A report to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Josef Rossler-Orovsky, founding father of sport in the Czech lands

This paper looks at Josef Rossler-Ořovský, the founding father of sport in the Czech lands, who was instrumental in the development of sports in the Czech lands and in Czechoslovakia from the 1880s until the end of the 1920s. J. Rossler-Ořovský was a sportsman in his body and soul. In addition to his own sporting career, he was known for his efforts to get a large number of sports clubs and associations established in the Czech lands and have them registered in international sports federations. He also played a significant role in the Czech Olympic Committee. Josef Rossler-Ořovský, who would have celebrated his 150th birthday in 2019, is indisputably one of the greatest names in Czech sport. ​


Introduction
Josef Rössler was the first of six children born into a Prague burgher's family on 29 th June 1869 1 . The family had a high standard of living. His father owned a house in Jindřišská Street and earned his living as the owner of a prospering company called Wenzel's Babka Nachfolger 2 .
Josef Rössler was born into a period of groundbreaking political events. In 1866, Austria lost the war against Prussia, losing its position of power in the German area of Central Europe. A year later, the Czech ambition to build a federation completely faded after the Austro-Hungarian compromise 3 .
J. Rössler attended the elementary school in Panská Street in Prague. In his first ever physical exercise lessons, a teacher named Descatello was to make a huge impression on the young J. Rössler. In 1879 J. Rössler began to study at a type of grammar school known as Real-gymnasium. However, he was not very keen on the tough grammar school curriculum. His interest was in sport and this took off during his secondary school years 4 . 25 and achieved a high standard in swimming 5 . As early as 1881, at the age of twelve, J. Rössler and his classmates set up their own "Skating Club" 6 . In the winter season, he regularly participated in speed skating races. He spent summers in Brandýs-nad-Orlicí with his family, where he learned not only to fish. He and his brother Karel also spent time building an unsophisticated vessel similar to a canoe from three planks of wood. They used the vessel to go canoeing down Czech rivers, steering it with double-bladed paddles 7 .
The Rössler brothers' enthusiasm for sports was initially welcomed by their father. He provided them with the means to purchase expensive sports equipment from abroad. Their skates came from Germany, the Netherlands or Norway. In fact, ordering skates from Scandinavia actually resulted in the first skis arriving in the Czech lands in 1887. The company supplying the brothers' skates offered them the chance to buy skis, which young Josef Rössler accepted 8 . He became the first ever Czech to ski in the Czech lands, surprisingly not in the mountains but in a yard in Prague 9 .
Having imported skis to the Czech lands, J. Rössler set up a Ski Club affiliated with the Skating Club in Prague in 1887. This later became a club in its own rightthe Czech Ski Club 10 . Despite its statutes not being officially recognized until 1896, it became the very first ski club in Europe outside of Scandinavia 11 .
J. Rössler's academic achievement was not particularly outstanding, perhaps being neglected due to his involvement in the family business, and his father began to have regrets 12 . He soon lost patience and transferred his son from the Realgymnasium to the Academy of Commerce. Ironically, though, the easier curriculum enabled young J. Rössler to spend more time on sport. But he had to train in secret due to disfavor in his family and at school, where the vast majority of teachers considered sport a distraction to students. He even shifted his rowing practice to five o'clock in the morning.
Just before his final exams, J. Rössler began to use a pseudonym. He wanted to prevent his name appearing so often in the press because of his teachers and father, who had led him off the ice in 1888 just as the speed skating races were about to start. J. Rössler translated his surname from German to Czech and used the pseudonym Ořovský after as his name until his death 13 .
Josef Rössler-Ořovský also became interested in track and field at that time. In 1887, he won his first ever 400 meters race, later becoming a successful crosscountry runner. He won his next victory when he came in first in Letná -Královskáobora cross-country run. He was also a feared speed skating opponent. His biggest speed skating achievements came between 1890 and 1893, when he became Prague Champion, Czech Champion, and Lake Wörth Champion. He also took part in the European Championships in Vienna, where he twice came fourth. He did not completely lose interest in skating in the following years but became more involved as a skating starter, timekeeper or referee.
