Ottmar Walter

Ottmar Kurt Herrmann Walter (6 March 1924 – 16 June 2013) was a German footballer who played as a striker.

Ottmar Walter
Walter in 2005
Personal information
Full name Ottmar Kurt Herrmann Walter
Date of birth (1924-03-06)6 March 1924
Place of birth Kaiserslautern, Germany
Date of death 16 June 2013(2013-06-16) (aged 89)
Place of death Kaiserslautern, Germany
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1933–1941 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1941–1943 1. FC Kaiserslautern 20 (18)
1943 SV Cuxhaven
1943 Holstein Kiel
1946–1956 1. FC Kaiserslautern 275 (307)
National team
1950–1955 West Germany 20 (10)
1956 West Germany B 1 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played together with his brother, Fritz Walter, at the club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[1] They also played together for the Germany national football team in the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Walter scored four goals in the tournament as West Germany won their first ever World Cup title. In total, Walter earned 20 caps and scored 10 goals for Germany.[2] For his club 1. FC Kaiserslautern he scored an unequaled 336 goals in 321 league and cup matches. Walter debuted in the first team at the age of 18 in 1942 as an outside left in a 7–1 rout of SV Waldhof Mannheim.

During World War II, Walter was drafted into the Kriegsmarine and suffered heavy injuries in his right knee. After several operations, he was forced to end his career in 1958.

Career

Club career

Born in Kaiserslautern, Walter and his two brothers Fritz and Ludwig all joined local club, 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[3] After making his debut for the club in 1942 he was posted by the navy to Kiel, where he played for Holstein Kiel.[3]

By the late-1940s, Walter was the center forward of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Like his brother Fritz, he treated the ball elegantly and was also pacy and possessed a powerful shot. As a center forward he also often moved to the wing.

Post-football

After the end of his career, he concentrated on operating a gas station which he had taken at rent in 1954. When the contract was signed, Walter had failed to notice the fine print in the contract which determined that if the contract got withdrawn, the gas station and the goods on the ground of the gas station would subrogate to the new leaseholder.[4] This happened in 1969 and in consequence of this Walter tried to commit suicide. However, he survived and later described that attempted suicide as a "panic reaction".[4] Later Walter found a job as an employee of the city of Kaiserslautern.

He died 16 June 2013.[5]

References
  1. "Ottmar Walter". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  2. "Ottmar Walter" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
  3. Glanvile, Brian (18 June 2013). "Ottmar Walter obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  4. Bitter, Jürgen (1997). Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler (in German). Sportverlag. p. 523.
  5. "Fußball-Legende Ottmar Walter ist tot" (in German). Die Welt. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
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