Ernö Schwarz
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ernö Schwarz | ||
| Date of birth | 27 October 1904 | ||
| Place of birth | Budapest, Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 19 July 1974 (aged 69) | ||
| Place of death | New York City, USA | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| -1922 | Ferencvárosi TC | ||
| 1922-1923 | Makkabi Brünn | ||
| 1923-1926 | SC Hakoah Wien | 49 | (20) |
| 1926-1928 | New York Giants | 71 | (18) |
| 1927 | SC Hakoah Wien (loan) | ||
| 1928 | Glasgow Rangers | ||
| 1928-1931 | New York Hakoah | ||
| 1931-1945 | New York Americans | ||
| International career‡ | |||
| 1922 | Hungary | 2 | (2) |
| 1935 | USA | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1953-1955 | USA | ||
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 December 2025 | |||
Ernö Schwarz (* October 27, 1904 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary; † July 19, 1974 in New York, United States) was a Hungarian-American football player and later football coach and manager.
Career
Ernö Schwarz began his career in Hungary as a striker for Ferencvárosi Torna Club. He won the Hungarian Cup in 1922. That same year, he received his first call-up to the Hungarian national team. He made his debut in July 1922 against Germany. A few days later scored two goals in a 5-1 victory against Finland in Helsinki. However, as Schwarz moved abroad, these remain his only two appearances for the Hungarian national team.
Schwarz accepted a contract in Czechoslovakia with the Jewish club Maccabi Brno. At that time recruited its players almost exclusively from Hungary and was therefore quite controversial as a team of foreign players. In November 1923, Maccabi played its first away match in Austria. In a 4-1 victory against SK Rapid Vienna, Schwarz was the best player on the pitch with two goals. He attracted the attention of the Jewish club SC Hakoah Vienna. He went to Vienna. In December 1923, Schwarz played his first league match for Hakoah. Since professional football was not yet permitted in Austria at that time, he officially received a position in the company of Hakoah's vice president. With the start of the 1924/25 season, professionalism was introduced in Austria. Hakoah became the first professional champion. In the spring of 1926, Hakoah made an American tour, which was a huge success with the public and resulted in several Hakoah players – including Schwarz – receiving contract offers from US clubs. Schwarz returned to Vienna with the team and finished the championship. He then informed the club of his intention to transfer. He left for New York to play for the New York Giants.
His former teammates Béla Guttmann, Moses Häusler, Max Grünwald, and Egon Pollak also joined the Giants. When Hakoah made their second American tour the following year, Schwarz, along with the other players weree allowed to play for Hakoah again during the tour. Schwarz played a total of two seasons for the Giants in the ASL. There he scored 18 goals in 71 league games. After a 1928 American tour by the Glasgow Rangers, they offered Schwarz a contract, which he signed. Because he was denied a work permit for Great Britain he stayyed in New York. During the Soccer War several clubs broke away from the ASL. They founded the rival league, the ESL. To increase the popularity of the new league, the New York Hakoah (also known as the Hakoah All-Stars) was founded. Ernö Schwarz played a key role in its creation. This club reunited former players of the Vienna Hakoah who had played for various US clubs.
In 1929, Schwarz won the National Challenge Cup with the New York Hakoah. He remained with the club until 1931. Afterward, Ernö Schwarz was a driving force behind the founding of a new ASL club, the New York Americans.He served as player-coach and also took on management duties. 1933 the ASL fell victim to the economic recession. Under Schwarz's leadership, a new league, again called ASL, was created. It operated at a far lower professional level than its predecessor. In the 1935/36 season, the Americans, under the leadership of Schwarz, managed to win the league title. In February 1937, he suffered a broken leg, which essentially ended his active career. However, Schwarz occasionally played until 1945.
International statistics
- Hungary
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | 1922 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 July 1922 | Töölön Pallokenttä, Helsinki, Finland |  Finland | 1-0 | 5-1 | Friendly match |
| 2 | 5-1 |
- USA
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 1935 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Manager
Ernö Schwarz took over management of the New York Americans and became the ASL business manager. From 1953 till 1955 he was manager of the United States national football team.
Besides his managerial role in the ASL, Schwarz tried to popularize soccer in the USA. He organized tours for top European clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool FC, hosted indoor tournaments at Madison Square Garden, and from 1960 served as vice president and general manager of the International Soccer League, an annual invitational tournament for international club teams. For his services to American soccer, Ernö Schwarz was introduced to the US National Soccer Hall of Fame.