Ernst Kaltenbach (born 7 February 1889 – 10 October 1965) was a Swiss footballer who played as a midfielder.

Ernst Kaltenbach
Personal information
Date of birth (1889-02-07)7 February 1889
Place of birth Basel, Switzerland
Date of death 10 October 1965(1965-10-10) (aged 76)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1909–1927 FC Basel 147 (20)
International career
1911–1922 Switzerland 13 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career edit

Kaltenbach started his playing career with Basel in 1909 and played for the first team until 1927. During this time the FCB played in the Swiss Serie A. Kaltenbach played a total of 275 games for Basel, of which 147 games were in the national championship, five in the Anglo-Cup and 123 in friendly/test games. He scored 20 goals in the domestic league, three in the Anglo-Cup and 26 in the friendly games.[1]

In the 1912–13 season Basel won the Anglo-Cup. Kaltenbach was part of the team that won the final on 29 June 1913 in the Hardau Stadium, Zürich against FC Weissenbühl Bern 5–0.[2]

On 24 April 1921, Kaltenbach played in a comparison match between a Berlin city selection and FC Basel, in front of 35,000 spectators, he was honoured as best Basel players. Basel achieved a 3–3 draw, despite having previously travelled over 19 hours by train.[3] In the domestic championship FC Basel had almost suffered relegation from Serie-A during that same season.

International career edit

Kaltenbach was one of the pioneers of Swiss football and from 1911 to 1922 obtained a total of 13 caps for the Switzerland national team. In his first international match, on 30 October 1911 in Budapest, the Swiss suffered a 9–0 defeat against Hungary (their highest defeat to date). His last international match, eleven years later, was also a comparison with the Hungarians in Budapest, this time the game resulted in an honorable 1–1 draw.

In Zurich, on 27 June 1920 in the 4–1 victory over Germany Kaltenbach was the Swiss captain. That game was the first appearance of a German selection after the First World War.

Personal life edit

Dr. Phil Ernst Basler Kaltenbach was a middle school teacher. He shaped the early history of FC Basel not only as player. In 1916, he was one of the initiators and founders of the FC Basel youth section. From 29 October 1924 he was the editor of the "Swiss football and athletics newspaper", and later wrote for the German magazine "Kicker" about Swiss football and wrote for the sports newspaper "Tip".[4]

Honours edit

FC Basel

  • Anglo Cup (Predecessor competition of the Swiss Cup): 1912/13

Sources and references edit

  • Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2014/2015. Publisher: FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2027-6
  1. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Ernst Kaltenbach". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  2. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. "Überblick Saison 1912/13". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  3. ^ Mangold, Thilo; Noëmi Rohner (2014). "Der älteste Basler Fussballfilm – die Städte-Auswahl 1921 in Berlin". tageswoche.ch. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  4. ^ Rotweiss. "Kaltenbach Dr., Ernst". Rotweiss.ch. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.