn Hakoah is a former United States soccer team club based in Brooklyn, New York, that played in the American Soccer League. Brooklyn Hakoah I Originally formed by former players of SC Hakoah Wien, they played in the American Soccer Leag ...

of the ASL to form the

Hakoah All-Stars Hakoah All-Stars is a former United States soccer club, based in New York City, that played in the American Soccer League between 1930 and 1932. The club was formed after the merger of Brooklyn Hakoah of the ASL and New York Hakoah of the Easter ...

. Grünwald then played two seasons with the All-Stars. By 1931, the ASL was collapsing from the twin impacts of the “Soccer Wars” and the onset of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Consequently, Grünwald returned to Austria where he played at least one more season with

International career

His only international appearance came on 21 May 1924, when he scored twice against

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

International goals

References

External links

1924/25 Hakoah Vienna team photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunwald, Max Year of birth missing Year of death missing Austrian men's footballers Austria men's international footballers Jewish footballers Austrian Jews Hakoah Vienna footballers American Soccer League (1921–1933) players New York Giants (soccer) players Hakoah All-Stars players Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) players New York Hakoah players Men's association football inside forwards Austrian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Austrian expatriate sportspeople in the United States