Rudi Gramlich

Rudi Gramlich started playing football with FC Borussia Frankfurt and moved to Saxony for his professional education in leather trading, where he joined Sportfreunde Freiberg. In 1929 he returned to Frankfurt and became a life-long member of Eintracht Frankfurt, which was one of Germany’s leading clubs of the time.

On 27 September 1931 he won his first cap as a midfielder, winning 4-2 against Denmark. He was one of the best players and his technical skills soon earned him a regular position. Amongst his 22 international games, he appeared once in the 1934 World Cup and in the 0-2 defeat against Norway during the Berlin Olympics. As a captain he was not in his best shape and had to face negative review. Annoyed by the harsh criticism, he stepped down and never again competed internationally for Germany.

On the club level he remained active for Eintracht Frankfurt until 1939 and later coached FC Haidhof. In 1939-40 he belonged to the notorious SS Division Totenkopf (“Skull”) and was accused of having committed war crimes during World War II. He was exonerated by a civilian tribunal and released from detention. From 1939-42 and from 1955-75 he acted as chairman of Eintracht Frankfurt and became an honorary member. From 1967-74 he was chairmen of the German Football Association’s first division (Bundesliga) committee.