This is a photo of the Green White players, coaches, and members who went to Germany in August of 1967. The trip was organized by Martin Schneider (third from left).
Green White played in Kronach, Sindelfingen, Nurnberg, Crailsheim, and against Osterode.
How did Green White do? The Germans had no idea what hit them.
"That trip to Germany in 1967 was one of the all-time highlights of my time with Green White," team captain Adam Kaempf recalls. "That was a wonderful trip. The Germans thought ‘Oh what are the Yankees doing here?’ Well we kicked their butts, that’s what the Yankees did. They thought we had no chance. They asked me things like ‘Where did you learn soccer?’ I said ‘You idiot, I’m as German as you are.’”
Green White won four games in Germany, and tied another. A few of the games weren't even close. Green White won the first game 8-3 and the second game 7-2, and this despite free-flowing beer and unlimited bratwursts at the various dances and banquets. At one of them, the players marched in behind the U.S. Military band.
The team that showed the Germans not to take Americans so lightly: Stefan Strumberger, Adam Wambach, Nicolaus Wirs, John Bartlang, Leo Skrochod, Joe Fessel, J. Laxgang, Horst Stemke, Harry Palmer, A. Kaempf, G. Kaempf, Adolf Kelm, John Woolfe, Rudi Mayer, Jimmy Benedek.
When they returned home the players had a few observations to share with their fellow club members. For one thing, they noted that the beds were shorter in Germany than they were here. Also, they were surprised baths cost DM 2.50, and that the meat tasted a little different.
But they weren't surprised they played so well. Their confidence was at an all-time high.
Player Profile: Georg Kaempf
This is how he was described in the 1967 Green White newsletter. "The Green White record goal scorer (he recently shot his 101st goal for our club) is often argued about by the spectators. Either Georgie has a day when nobody can catch him, or almost every shot misses the goal. He is also one of the few players that can single-handedly take 'our chestnuts out of the fire'. Fast, sometimes a little selfish, and with a shot you can't anticipate, he is the type of player every club needs."
Green White off the field
The social calendar at Green White was packed solid. Every month they held a big event that drew members closer together.
*In January, Eckhard Kaempfer led a group on a ski trip. He reported that everyone returned with all of their limbs, even though there were quite a few tumbles—even one from the expert skier Nick Willer. The conditions weren’t exactly ideal, the temperatures were near 50, but Georg Kaempf went right to the toughest hill, even though he was a beginner. He’s lucky he’s alive to speak of it.
*The Masquerade Ball was held on 2/11/67. Die Goldene Drei were the band. Luckily the incredible snow storm of 1967 had let up enough to allow everyone to make it to the event. It was a big hit. Alex Gyurko, Stefan Zimmer, and Adam Harjung were the organizers.
*In March Green White held a table-tennis tournament as a fundraiser. The final game was Gerhard Berger against Martin Schlenhardt, and Berger came out victorious. According to the descriptions of the event by commentator Wilhelm Franz, the choke of the tournament was made by Adam Harjung, who was up 12-2 and lost 21-16 in the first game, and then was up 19-13 and lost 21-19 in the second game to the eventual champ Berger.
*In April, Green White staged their own version of “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Show”. Inge Winterkorn chose John Bartlang (over Martin Stilling and Rudi Mayer) for a night out at the Ivanhoe Theatre and dinner, and Miss Green White Juliane Hehn picked Walter Schellhorn over John Woolfe and Rudy Schock. They got tickets to the ice-review at the Conrad Hilton Hotel. The winner of the Newlywed game was Eva and Eberhard Suhr, who won AM-FM radios. Adam Kaempf, Georg Kaempf, and Joe Laxgang and their wives were the big losers. The Polydors provided the musical entertainment and it went late into the morning. Adam Wambach and John Woolfe organized the event.
*In May, another dance was held ("Mai-Tanz"), and that’s where the Miss Green White field was narrowed down. The three finalists were Ingrid Winterkorn, Liz Friedrich and Sieglinde Trzewik.
*There was also a summer dance in July, with music from Die Goldene Drei, and the crowning of 1967’s Miss Green White! The winner was Ingrid Winterkorn.
*In August, the Green White picnic was held at the Genoa City Recreation camp north of Genoa.
*In October, Green White held their annual anniversary dinner/dance.
Though the social calendar was ridiculously full, there was a downside to all of this. The women did most of the work cleaning up, and they got a little ticked off. Wilhelm Franz took the men of the club to the woodshed with this little tidbit in the newsletter: "A memo from the women, particularly Kathy Racz, Johanna Kraemer, and Marianne Kaempf—they had to clean up the clubhouse after you slobs and there was lots and lots of work! Does it have to be this way?"
Green White Milestones
*The Stadlers and the (Tony) Zimmers both welcomed baby boys, and The Skorochod's were thrilled with the birth of a daughter.
*Wedding bells rang for Otmar Scheer and his lovely bride Anna Wingert.
*And sadly, Green White member Eduard Speth (photo) passed away at the very young age of 29. He left behind two sons (ages 8 & 6) and one daughter (4 years old). Eddie played goalie for the reserves only a few months before his passing, and had just returned from a trip to Germany with his family. Eduard was very involved with coaching and mentoring the kids. He often remarked “Sie sind die ganze Arbeit wert!” (They are worth every bit of the hard work!) Wilhelm Franz described him this way in the Green White newsletter: “In losing Eduard, we’re losing one of our most important members, in losing him we’re losing a comrade, a co-worker, and a mentor to our children. But we will always live by the spirit of his sportsmanship, because he set a great example for us all.”
Sports on the Radio
To keep up with the the latest local sports news, the Germans of Chicago tuned in to the show "Sportsecho", which aired every Monday night on WXRT Radio (93.1FM) from 6:30-6:45. It was part of the nightly German radio show, which aired 5-7pm.
In Pop Culture
~The number song of the year was "
To Sir With Love" by Lulu
~The top rated show on television was "
The Andy Griffith Show"
~The best picture Academy Award went to "
In the Heat of the Night"
Elsewhere in Chicago...
~
The city experienced its worst one day snow storm in history (23 inches of snow), and Chicago was virtually shut down for nearly a week.
~Richard Speck was sentenced to death for murdering eight student nurses.
~Muhammad Ali refused induction into the army and was stripped of his boxing title.
Next Month: 1968. A Democratic convention comes to town and explodes, and a big honor goes to a Green White player.
As always, if you have any thing to add or correct in this month’s installment, please drop me a line at amishrick@yahoo.com. I consider this a group project, and a work in progress, so we can add and subtract until we get it all exactly correct. If you have photos you’d like to contribute, please do.
