Ferenc Puskás Sr., born Ferenc Purczeld, also referred to as Puskás Ferenc (11 May 1903 – 12 June 1952), was a Hungarian footballer and manager of Danube Swabian origin. He was the father of the legendary Ferenc Puskás Jr., who is commonly referred to as Ferenc Puskás.

During the 1930s, as Ferenc Purczeld, he played as a central defender with Kispest A.C. Among his teammates at that club were Rezső Rozgonyi and Rezső Somlai, who both represented Hungary at the 1934 World Cup. In 1937 he changed his family name to Puskás. After retiring as a player he became a coach at Kispest AC, where he was an early mentor to both his son, Ferenc Jr. and József Bozsik. He initially registered his son as a youth player using the pseudonym Kovács Miklós to help get around the minimum age rules.

Ferenc Puskás Sr.

In the 1940s, Puskás became the senior coach at Kispest AC. During two spells at the club, he managed the senior team in over 200 games. After his first period ended in 1947, he was replaced by Béla Guttmann. However Guttman fell out with Ferenc Jr. and walked out, allowing Ferenc Sr. to return. During his second tenure, Hungary became a communist state, and Kispest were then taken over by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence and became the Hungarian Army team. The club was renamed Budapest Honvéd SE and Puskás guided the squad – which included Ferenc Jr. and Bozsik – to their first two Hungarian League titles.

Ferenc Puskás Sr.

Honours

Honvéd

Hungarian Champions (2): 1949–50, 1950

See also

List of association football families

References

Ferenc Puskás II obituary

UEFA Ferenc Puskás II obituary

Mention in Guttmann bio

Danube-Swabian people

Hungarian men's footballers

Hungarian football managers

Budapest Honvéd FC players

Budapest Honvéd FC managers

1952 deaths

1903 births

Men's association football defenders

Nemzeti Bajnokság I managers

Footballers from Budapest

Ferenc Puskás Sr.