Molnar, Gyorgy

Sport:
soccer

Country Represented:
Hungary

Years Competed:
1924

Olympic Info:
A star player for Hungary, Molnar was penciled in as a starting winger for the 1924 Olympics, but was injured and did not play in the tournament. In single elimination play, the Hungarian team defeated Poland, 5-0, but were then upset by Egypt in the second round, 3-0.

Career Highlights:
One of Hungary's best players in the 1920s, Molnar was a moody player who avoided close contact when he could, according to Andrew Handler in From the Ghetto to the Games. Nevertheless, he was a tireless worker whose determination and mobility earned him the nickname "Hanaya" (ant). A winger, Molnar was one of the greatest goal scorers in the history of MTK Budapest, a club power in Hungary in the first half of the 20th Century.
Molnar helped the MTK squad capture the Hungarian League title from 1920-1925, and he won the individual scoring crown in 1925 with 21 goals. MTK also won the Hungary Cup that year. Overall, Molnar played ten seasons (1920-1929) with MTK and scored an impressive 180 goals in 138 League games (0.77 goals per game).
Molnar was also a fixture on the Hungarian National Team. He scored his first international goal in 1922 in a 1-1 draw with Austria. Two years later, he registered a hat trick (3 goals) in a 7-1 victory over Italy. His final goal in international competition came in 1925. In his National team career, Molnar played in 26 international games and scored 11 goals for Hungary.
According to research compiled by Colin Jose in the book American Soccer League, 1921-1931, Molnar also played in the United States in the American Soccer League. During the 1927-28 season, he appeared in 30 games and helped the New York Giants finish sixth in the league by scoring six goals (seventh on the team). The following year, Molnar played for the Hakoah All-Stars in the ASL and scored six goals in 14 games as Hakoah finished in third place. Molnar's final ASL season, 1929-30, was spent with Nat Agar's Brooklyn Wanderers. Molnar scored one goal in 12 games.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. 1901 - d. unknown

Origin:
Hungary

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References:
encyclopedia of JEWS in sports, by Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, and Roy Silver (New York: Bloch Publishing Co., 1965)
From the Ghetto to the Games: Jewish Athletes in Hungary, by Andrew Handler (Boulder, Colorado: East European Monographs, 1985)
The American Soccer League, 1921-1931: The Golden Years of American Soccer, by Colin Jose (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1998)

http:// www.aafla.org/