Lajos "Lala" Engler (Serbian Cyrillic: Лајош "Лала" Енглер; 20 June 1928 – 1 May 2020), also credited as Lajoš Engler, was an ethnic Hungarian teacher and basketball player, who represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally.
 Engler with Partizan | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 June 1928 Bátaszék, Kingdom of Hungary[1] |
| Died | 1 May 2020 (aged 91) Zrenjanin, Serbia |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 1950: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1946–1963 |
| Position | Guard |
| Number | 4, 7 |
| Career history | |
| 1946–1947 | Proleter Zrenjanin |
| 1948–1953 | Partizan |
| 1954–1963 | Proleter Zrenjanin |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Playing career
editEngler started to play basketball for team Proleter Zrenjanin of the Yugoslav Basketball League. In 1948 he moved to the Belgrade-based team Partizan where he played until 1953. In 1954, he moved back to Proleter.
During his second stint with Proleter he won the National Championships in the 1956 season.[2] Engler was a part of the group of players known as the Proleter's Five, which included himself, Milutin Minja, Ljubomir Katić, Dušan Radojčić, and Vilmos Lóczi.[3][4]
National team career
editEngler was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that participated at the 1950 FIBA World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Over three tournament games, he averaged 1.0 point per game.[5] The World Championship in Argentina was the inaugural tournament. At the 1953 FIBA European Championship in Moscow, the Soviet Union, he averaged 6.5 points per game over eight tournament games.[6] At the 1954 FIBA World Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he averaged 5.8 points per game over five tournament games.[7] At the 1957 FIBA European Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria, he averaged 4.8 points per game over nine tournament games.[8]
Engler played 78 games for the national team.[9]
Post-playing career
editAfter retirement, Engler worked as a teacher of German language in the Zrenjanin Grammar School.[9]
Career achievements and awards
edit- Yugoslav League champion: 1 (with Proleter Zrenjanin: 1956).
- Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded by the Zrenjanin City Sports Association (2017)[12]
- Plaque of the Basketball Federation of Serbia (2016)[13]
In popular culture
edit- In the 2015 Serbian sports drama We Will Be the World Champions Engler is portrayed by Lazar Jovanov.[14]
- The 2016 Serbian documentary, Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste (transl. The 1956 Champions), portrays Engler and the achievements of the Proleter basketball team in the mid 1950s and how they won the Yugoslav Championship in 1956.[15][16][17]
References
edit- ^ Elhunyt Engler Lajos (1928–2020)
- ^ "Košarkaška prvenstva Jugoslavije (1945-91) – treći deo". strategija.org. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "DISKRETNI ŠARM ŠAMPIONA I VIRTUOZA POD OBRUČIMA". sportinfo.rs. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Košarkaško prisećanje: Proleter Zrenjanin 1956". utakmica.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "1950 Yugoslavia 5 - Lajos Engler". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "1953 Yugoslavia 15 - Lajos Engler". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "1954 Yugoslavia 7 - Lajos Engler". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "1957 Yugoslavia 7 - Lajos Engler". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Sportski spomenar, košarkaš Lajoš Engler". rts.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Lajoš Engler: Odlazak poslednjeg Mohikanca". Koš magazine. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "UMRO BIVŠI KOŠARKAŠ PARTIZANA! Preminuo član legendarne petorke domaće košarke o kojoj je čak snimljen i FILM!". sport.blic.rs. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ "Lajoš Engler – Dali smo sve od sebe, nadamo se da smo vam uzor". ilovezrenjanin.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Zrenjanin u znaku košarke". kss.rs. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "We Will Be the World Champions (2015) Full Cast & Crew". imdb.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- ^ "Šampioni iz pedeset i šeste". kss.rs. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "Film Šampioni iz pedeset šeste prikazan u Ljubljani". zrenjanin.org.rs. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "ŠAMPIONI IZ PEDESET I ŠESTE". on YouTube. Retrieved 13 January 2019.