Franz John
Franz Adolf Louis John ( born September 28, 1872 in Pritzwalk, † November 17, 1952 in Berlin) was a German football official and photographer. He was one of the main initiators of the founding of FC Bayern Munich and from 1900 to 1903 its first president in February 1900.
John was born the son of a postal Secretary Frederick William John and his wife Ida in the North of Brandenburg Pritzwalk. With his parents he came first in the location on the outskirts of Berlin borough of Pankow, where he joined the football team VfB Pankow joined. In the club he made the acquaintance with Gustav Manning, who later became secretary of the DFB, which should support John instrumental in the integration of the Munich football in the DFB. After training as a photographer in Jena finally pulled him to Munich. There he settled down in the Schwabing district and was a member of the football department of MTV 1879 Munich.
The dispute about the accession to the Association of Southern German football clubs (SFV ), which is dominated by gymnasts managing committee of MTV in 1879 opposed to standing, left on February 27, 1900 eleven football players under protest the annual general meeting of the association and moved under the leadership of John in the restaurant Gisela. There they decided to start their own football club, the Munich football clubs Bayern, and chose John to be its first president.
Under his leadership, the association developed within a very short time the strongest force in the Munich football. Still in its first year joined Bayern in the SFV and called their own youth section to life. In 1901 he qualified for the semifinals for the first time to the South German championship. With the transfer of land to the Schwabing Clemens Street could be solved and a half years after the founding of the space problems.
John left in 1903 to FC Bayern. His successor in the office of the President was the Dutch playmaker of the team Willem Hesselink. 1904 John returned to Pankow and acquired there a photo lab. Later he became involved again in his parent club VfB Pankow and also took over there for some years president. Although Johns contacts to Munich were almost aborted, he was elected in the 1920 honorary chairman of Bayern. In 1936 he received the Golden Badge of Honour of the Association.
He died alone on 17 November 1952 at the age of 80 in Pankow. His tracks were lost. The Berlin journalist Joachim Rechenberg felt on the forgotten grave in Fürstenwalde. Fans of FCB then demanded the restoration of the previous tomb. To mark the 100th anniversary of its founding was the Bayern Munich up to the dilapidated grave Johns a grave stone, reminiscent of his services to the club.