Fatih Karagümrük S.K.

Foundation and early years (1926–1949)

Karagümrük were founded in the spring of 1926, when local figures such as Muhtar Bey, Alaettin Bey, Nazmi Bey, Bedri Bey and Karagümrüklü Abdullah Bey brought together the youth groups Acıçeşme Gençleri and Karagümrük Gençleri to form a sports club first registered as Karagümrük İdman Yurdu. The first president was Arnavut Fevzi Efendi, and a clubhouse was opened on İskembeci Malik Street after a neighbourhood fund-raising drive. During the same period the club adopted red and black as its colours—chosen in tribute to the local fire brigade (tulumbacılar), whose crews traditionally wore red shirts and black shorts in the Karagümrük quarter. In the early 1930s the team began to make a name in Istanbul competitions. Contemporary fixtures show Karagümrük competing against leading city sides and taking part in civic cups such as the Halk Fırkası Kupası (Republican People’s Party Cup). In 1932 the club also hosted the Thessaloniki Representative XI in a friendly at their own ground, winning 3–2—one of the earliest occasions a non-affiliated Istanbul club brought a foreign representative side to the city. Through the 1930s and early 1940s Karagümrük İdman Yurdu competed largely in the amateur ranks associated with the Istanbul set-up. After the 1941–42 season the club were champions in their class and applied for inclusion in the newly professional structure; however, a municipal allocation decision transferred the use of the…