József Braun

József Braun

Braun in 1926
Personal information
Date of birth	(1901-02-26)26 February 1901
Place of birth	Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Date of death	20 February 1943(1943-02-20) (aged 41)
Place of death	Kharkiv, Soviet Union
Position(s)	Right winger
Youth career
–1916	VAC Budapest
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1916–1925	MTK Budapest
1929	Brooklyn Hakoah	17	(1)
1929–1930	Brooklyn Wanderers	11	(2)
International career
1918–1926	Hungary	27	(11)
Managerial career
1932	Norway[1]
1934–1937	ŠK Slovan Bratislava
1937–1939	MTK
1938	ŠK Slovan Bratislava
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

József Braun (also known as József Barna; 26 February 1901 – 20 February 1943) was a Hungarian Olympic footballer who played as a right wing back.^[2] Braun began his career in Hungary before finishing it in the American Soccer League. He earned 27 caps, scoring 11 goals, with the Hungary national team. After retiring from playing, he coached for several years. Braun was killed in 1943 in a Nazi forced labor camp.^[3][4]

He was Jewish.^[5] His nephew is András Kepes journalist, documentary filmmaker and author.^[6]

Braun played as youth with VAC Budapest. In 1916, he signed for MTK Budapest in the Hungarian League, where he played primarily as a right wing back. In 1919, he was selected as the Hungarian Player of the Year. During his years with MTK Budapest, Braun won nine Hungarian championships and two Hungarian cups.^[7] He retired from playing in 1925 after suffering from multiple injuries.

In 1929, he moved to the United States, where he attempted a comeback with the Brooklyn Hakoah of the American Soccer League. He played 17 games before moving to the Brooklyn Wanderers in the fall of 1929. He played 11 games during the 1929–30 season, then retired permanently.^[8]

After making his international debut at 17 years of age, Braun earned 27 caps, scoring 11 goals, with the Hungary national team.^[9][7] His first came in a 6 October 1918 victory over Austria.^[10] His last came in a 3–3 tie with Portugal in December 1926.^[11]

He was a member of the Hungarian soccer team at the 1924 Summer Olympics, where he played two matches.^[12]

After the break of his active football career, he continued his work in sports as a coach. During 1932, he was a member of a four-member commission in the role of coach of the Norwegian national team for four games.^{[13][14][15][16]} Braun later coached ŠK Slovan Bratislava from 1935-38.^{[citation needed]}

Drafted as a Jew into forced labour in support of the Hungarian Army in the Eastern Front in World War II, Braun was killed in 1943 in a Nazi forced labor camp in Ukraine.^[3][4][7]