Günter Pröpper

Pröpper was born on 8 December 1941 in Dorsten, a town in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. He began his career playing amateur football in his home town for BVH Dorsten, a team which two of his brothers, Heinz and Erich, also played for, and helped the club achieve promotion to the Verbandsliga, the highest level of amateur football at the time. After an impressive first season in the Verbandsliga, with the club finishing in fifth place, a number of players had attracted the attention of bigger clubs, and in 1964, Pröpper joined Regionalliga side VfL Osnabrück. He spent three years at the club, and was top scorer in the 1966–67 season of the Regionalliga Nord with 25 goals. He subsequently joined Rot-Weiss Essen in 1967. After a good first season with Essen, Pröpper was dropped to the bench during the following season by new coach Kuno Klötzer. Despite being the club's second highest scorer in the 1968–69 season, Pröpper was not a regular in the side, and was sold to Wuppertaler SV for DM 30,000 in 1969. Pröpper's most successful season came in 1971–72. In the third game of the season, he scored five goals in a game against SpVgg Erkenschwick, and in October 1971, Wuppertal had an away match against Pröpper's former club Rot-Weiss Essen. He went on to score four times in an eventual 5–0 win, and received a standing ovation from both sets of supporters as he was substituted. By the end of the season, Pröpper had scored a total of 52 goals in 34 league games – a…

Pröpper was born as one of eight children. His father died during the Second World War when Pröpper was still very young. At the age of 14, he began an apprenticeship as a miner, and later trained to become a welder. Pröpper's son, Carsten, and his nephews, Michael and Thomas, are also former footballers.