Roman Korynt (12 October 1929 – 15 July 2018) 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 defender. Most of his career was spent 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 ...

, spending over 15 years at the club. He also had short spells with

Gedania Gdańsk KS Gedania Danzig was an ethnically-Polish association football club that was part of German football competition in the inter-war period. It was formed in 1922 in what was at the time the Free City of Danzig (present day Gdańsk, Poland). Ban ...

, OWKS Lublin, and CWKS Warsaw. He received 32 caps for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

between 1952 and 1959.

Biography

Early years

Korynt was born in

Tczew Tczew (, formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). It is the capital of Tczew County and the largest city of the ethnocultural region of Kociewie within th ...

in 1929. Both of his parents came from

Kociewie Kociewie is an ethnocultural region in the eastern part of Tuchola Forest, in northern Poland, Pomerania, that is inhabited by the Kociewians. Its cultural capital is Starogard Gdański, the biggest town is Tczew, while other major towns include ...

, with his father's parents both being Greek emigrants with the family's name originally being ''Korinth''. Originally his sporting passion started with

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

training with MKS Wybrzeże while also developing a passion for football at this time joining Grom Gdynia. Korynt joined

in 1948 playing with the club for just over a season before being called up into the army.

Military service

In 1949, Korynt started his mandatory conscription, being placed in a unit of ordinary conscripts and not a unit of athlete conscripts.

Zbigniew Piórkowski Zbigniew Piórkowski (2 July 1929 – 10 July 1994) was a Polish boxer. He competed in the men's middleweight event at the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded ...

, a well known boxer who Korynt was friends with, ordered that Korynt should be in a unit with athletic conscripts. Korynt was then transferred to OWKS Lublin as part of his military service. His performances with OWKS Lublin caught the attention of the Central Military Sports Club () and he was transferred to CWKS Warsaw in 1951 for the remainder of his military service. During his time with CWKS, he made 15 league appearances and 6 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 ...

. He left CWKS in 1952 after his military service was completed.

Lechia Gdańsk

Korynt moved back to the Tricity area where he grew up and joined

. He made his Lechia debut on 15 March 1953 against

Cracovia Cracovia is the Latin name for the Polish city of Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesse ...

in a 0–0 draw. In his first season with Lechia, they suffered relegation to the second tier, winning promotion the season after back into the

I liga I liga (, ), currently named Betclic I liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is the men's second professional association football division of the Polish football league system, below the Ekstraklasa and above the II liga via promotion/rel ...

. In 1955, Lechia reached the

final by beating Kolejarz Nowy Sącz,

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

Gwardia Warsaw WKS Gwardia Warszawa () was a Polish sports club based in Warsaw. The club was founded in 1948. The club was dissolved in 2018. Football It participated in the Polish 1st League from 1953 to 1960 (8 seasons), 1962–1966 (5 seasons), 1967–19 ...

and

Odra Opole OKS Odra Opole Spółka Akcyjna () is a association football, football club based in Opole, Poland, currently playing in the I liga. History Beginnings The history of Odra Opole began on 16 June 1945, when in the Opole Town Hall, a group o ...

to play CWKS Warsaw in the final. Korynt played 4 times in the cup run, including playing in the final, which CWKS Warsaw won 5–0. The following season in 1956 was to see the biggest success in Lechia's early history with the team, finishing 3rd in the

. At the beginning of the season, many expected Lechia to be fighting for their position to stay in the league. Despite only scoring 25 goals in 22 games, performances from Korynt helped the side to limit the number of goals they conceded with the team keeping 9 clean sheets in the 22-game season. After the 3rd-place finish Lechia started to face a gradual decline in on-field performances, with the team being relegated to 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 ...

at the end of the 1962–63 season. It was in the II liga where Korynt has his greatest success in terms of goals scored, scoring 5 in the 1964–65 season. After Lechia suffered another relegation, this time to the

III liga III liga (Trzecia liga), currently named Betclic III liga due to its sponsorship by Betclic, is a Polish football league that sits in the fourth tier of the Polish football league system. Until the end of the 2007–08 season, III liga ref ...

, Korynt played 7 times before he retired from professional football, having played his last game against Arkonia Szczecin. Korynt made a total of 340 appearances for Lechia, 207 of which were in the top tier. Korynt is currently the only Lechia player to have made over 200 appearances in the top division.

International career

On 25 May 1952, Korynt made his

international debut against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. In total he earned 32 caps for Poland between 1952 and 1959. His most famous international game coming on 20 October 1957 against the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

with Poland winning the game 2–1.

Personal life and death

His son Tomasz Korynt, was also a footballer. He has been awarded with three decorations; the Cross of Merit in 1995, the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2001, and the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

in 2011. Korynt is commemorated by a star at the MOSiR Stadium in Gdańsk. The "Avenue of Stars" commemorates the efforts and success of former players and coaches. He died on 15 July 2018, at the age of 88. His funeral took place on 19 July at the cemetery in Pierwoszyno.

Honours

Lechia Gdańsk *

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 ...

third place:

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

runner-up: 1954–55

Awards

*1995: Gold Cross of Merit *2001: Knight's Cross of the

*2011: Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korynt, Roman 1929 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Tczew Men's association football defenders Polish men's footballers Poland men's international footballers Polish people of Greek descent Gedania 1922 Gdańsk players KS Lublinianka players Legia Warsaw players Lechia Gdańsk players Ekstraklasa players I liga players II liga players Recipients of the Cross of Merit (Poland) Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta 20th-century Polish sportsmen