Tallinna JK

Pioneers in Estonian football (1921–1941)

Tallinna Jalgpalli Klubi was founded on 5 May 1921 by Estonian footballers, who had returned from World War I and Estonian War of Independence and had lost their spot in their former clubs Kalev or Sport. Coached by Olympic silver medalist in the marathon Jüri Lossmann, the club took part in the first Estonian Football Championship in 1921, where they finished runners-up to VS Sport. In many ways, TJK were the pioneers in Estonian football. They became the first Estonian sports club to solely focus on football and have it also mentioned in their name. Following the appointment of Hungarian Ferenc Woggenhuber in 1922, TJK became the first football club in Estonia to have a foreign coach. In August 1925, the club also opened the first modern football stadium in Estonia. Furthermore, TJK members Johannes Ellip and August Siiber wrote the first statute of the Estonian Football Association. Tallinna Jalgpalli Klubi won the Estonian Football Championship in the 1926 season, where they beat Kalev 6–0 in the semi-final and defeated the reigning champions Sport 4–1 in the final. TJK were crowned champions again in 1928. At the end of the same year, TJK player Arnold Pihlak joined FK Austria Vienna and became the first professional Estonian footballer.

TJK lifted the Estonian Cup in 1939 by beating Kalev 4–1 in the final. The club also won the cup final in the following year, but the competition was deemed unofficial due to World War…