Rudolph Nickolsburger

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Rudolph Nickolsburger
Full name	Rudolph Nickolsburger
Date of birth	1909
Place of birth	unknown, Hungary
Date of death	1969
Playing position	Forward
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
19xx-25 1926-27 1928-29 1929-31	Ferencvárosi TC SC Hakoah Wien New York Hakoah Hakoah All-Stars	81 (30)
National team
1920-25	Hungary	2 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Rudolph Nickolsburger (born Hungary, 1909; died New York, December 1969), also referred to as Nikolsburger Rezso and Rudy Nichols, is a former Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencvárosi TC, SC Hakoah Wien and Hungary. He later emigrated to the United States where he played for New York Hakoah and Hakoah All-Stars

Nickolsburger, who could play as either a winger or a centre-forward, played for Ferencvárosi TC during the early 1920s. While with FTC he also played twice for Hungary. He made his international debut in 1920 against Austria and on May 17 1925 he also played for a Hungary XI in a 4-1 win against a visiting Bolton Wanderers. In the mid-1920s, Nickolsburger played in Italy. A Béla Nikolsbuger played as a centre forward for Forli during the 1925-26 season. This maybe the same player. [1].

In 1926 Nickolsburger moved to Austria and joined the all-Jewish club SC Hakoah Wien. In April 1926 the club sailed to New York to begin a ten-match tour of the United States and on May 1 a crowd of 46,000 watched them play an American Soccer League XI at the Polo Grounds. The ASL team won 3-0. Following the tour Nickolsburger and several of his teammates, including Béla Guttmann, decided to stay on in the US. In 1928 he joined New York Hakoah, a team made-up of former SC Hakoah Wien players, including Guttmann, and in 1929 he helped them win the U.S. Open Cup. After a merger with Brooklyn Hakoah, they became the Hakoah All-Stars in 1930. Between 1929 and 1931 Nickolsburger played 81 games and scored 30 goals for the All-Stars in the American Soccer League. He retired as a player in 1931.

Nickolsburger spent the remainder of his life in and around The Bronx, New York. His wife, Mary Tóth Nichols died in 1992. A son Leslie (Laszlo), who was born in Budapest in 1927, died in February 2006. His surviving daughter, Norma Lee Nichols Mahdavi, resides in New York. Nickolsburger's grandchildren and great-grandchildren can be found in Florida, Vermont and Norway.