Field handball was only part of the Olympic program once, at the 1936 Berlin Games. The German Reich dominated their two preliminary round matches, beating Hungary 22-0 and then the USA 29-1, before winning all three matches in the final round, including a 10-6 win over Austria in the deciding match that won the gold medal. Rudolf Stahl, by profession was a policeman, and he played six international matches, two of them in Berlin. In 1934 he won the German Championship with his home club Polizeisportverein Darmstadt.