Molnar, Gyorgy

Molnar was a successful winger for his club MTK Budapest and the Hungarian National team in the 1920s. According to Andrew Handler in From the Ghetto to the Games, Molnar was a moody player who avoided close contact when he could. Nevertheless, he was a tireless worker whose determination and mobility earned him the nickname "Hanaya" (ant). A great goal scorer who registered a hat trick against Italy in 1924 (Hungary won the match, 7-1), Molnar was a relentless worker who covered the entire breadth of the field.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. 1901

Career Highlights:
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. In 1919-20, he joined the first team and helped the squad capture the Hungarian League title with an overall record of 26-1-1 as they outscored their combined opponents, 113-17. MTK went on to capture the next five championships and Molnar won the 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).
In the 1920s, 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 came in an international competition in 1925. In his National team career, Molnar played in a total of 26 international games and scored 11 goals for Hungary. He was scheduled to play in the 1924 Olympics, but was injured.
According to research compiled by Colin Jose in the book American Soccer League, 1921-1931, Molnar also played in the United States for the New York Giants in the American Soccer League. During the 1927-28 season, Gyorgy appeared in 30 games and helped the 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; Hakoah finished in third place. Gyorgy's final ASL season, 1929-30, was spent with Nat Agar's Brooklyn Wanderers. Molnar scored one goal in 12 games.

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)