György Szepesi
Szepesi in 1970
Born
György Friedländer

(1922-02-05)5 February 1922
Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
Died25 July 2018(2018-07-25) (aged 96)
Budapest, Hungary
Alma materUniversity of Physical Education, Budapest
Occupation(s)Radio personality, journalist, and sports executive

György Szepesi (né Friedländer; 5 February 1922 – 25 July 2018) was a Hungarian radio personality, journalist and sports executive.[1][2] In 2006, Szepesi earned the record for the longest career as a sports commentator.[3]

Early life

Szepesi was born György Friedländer into a Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary.[1][4] He played basketball for Hungary's Vác-Újbuda LTC until 1942. His father, Miklós Friedländer, died in the Buchenwald concentration camp in 1945.[4] Szepesi himself was forced into a labour battalion in Ukraine, which was disbanded in October 1944.[4] Szepesi then returned to Budapest and lived with Gábor Kocsis, a fellow battalion survivor, Kocsis' wife, and their four children, until mid-January 1945, when the German troops retreated from Hungary.[5] Szepesi received his doctorate in sports history from the University of Physical Education in Budapest.[1]

Career

Szepesi began on Hungarian Radio in April 1945.[1][2][6][7][8] He covered the Olympic Games from 1948, and the Football World Cup from 1954.[1] Szepesi was a Hungarian Olympic Committee member from 1962 to 2000, and was the Executive Committee Chairman for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) from 1982 to 1994.[1] He was Chairman of the Hungarian Football Association (HFA) from 1978 to 1986.[1] He was the honorary chairman of the HFA, and an honorary member of FIFA's Executive Committee.[1]

Written works

  • (with László Lukacs) The match of the century, Hungarian News and Information Service, 1953 OCLC 943101461
  • Népesedésünk ma és holnap, Kossuth, 1986, ISBN 963-09-2840-X
  • Hungarian football rhapsody: 70 years of soccer history, Pannonia Press, 1968 OCLC 937175955

Death and legacy

Szepesi received the FIFA Medal in 1994, and the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee in 1995.[1][3] He received the Pillar of Achievement Award from the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.[1][2][6] In 2004, Szepesi was given the Prima Primissa Award in the Hungarian Electronic Press category.[9] In 2005, Szepesi became an honorary citizen of Budapest.[10] That same year, he was decorated with the Middle Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.[4]

In 2015, The Szepesi Prize was created to recognize other significant figures in Hungarian and sports journalism.[11] He died on 25 July 2018 in Budapest at the age of 96.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Dr. Gyorgy Szepesi". Jewishsports.net. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Tom Tugend (1 December 1997). "Paralympic volleyball star made Hall-of-Famer". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Records". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Szegedkurir – Szepesi György: Csak apám életét nem tudtam megmenteni". Szegedkurir.hu. Archived from the original on 15 April 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Felavatták a zsidó munkaszolgálatosok emlékművét" (in Hungarian). zsido.hu. 18 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  6. 1 2 Scheinberg, Robert (2 December 1997). "Nine voted to Jewish sports hall". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  7. ↑ Andrei S. Markovits (18 February 2009). "From the Stands". The Vienna Review. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  8. ↑ John Cunningham (2004). Hungarian cinema: from coffee house to multiplex. Wallflower Press. ISBN 9781903364796. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "2004-es Prima Primissima díjazottai" (in Hungarian). primissima.hu. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Szepesi György Budapest díszpolgára lesz" (in Hungarian). Origo. 23 September 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Legendary Sport Reporter György Szepesi Has Died at Age 96". Hungary Today. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  12. ↑ Gyász: elhunyt Szepesi György, a magyar rádiózás legendája (in Hungarian)
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