Siklódi Csilla szerk.: Sport Anno (A Sportmúzeum Kincsei 1. Budapest, 1993)

Előszó (Gallov Rezső)

f 1 PREFACE I consider it an honour to have the possibility to write the preface of a publication borne on the basis of an excellent idea. The importance of this publication lays in the fact that it is for the first time that a sport historical photo album using the collection of dr. Ferenc Mező, the gold medalist of the artistic competition of the Olympic Games of Amsterdam in 1928, and of dr. Lajos Vermes, university professor and sport photograph is published. The explanatory and the historical text of the publication of 150 pages and 120 photos is written in english, french and german — beside of the hungarian — indicating the aim that the book will get into the hands of the readers beyond our frontiers, as well. I'm convinced that the historical sport photo album entitled „Sport anno..." will render a great help to those, too, who are only slightly concerned with the sport, so that even they can become better acquainted with the world of the sport by seeing the contemporary and present-day pictures. Of course, it would have been difficult to follow the way of the hungarian sport that has already gained an international prestige by the turn of the century, so according to the aim of the redactors, the book gives a lot of further information, as well, that has even raised the standard of the volume. For we have to acknowledge: who has heard e.g. about the priest of Göd, Mór Kóczán, mentioned in the book, the bronze medalist of the javelin throw of the Stockholm Olympic Games in 1912? Probably nobody, since the presbytery considered it incompatible with the ministry to ,,show himself in drawers", in front of the public. Because of the prohibition, he is figured under the pseudonym Miklós Kovács — as the first Olympic medalist of the FTC — in the album. It isn't my duty to present dr. Ferenc Mező and dr. Lajos Vermes, who took the pictures and left them for the posterity, for the book is taking this task, too. The volume presenting the heroic age of the Hungarian sport is the first of a series entitled „The Treasures of the Museum of the Sports" and the most beautiful, as the first love. I wish the readers will extract a great pleasure from it in Hungary, as well as abroad. Budapest, 16th February, 1993 Rezső Gallov deputy minister president of the OTSH 4