Josef Rössler-Ořovský gradually began to spend literally all of his free time either as a sportsman or as a sports organizer. In 1888, he became a member of the Blesk Praha Rowing Club. He rowed for them in senior single scull-races. A year later he initiated the establishment of an ice hockey club. However, his life changed dramatically in 1890 when he joined the army. This civil obligation led him to Trieste, where he became acquainted with yachting.
He participated in rowing races in 1890 and 1891 in Trieste (the first place in senior single scull -1890), Piran, Klagenfurt, Venice (the Crown Prince award in coxed pair, 1 st and 2 nd price in single scull -1890), Vienna (first place in junior single scull -1890) and other venues, winning prizes everywhere 14 . While Trieste offered a favorable environment for summer sports, it had its drawbacks for skating, so J. Rössler-Ořovský found refuge in the Karst Plateau, situated in today's Slovenia. He and several other enthusiasts founded the "Karst Skating Club" there in 1890, which soon held its first public races, probably another of J. Rössler-Ořovský's initiatives 15 . It probably took place at Bled lake on the 6 th day of January 1891 and J.R. Ořovský won the 2 km race. One month later he won another 2 km race at Wörther lake, as has already been mentioned.
After returning from Trieste, where he worked as a billing clerk and a correspondent (especially in foreign countries) of the K.E. Hoffmann-Stettner company, in 1891 and after spending some time in Prague, his father sent him to Frankfurt am Main to work for Mattenheimer und Simon. He was unable to forget his beloved sport there either. A year later, he was sent on work experience to Paris, where he began to devote his time to football. In addition to that, he became acquainted with sports that were completely unknown in the Czech lands, including ice polo, tennis on ice or bandy hockey played with a small ball 16 .
In 1893 he traveled to London on business. In the cradle of sports, he learnt to play football, rugby, tennis, and hockey. He also perfected his rowing (joining a training session that the renowned Oxford and Cambridge eights had together in 1893) 17 and yachting there. In addition, he acquired a great deal of organizational experience there, which was of utmost importance 18 . Wherever J. Rössler-Ořovský worked, he developed personal relations with many top European sportsmen and officials. Later, these contacts greatly helped him in his struggle to have Czech sport internationally recognized.
After his final return home in 1893, he and several other enthusiasts founded the First Czech Lawn Tennis Club in Prague 19 , which became the most significant Czech tennis club over time. His experience from Trieste encouraged him to establish the Czech Yacht Club in Prague in 1893 20 , which had previously been part of the Blesk Praha Rowing Club. 21 In 1893 and 1894 J.R. Ořovský became the Czech single scull champion 22 .
Josef Rössler-Ořovský as a young sportsman 23 In 1894, J. Rössler-Ořovský was behind the establishment of the Czech Sculling Cercle, which served to bring together wealthy sports lovers and patrons who would support sporting events and young, talented sportsmen. Football, hockey, 18 K. Vlk

28
Tomáš TLUSTÝ tennis and other sports clubs were formed within the Czech Sculling Circle 24 . In 1895 the Czech Sculling Circle attempted to organize the first ever football tournament in the Czech lands, but their efforts failed and they applied again in the following year. The opening match of the first ever organized football competition in the Czech lands was played on 22 nd March 1896. J. Rössler-Ořovský acted as tournament referee and went down in football history for having refereed the first ever match between the two great Prague rivals -Sparta and Slavia 25 . Before the tournament even began, J. Rössler-Ořovský had made efforts to develop an initiative to have the Czech Football Association established, but he was defeated in the end 26 .
On the basis of his experience in England, J. Rössler-Ořovský was able to translate football and bandy hockey rules into Czech (both in 1897) 27 . He was also a co-founder of and a leading official in the Czech Hockey Association, established in 1908, and the Canoeing Association of the Kingdom of the Czech Lands founded in 1913 28 .
