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

Vermes Lajos a „gáncsos lovag" (Siklóssy László)

We have mentioned that he was not a blameless knight out his canvassing for sports was invaluable in his age which underestimated sports. The title of nobility „Nagybudafai" can be found before the familyname Vermes in the genealogical handbooks. According to this the family came from the Csallóköz. By the statistics of 1910 Nagybudafa was a little village with 151 Hungarian inhabitants. We can find in the same area another settling called Kisbudafa with 160 Hungarians living there. Vermes used the titles of nobility bouth the „Nagybudafai" and the „Nagybudafalvi", he even titles himself „Lajos Nagy- és Kisbudafalvi Ráthonyi Bethen Vermes tr." The Budafalvi Vermes family dates itself back to the age of Hungarian king László IV. who had a champion called Péter Budafalvi. This fact is proved by our historical research work. It is natural that Lajos Vermes used these data everywhere and every time when he could. Lajos Vermes, the hero of our chapter was born on June 27th, 1860 in Szabadka (now Serbia). He went to private secondary schools in Budapest. It can be read about him of 25 years old age, that he was a medical student who was taking his final examinations. Did he pass these exams? We could answer yes to this question if we took in consideration that he signed his reports sometimes using the letters „dr.", and he had the letters „tr." (which means scholar) printed on his business card. But can we take it seriously if we know that the data told by Vermes, let they be bioggraphical or concerning the sports results, could always be accepted only with reservations. He began to do gymnastics also in the National Gymnastics Club where his trainer was János Maurer. He won his first medalion here on horse on December 9th, 1877. Later he became champion in floor excercises, excersises with hand-apparatus (rope), running, in excercises on the horizontal and parallel bars, and on vaulting horse, in weight-lifting, boxing and polevault. In 1881 he wins the second prize two times at the bicycle race from Budapest to Gödöllő. In 1882 he wins the first prize of the Budapest- Kassa bicycle race. At the same time he accepts a position in the Bicycle Association of Budapest. The main field of his activity was Szabadka, at the Gymnastics Club of the town, of which his father and brother also had been members. Vermes was soon raised up among the leaders by his fanatical love of sports and organizing skills, but the did not remain here longer. He thought that the club was not totally in his hands. That is why he needed another association, which he could create, transform and through away depending on his will. This was the Achilles Club of Szabadka, which published a paper with the title: „Achilles. Paper of Gymnastic Competitions". This journal, as it was printed in the heading, was a common official bulletin of many sports clubs, though the existence of these associations was questioned by other Hungarian sports newspapers, among them by the „Herkules", the official and accepted peaper of those times. Vermes stood at the top of his power at this time. It may have turned his head. In 1885 he became the secretary, and in 1886 the athletic section leader of the Hungarian Athletic Club. So he was able to control the first athletic club of Hungary. But the association had serious problems. Vermes knowing this critical situation in Budapest, wanted to create a new world centre of athletics in Szabadka and Palics. His lunatic and fanatic soul did not accept any hindrance against his dreams. First of all he announced his fans' world records, world records which existed naturally only on paper. Then he moved the Achilles Club to Budapest, probably with the aim to push it to the place of the Hungarian Athletic Club. He was a grotesque sports-Napoleon of his age without any talant to lead an organization in an effective way. But he likes chaos, and likes it so much, that he does everything to make more trouble. If he did not take part in a competition, he accepted other positions: clocked