Zagłębie Sosnowiec

The history of Zagłębie Sosnowiec dates back to 1906, when the city of Sosnowiec belonged to Congress Poland, Russian Empire. In that year, a group of young workers of the Milowice Steelworks formed a sports organization. Their activities were mostly concentrated on playing football at suburban meadows. In 1908, local activist Aleksander Rene was arrested by the Okhrana, and accused of forming an illegal Polish sports organization. Imprisoned in Łódź, he sent a letter to a Russian Governor, who resided in Piotrków Trybunalski, asking for permission to form a Sosnowiec branch of the Union Sports Club from Sankt Petersburg. He was denied, so he wrote again, to the Union headquarters. With the permission of the Sankt Petersburg club, Rene, after leaving prison, formed the team of Union Sosnowiec, which in the first half of the 1910s played several friendly games against local teams. During World War I, sports activities were cancelled in Sosnowiec. In 1918, Sports Association Victoria was formed. Among its players was famous singer Jan Kiepura. In 1919, Sports Association Sosnowiec was formed by Aleksander Reine. After 12 years, in 1931, both clubs merged to create the team called Unia Sosnowiec. The new team was among the best sides in the region of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, which in the 1930s had its own regional league, the Zagłębie A-Class. In 1933, Unia Sosnowiec won the league, qualifying to the Ekstraklasa playoffs, where it lost to Naprzód Lipiny. In 1934, Unia again turned…

Domestic

Ekstraklasa Runners-up: 1955, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1971–72 Third place: 1962, 1962–63, 1964–65 Polish Cup Winners: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1976–77, 1977–78 Runners-up: 1970–71

International

International Soccer League Winners: 1964 UEFA Intertoto Cup Semi-finalists: 1966–67

Youth teams

Polish U-19 Championship Runners-up: 1963 Third place: 1965