J. Rössler-Ořovský also went down in history as a co-founder of the first Czech sports association -The Czech Amateur Athletics Union. In doing so, he clearly used his experience of sport gained abroad. Shortly after returning to his native land in 1893, J. Rössler-Ořovský had begun to think about establishing a central sports association that would unite all sports that did not have their own associations. He first presented his proposal to establish such a union at a meeting of football leaders in 1896, but it was actually formed a year later. J. Rössler--Ořovský initially acted as its first vice-president. He was voted president in 1898 and remained in that position until 1901 29 . This union was of enormous significance to the development of Czech sports. Fostering Olympic ideas, the Czech Olympic Committee emerged from it in 1899 30 . In order to avoid being abolished by Austrian authorities, though, it worked without officially recognized statutes until the independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed 31 . Jiří Guth (from 1919 Jiří Stanislav Guth-Jarkovský)a member of the International Olympic Committeewas named the first president of the Czech Amateur Athletics Union.
In the mid to late 1890's, J. Rössler-Ořovský spent most of his winter seasons skiing, although he was nowhere near as successful as in skating or rowing. De-spite that, skiing became his passion 32 . In 1897 he and the Czech Ski Club, where he acted as the president for many years, helped organize the first major ski races in the Czech lands, held in Dolní Štěpanice near Jilemnice. On the other hand, he broke his ties with the rowers because internal discord and a lack of finance led the Czech Rowing Association to refuse to hold the European Championships in Prague in 1897. Thanks to J. Rössler-Ořovský's efforts, these had been promised to the city of Prague by the European Rowing Federation. J. Rössler-Ořovský's disappointment was all the greater, because he had been the one who had actually arranged for the Czech Rowing Association to enter into negotiations with the World Rowing Federation (FISA). In fact, J. Rössler-Ořovský had significantly contributed to the national Czech Rowing Association being admitted 33 into the International Rowing Federation's ranks at its first international conference in 1893, obviously attended by J. Rössler-Ořovský. This allowed Czech rowers to compete in international races from 1896 34 , although Josef Rössler-Ořovský would be more likely to observe Czech rowing affairs from a distance.
J. Rössler-Ořovský's efforts to develop Czech tennis were all the greater, despite his average ability as a player. In 1900, he introduced table tennis in the First Czech Lawn Tennis Club, and began to organize its first tournaments. He was also behind the establishment of a national tennis associationthe Czech Lawn Tennis Association. In 1898 he enrolled the Czech Lawn Tennis Association, which was not officially recognized until 1906 35 , in the English Lawn Tennis Association, which was two years before Austria took such a step. This move also enabled Czech tennis players to participate separately at the Inter-Olympic Games in Athens in 1906 and at the Olympic Games in London in 1908. However, due to opposition from the Germans and Austrians, Czech sports leaders were unable to assure membership in the newly established International Tennis Federation (1913) 36 .
In 1899 J. Rössler-Ořovský arranged for a group of Oxford studentsfootball playersto travel to Prague, where they took on the local team Slavia. This was 32 For example, he competed in a 500-meter run that took place in Královská Obora in Prague on 5 th January 1896. Only six runners from two Czech clubs attended this race, which was won by J.R. Ořovskýthe Prague Czech Ski Club and the Czech Ski Association. Another example is that he won the fourth place in the competition of seniors (over 35 years) in Vysokénad Jizerou on 3 rd February 1910. "Národní listy" 1896, no. 121, p. 3. "Světozor: světová kronika současná slovem i obrazem: časopis pro zábavu i poučení" 1910, no. 20, p. 478. 33 This led to a dispute between J. Rössler-Ořovský, who was of the opinion that even a nation without a state has the right to be represented in international organizations, and the Österreichischer Ruderverband, which held the opposite opinion. J. Klapač one of the most sensational sporting events in the Czech lands 37 , as the Oxford team was one of the best European football clubs of the time.
