William "Jimmy" Hartwig (born 5 October 1954) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.[1] He played for Kickers Offenbach, TSV 1860 Munich, Hamburger SV, 1. FC Köln and FC Homburg of the Bundesliga[2] and for Austria Salzburg of Austria. The son of an African-American soldier and a German mother, Hartwig was one of the first players who is of African descent in German and Austrian football.[citation needed]

Jimmy Hartwig
Hartwig in 2012
Personal information
Full name William Hartwig
Date of birth (1954-10-05) 5 October 1954 (age 69)
Place of birth Offenbach am Main, West Germany
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1974 Kickers Offenbach 4 (0)
1974–1978 1860 Munich 121 (16)
1978–1984 Hamburger SV 182 (47)
1984–1986 1. FC Köln 24 (5)
1986 Austria Salzburg
1986–1988 FC Homburg 4 (0)
International career
1979 West Germany 2 (0)
Managerial career
1989 FC Augsburg
1990 FC Sachsen Leipzig
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Hartwig won the European Cup in 1983 with Hamburger SV, and was three times German league champion in 1979, 1982 und 1983 and three times league runner-up with Hamburger SV. He also earned two caps for the West Germany national team,[3] making him only the second non-white player (after Erwin Kostedde) to achieve this feat.

After his playing career, Hartwig worked as a coach at FC Augsburg in 1989[4] and FC Sachsen Leipzig in 1990.[5] He entered the TV business, where he has been working ever since,[5] whilst also appearing in the theatre as an actor.[6]

Personal life edit

 
Hartwig in 1990

In his 1994 autobiography, Hartwig described his tough childhood in the city of Offenbach am Main where he was born. He recounted a childhood full of poverty and anti-black racism, with only his German mother as support; his biological African father from Senegal never took care of him.

Hartwig is married for the fourth time and has three children.[5]

In 2021, he featured in Schwarze Adler [de], a documentary detailing the experiences of Black players in German professional football.[7]

Despite his opposition against anti-black racism, he was criticized for using the word "ching chang chong" in his commentary and then bowing, which was perceived as racist against East Asians, on WELT-TV for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[8] The WELT management company removed the video from YouTube and Hartwig posted an apology on his Instagram.[9]

Singing edit

In 1980, the single Mama Calypso was released, with Sometimes on the reverse side, on the RCA label.[10]

Honours edit

Autobiography edit

  • Jimmy Hartwig: "Ich möchte noch so viel tun …" Meine Kindheit, meine Karriere, meine Krankheit; Bergisch Gladbach 1994; ISBN 3-404-61309-0
  • Jimmy Hartwig: "Ich bin ein Kämpfer geblieben" Meine Siege, meine Krisen, mein Leben, Berlin, Siebenhaar-Verlag 2010; ISBN 3-936962-86-3

References edit

  1. ^ "Hartwig, William". kicker (in German). Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  2. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (11 May 2017). "William Georg 'Jimmy' Hartwig - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  3. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (11 May 2017). "William Georg 'Jimmy' Hartwig - International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  4. ^ "William Hartwig". kicker (in German). Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  5. ^ a b c "Jimmy Hartwig im Porträt". Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (in German). 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
  6. ^ Schiller, Maike (17 October 2009). "Jimmy Hartwig: Ex- Fußballstar spielt Theater – Die Kraft eines Stieres, die Seele eines kleinen Jungen". Hamburger Abendblatt. Axel Springer. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  7. ^ Bülau, Maximilian (19 April 2021). "Von Mbom bis Kostedde: Das sind die Protagonisten der Amazon-Dokumentation "Schwarze Adler"". HNA (in German). Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  8. ^ ""Ching, Chang, Chong": Jimmy Hartwig erntet Shitstorm". t-Online (in German). 5 December 2022.
  9. ^ "ドイツ元プロサッカー選手、自国番組でのアジア人差別発言を謝罪 「本当にごめんなさい!」" [Former German professional soccer player apologizes for racist remarks against Asians on his country's TV show: "I am so sorry!"]. Nato-labo (in Japanese). 7 December 2022.
  10. ^ Kettler, Katja. "Jimmy Hartwig – Mama Calypso". FC45 Playlist. FC45. Retrieved 9 September 2011.

External links edit