December 4, 1926: Poland's Ekstraklasa Is Formed

December 4, 1926, 100 years ago: The Ekstraklasa is formed, as the top level of Polish soccer. Or football. Or, as it's known in Poland, piłka nożna. However, the announcement of the founding wasn't made until March 1, 1927, so 1927-28 was its 1st season of play.

From its founding until 1948, it was known simply as the Liga, or the League. From 1949 to 2004, it was "I Liga," or "pierswsza liga," or "first league." In 2004, it was renamed the Ekstraklasa, or "top league," and was sponsored by Poland's top communications company, then known as Idea, so it was "Idea Ekstraklasa." After just 1 year, the company rebranded, and the league became "Orange Ekstraklasa."

In 2011, another communications company bought the sponsorship, and it was the T-Mobile Ekstraklasa. In 2016, the national lottery bought the rights, and so it became the Lotto Ekstraklasa. Since 2019, the rights have been held by Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski, or "General Savings Bank, Bank of Poland," and is known as the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa.

Somehow, the league survived the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Nazi occupation of 1939-45, and the Communist rule of 1945-89. It is more popular than ever. However, the best Polish players tend not to stay: Kazimierz Deyna, Jerzy Dudek and Wojciech zczęsny went to England's Football League, Jan Domarski went to what is now Ligue 1 in France, Władysław Żmuda and now Piotr Zieliński went to Italy's Serie A, and Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Błaszczykowski went to Germany's Bundesliga.

Legia Warsaw, the leading team in the national capital, and founded by the Polish Army, have won the most titles, 15. Górnik Zabrze and Wisła Kraków have each won 14. Ruch Chorzów have won 13. Lech Poznań have won 8. Cracovia, in Kraków, have won 5, but none since 1948. Pogoń Lwów won 4, but were dissolved when World War II ended in 1945, because the city of Lwów was transferred to the Soviet Union, and later to Ukraine, under the name Lviv.

There have been 2 titles each won by ŁKS Łódź, Polonia Bytom, Polonia Warsaw, Stal Mielec, Śląsk Wrocław, Warta Poznań and Zagłębie Lubin. There have been 1 title each for Garbarnia Kraków, Szombierki Bytom and Piast Gliwice

The championship trophy

The Polish Cup, or Puchar Polski, has been won by Legia Warsaw 19 times (including 7 League and Cup "Doubles," in 1955, 1956, 1994, 1995, 2013, 2016 and 2018); Górnik Zabrze 6 times (including 3 Doubles, in 1965, 1971, 1972); 5 times by Lech Poznań (including a Double in 1984); 4 times by Wisła Kraków (including a Double in 2003); 4 times by Zagłębie Sosnowiec, the most of any Cup winner that has never won the League; 3 times each by Ruch Chorzów (including a Double in 1974), GKS Katowice and Amica Wronki; twice each by Raków Częstochowa, Śląsk Wrocław, Polonia Warsaw, Arka Gdynia and Lechia Gdańsk; and once each by Jagiellonia Białystok, ŁKS Łódź, Widzew Łódź, Cracovia, Gwardia Warsaw, Wisła Plock, Stal Rzeszów, Miedź Legnica, Dyskobolia Grodzisk and Zawisza Bydgoszcz.

The Polish Cup

(UPDATE: Raków Częstochowa won their 1st Ekstraklasa in 2023. Jagiellonia Białystok won their 1st in 2024. Lech Poznań won it in 2025 and 2026, making for 10 titles. Legia won the Cup in 2023 and 2025, for 19 wins. Wisła Kraków won a 5th Cup in 2024. Górnik Zabrze won a 7th Cup in 2026.)

My ancestors came from Borki Wielkie, in Masuria, in northeastern Poland, a section that had belonged to East Prussia and thus the German Empire. The closest major city to it isn't even in Poland: It's Kaliningrad, Russia, 78 miles north. Gdańsk is 140 miles northwest, and Warsaw is 160 miles south. So if there are any family members left there, who would they support? Most likely, Legia, as they are the default team for the country, the most successful, and thus also the most popular -- but also, as with the Yankees, the most hated.