Four years later, J. Rössler-Ořovský succeeded in establishing the Czech Ski Club, before ski clubs were established even in Alpine countries. J. Rössler--Ořovský was one of the advocates of the idea of the Winter Olympic Games. He actually suggested Pierre de Coubertin to hold the 1900 Winter Games of the II Olympiad in the Krkonoše mountains 38 . From 1906, he also strived to have an international ski federation established. J.R. Ořovský also suggested organizing the so-called Nordic games in Krkonoše mountains in 1908. Unfortunately, they were never organized 39 . Because of the presence of Czech delegates at the first international skiing congress in 1910, which J. Rössler-Ořovský did not attend, the Austrians and Germans boycotted the central feature of the event, which was to have the International Ski Federation established. They only succeeded in establishing a lower-level organizationthe ISC (International Ski Commission) 40  In 1910, he imported the first original Canadian canoes to Bohemia and, on competing against other types of boat, proved their suitability for Czech rivers. Between 1908 and 1914, he rowed all the most renowned Czech rivers, firstly on different types of boat but later strictly on canoes. He was also one of the first people in Bohemia to bivouac and camp. It goes without saying that when A.B. Svojsík began to organize scouting in Bohemia in 1911, J. Rössler-Ořovský became one of the very first people to back this idea. An example of such support took place in 1912 when a group of sea scouts was established within the Czech Yacht Club Prague, which had become completely independent of the Blesk Praha Rowing Club in 1898 43 . He made canoeing trips in summer and skiing trips in winter 44 .
In May 1911, J. Rössler-Ořovský led the Czech football team to Roubaix, where the first amateur European Championships took place, held by the UIAFA (Union Internationale Amateur de Football Association). The Czechs came first of three teams after defeating the home team of France 4:1 on the 27 th of May, as well as England 2:1 one day later 45 . He also represented the Czechs as a delegate at the International Football Congress which took place on the 28 th of May 1911 46 .
He also held a very important position in the Czech Olympic Committee. He could not miss exploiting the huge significance of the reinstated Olympic Games for the Czech nation. He became an advocate for convincing the Czech people of the need to participate in this international sports event 47 . The Czech Olympic Committee was established in 1900 and J. Rössler-Ořovský became the first correspondent, which was not a particularly important position, but he was soon promoted to a higher position in the organization 48 .
J. Rössler-Ořovský accompanied Czech sportsmen to the 1906 Intercalated Games in Athens, held from the 22 nd April to the 2 nd May 49 . During the crossing on the "Thalia" steamboat, he shared his idea to establish an international ski federation with Swedish and Norwegian delegates 50  At the beginning of 1914, he arranged for the London-based Winter Sports Club to visit the Krkonoše and Šumava mountains. However, this activity led to him being accused of espionage after the outbreak of the First World War, later causing him further trouble. However, the Austrian authorities never got to know about him assisting four French reserve officers to drive through the Šumava mountains and Bavaria into Switzerland and that he had saved deposits of several French companies in the Austrian Postal Savings Bank 53 .
He was everywherealways responsive, elegant, sparkling with wit. His adversaries were in despair. When drinking and smoking was the thing to do, he drank and smoked, he was the last to leave negotiation table and always fit, and the morning after he was prepared and simply glowed. His charm and diplomacy disarmed enemies and stunned friends 54 .
Not even during the First World War did J. Rössler-Ořovský stop doing sport, despite the Czech Olympic Committee being abolished. The distribution of sports equipment was very complicated though. The railways prohibited the carriage of skis, for example. However, J. Rössler-Ořovský had these supplies distributed as military wares so members of sports clubs could carry on using them.
The First World War having ended. J. Rössler-Ořovský picked up the archives of several sports clubs and associations, which had been buried in the Krkonoše mountains because as a politically untrustworthy person he had been unable to keep hold of them, and took them unimpaired to Prague. At the beginning of January 1918, he accepted the request of the founder of Czech scouting, A.B. Svojsík, and became Commissioner of the Czech Scouting Organization "Junák" -(becoming the Association of "Junák" Scout Clubs of the Czechoslovak Republic after 1919). He held the position of Assistant Commissioner throughout the 1920s, during which he accompanied A.B. Svojsík to the International Scout Congress in Paris (1922) and in Kandersteg, Switzerland (1926).
