AKS Chorzów

The origins of the club go back to the founding of the German football club VfR Königshütte on 22 August 1910 in what was at the time the coal mining city of Königshütte in Germany. In the early 1920s, the region became part of Poland and the city was renamed, with the football club becoming Amatorski Klub Sportowy Chorzów. In 1927 AKS was the owner of a modern stadium facility in Poland at Chorzów's Wyzwolenia Hill. The stadium was sometimes shared with another local team — Ruch Chorzów. The club won the championship of Polish Upper Silesia (Silesian A-Class) in 1924, 1930 and 1936, and in 1937 advanced to the Polish first division where they became an immediate success. They finished as vice-champions and the team's Jerzy Wostal was the top scorer in the league with 12 goals. Wostal and teammate Leonard Piątek were among several players who played for the Polish national side in the 1930s. In 1939, AKS had as many as 10 football teams, including various youth teams, which was more than any other football organization of the Second Polish Republic.

After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Germany occupied the western half of Poland. AKS became Fussball Verein Germania Königshütte and in 1940 joined Germany's first division Gauliga Schlesien where they finished atop the table. Piatek Germanized his name to Piontek and was a key player as FV Königshütte became the dominant side in the division, far outperforming state-supported rival 1. FC Kattowitz. The club earned…

Polish vice-champions: 1937 3rd place in Polish Ekstraklasa (Main League): 1946, 1947, 1951 Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship (Poland) champions: 1924, 1930, 1936 Silesia champions (Germany): 1941 Upper Silesia champions (Germany): 1942, 1943, 1944

Polish champions: 1981, 1982, 1988 Polish vice-champions: 1960