Rudolph Nickolsburger (born 21 March 1899,

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 ...

; died

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, December 1969), also referred to as Nikolsburger Rezső and Rudy Nichols, was a Hungarian footballer who played for

Ferencvárosi TC Ferencvárosi Torna Club, commonly known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, FTC is a Hungary, Hungarian professional Association football, football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hunga ...

SC Hakoah Wien 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 ...

and

. He later emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he played for

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 ...

and

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 ...

Club career

Nickolsburger played for

during the early 1920s before leaving

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in 1922 to join Makkabi Brno in

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 ...

. This club consisted almost exclusively of Hungarian Jews. In the mid-1920s, Nickolsburger played in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. A ''Béla Nikolsbuger'' played as a centre forward for Forli during the 1925–26 season. This may be the same player. In March 1927 Nickolsburger moved to

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 ...

and joined the all-

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

club

. Then in April and May 1927 he joined the club on their second tour of the

. He played in several games on the tour, scoring twice against 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 ...

. He then returned to Austria and started the 1927–28 season with SC Hakoah Wien. However, by 1928 he was back in the United States playing for

of the

Eastern 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 ...

, a team made-up of former

players, including

Béla Guttmann Béla Guttmann (; 27 January 1899 – 28 August 1981) was a Hungarian footballer and coach. He was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, and was Jewish. He was deported by the Nazis to a Nazi slave labor camp where he was tortured; he survived the ...

. In subsequently helped them win 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 ...

. After a merger 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 ...

, they became the

and entered the American Soccer League in the fall of 1929. Between 1929 and 1931 Nickolsburger played 84 league games and scored 30 goals for the All-Stars in the American Soccer League. His last confirmed game was on 12 June 1932 against the Bohemian Americans.

Hungarian international

While with

, Nickolsburger also played twice for

. He made his international debut in 1920 against

. On 17 May 1925 he also played for a Hungary XI in a 4–1 win against a visiting

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Later years

Nickolsburger spent his later years in and around

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. His wife, Mary Tóth Nichols died in 1992. A son Leslie (Laszlo), who was born in

in 1927, died in February 2006. His surviving daughter, Norma Lee Nichols Mahdavi, resides in New York. Nickolsburger's grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren have settled in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, California, Brooklyn,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Honours

New York Hakoah *

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

: 1

References

External links

Nickolsburger at www.jewsinsports.orgNickolsburger at www.familysearch.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickolsburger, Rudolph 1899 births 1969 deaths People from the Kingdom of Hungary Jews from Austria-Hungary Jewish Hungarian sportspeople Jewish footballers Hungarian men's footballers Hungarian expatriate men's footballers Hungary men's international footballers Ferencvárosi TC footballers Hakoah Vienna footballers American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Hakoah All-Stars players Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) players New York Hakoah players Men's association football forwards Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Czechoslovakia Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Czechoslovakia Hungarian emigrants to the United States