In the spring of 1919, he left for Paris, where he made efforts to secure health supplies badly needed by the Czechoslovak Red Cross. One of the many people he visited in Paris was J.J. Pershing, the American General who was to become the man behind the great sports events arranged for military personnel who had served in the armed forces of the states that had won World War One. This event is known as the Inter-Allied Games and J. Rössler-Ořovský was able to negotiate participation of Czechoslovak military sportsmen, who went on to achieve relative success 55 .
A year later, he led the Czechoslovak Olympic Team to Antwerp. In 1921 J. Rössler-Ořovský was still taking extensive canoeing trips. In 1922 he set up the well-known long-distance race from České Budějovice to Prague (around 190 km) 56 , finishing at the above-mentioned Czech Yacht Club Prague's boathouse 57 . In 1923 he organized and, as president, managed the 7 th International Ski Con- 53  gress in Prague, coinciding with big ski races in the Krkonoše mountains. These were enriched by the presence of Norwegians, Swedes, Romanians, Germans, Yugoslavians, the English, and Czechoslovaks 58 . He again gave impetus to the idea of establishing the International Ski Federation (FIS), which was formed a year later. J. Rössler-Ořovský became a member of its committee but he broke ties with the Czech Ski Club Praha towards the end of 1924 due to prevailing disagreements 59 . At its 1925 General Assembly, he announced his resignation as president once and for all 60 , having held the post uninterruptedly for 38 years 61 .
In the post-war years, J. Rössler-Ořovský was again an invaluable asset to the revitalized Czech (later Czechoslovak) Olympic Committee. He dealt with almost all international correspondence and traveled to each international event, his ability to speak nine languages fluently being of great benefit to him. In 1924, he led the Czechoslovak Olympic team to Paris 62 . In 1925 he attended the 8 th Olympic Congress in Prague, where he proposed that the so-called "Winter Sports Week in Chamonix" 63 be recognized as the 1 st Winter Olympic Games. The Congress had been held a year earlier, and he attended the Games in person as the manager of the Czechoslovak team, ISC member and ski race referee 64 .
In 1927 J. Rössler-Ořovský was still an active canoeist. A year later he led the Czechoslovak Olympic team both to Saint Moritz and to Amsterdam 66 .
In March 1929, he lost the post of General Secretary of the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee, which initially devastated him but he came to terms with it in the end. In the same year, however, he gave up his membership in the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee due to health problems.
In the course of time, he received a number of honorary awards, such as the Swedish, Belgian and French Olympic Honor Medals. He was named Officier d'Académie and Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor. He was also named Member of Honor by the Czechoslovak Olympic Committee.
In 1929, due to deteriorating health, he also gave up his long-standing presidency of the Czech Yacht Club Prague. However, he was named its Life President of Honor. His last great yachting accomplishment was the establishment of the Czechoslovak Yachting Association in 1929 67 .
His last post in sports and free-time associations was that of Assistant Commissioner for the Scout Association. In 1929, he became an advisor of the Ministry of Public Health and Physical Education for sports and scouting 68 . That year he also participated as one of the Czechoslovak delegates at the 3 rd World Jamboree in England. He resigned from his last post in 1931 69 .
During his life, J. Rössler-Ořovský published several articles in Národní Listy newspaper. These were articles about sports, concerning for example skiing or the Olympic games. At the very end, he was also interested in golf. He wrote an article in Národní Listy where he supported its introduction in Poděbrady. Nevertheless, this was his last contribution to this newspaper 70 .
At the end of 1932, his health began to deteriorate rapidly (gout and liver disease). At the beginning of January, he was hospitalized in the Podolí Sanatorium in Prague. He spent the last days of his life looking out of the window down at his beloved Czech Yacht Club Prague and the River Vltava, where he had skated, rowed and played hockey 71 . Josef Rössler-Ořovský, one of the greatest names in Czech sport, died in Prague on the 17 th day of January 1933 72 . His remains were buried at Vyšehrad Cemetery alongside the greatest Czechs in history.

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