The player I am named after, the real Kurt Mondschein, has passed away.
I have no experience as an obituary writer at all, so be patient with me.
He was 82 years old when he died January 14. Together with Ludwig ("Wiggerl") Zausinger he formed a legendary duo on 1860's right wing throughout the 1950s.
Mondschein was only 5 foot 4, which may have been one of the reasons Sepp Herberger preferred players like Morlock, Fritz Walter or Pfaff for Mondschein's position. He scored more than 100 goals for the club and played from 1949 to 1959.
In the 1990s he achieved some late and short-lived fame when Franz Beckenbauer revealed in one of his autobiographies that Mondschein was his first idol as a player. Beckenbauer also was a guest at Mondschein's funeral.
When I interviewed Kurti (he asked me to call him by that nickname) for our fanzine in 1997, he said the thought of playing for any other club never crossed his mind. He denied he had ever experienced any anti-semitism at the club and firmly rejected the idea Sepp Herberger didn't cap him because he was a Jew. I personally am not so sure.
I like the picture a lot, by the way. He seems to completely fool the two Bayern defenders as well as his teammates. It's probably the best tribute of them all.
I have no experience as an obituary writer at all, so be patient with me.
He was 82 years old when he died January 14. Together with Ludwig ("Wiggerl") Zausinger he formed a legendary duo on 1860's right wing throughout the 1950s.
Mondschein was only 5 foot 4, which may have been one of the reasons Sepp Herberger preferred players like Morlock, Fritz Walter or Pfaff for Mondschein's position. He scored more than 100 goals for the club and played from 1949 to 1959.
In the 1990s he achieved some late and short-lived fame when Franz Beckenbauer revealed in one of his autobiographies that Mondschein was his first idol as a player. Beckenbauer also was a guest at Mondschein's funeral.
When I interviewed Kurti (he asked me to call him by that nickname) for our fanzine in 1997, he said the thought of playing for any other club never crossed his mind. He denied he had ever experienced any anti-semitism at the club and firmly rejected the idea Sepp Herberger didn't cap him because he was a Jew. I personally am not so sure.
I like the picture a lot, by the way. He seems to completely fool the two Bayern defenders as well as his teammates. It's probably the best tribute of them all.
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