To my regret as an American soccer fan of Polish descent, Polish teams have not done well in European tournaments. ŁKS Łódź won the Intertoto Cup in 1965 and 1967. Wisła Kraków won it in 1969, 1970 and 1973. The best performance of any Polish team in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League was Legia, reaching the Semifinal in 1970; and Widzew Łódź, reaching the Semifinal in 1983.

To my further regret, Poland's record in international competition is poor. Out of 21 World Cups staged from 1930 to 2018, they have played in only 8, having withdrawn in 1934 and 1954, and refusing to enter in 1930 and 1950. They reached the Semifinals in 1974 and 1982; the Quarterfinals in 1978; the Round of 16 in 1938 and 1986; and the Group Stage in 2002, 2006 and 2018. (UPDATE: They reached the Round of 16 in 2022, but did not qualify in 2026.)

The European Championships were established in 1960, and they didn't qualify until 2008. They qualified as co-hosts with Ukraine in 2012, and reached the knockout stage for the 1st time in 2016, getting to the Quarterfinals.

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December 4, 1926 was a Saturday. In English soccer, Arsenal defeated Manchester-area team Bury, 1-0 at the Arsenal Stadium, nicknamed Highbury for its North London neighborhood.

There was 1 score in college football: Notre Dame beat USC, 13-12. It was the 1st meeting between the schools, and the birth of a great rivalry. I have a separate entry for this event.

There was 1 score in the NFL: The Frankford Yellow Jackets beat the Chicago Bears, 7-6 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. This game was considered big enough to move from the Jackets' usual home, Frankford Stadium in North Philadelphia. The Jackets went on to win the NFL Championship.

Baseball was out of season. Professional basketball was hardly major league at this point. There were 5 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Cougars, 1-0 at the Border Cities Arena (now the Windsor Arena) in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, across the Detroit River from Detroit. The Cougars moved to the Olympia Stadium in Detroit in 1927, became the Detroit Falcons in 1930, and became the Detroit Red Wings in 1932.

* The New York Americans beat the Toronto St. Patrick's, 1-0 at the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto. The St. Patricks became the Maple Leafs in 1927.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Montreal Maroons, 5-3 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Ottawa Auditorium.

* And the Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at the Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh. Harry Oliver scored the winning goal, 7:25 into overtime.

November 11, 1918: The Return of Poland

November 11, 1918: On the same day as the Armistice that ends World War I, the Second Polish Republic is founded. Russian troops have withdrawn from Russian soil, which they had controlled for over 100 years, and the Germans have retreated from their formerly occupied territories. For the first time since the Third Partition in 1795, there was a country named Poland, not just a "Duchy of Poland" or a "Congress Poland."

My father's ancestors came from Poland: In 1909, his grandfather, then 18 years old, left in Borki Wielkie, Warmia-Masuria and found his way to Newark, New Jersey.

Józef Piłsudski had led the Polish Legions in fighting with Austria-Hungary against Russia during the war. After the Bolshevik Revolution, Russia (which became the centerpiece nation of the Soviet Union in 1922) dropped out of the war, and Piłsudski switched his efforts to diplomatic ones, to re-establish the nation. America's President, Woodrow Wilson, had the establishment of a new nation of Poland as one of his "Fourteen Points" for postwar peace.

With independence secured, Marshal Piłsudski served as the nation's Chief of State from 1918 to 1922, and then as Prime Minister from 1926 to 1928. In effect, though, his effect on the nation's elected leaders meant that he was, if not written into the law as such, then in practice, the nation's dictator from 1918 until his death in 1935.

Apparently, all dictators, even the enlightened ones,

feel the need to wear an epic mustache.

Keeping the nation going would not be easy. Over the next few years, Poland fought wars with 2 neighbors, Russia and Ukraine, surviving as a nation counting as "winning." In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded from the west, the Soviet Union from the east, each taking roughly half the land, with the result that Poland existed in name only.

After World War II, the Soviets held effective control over the country. In 1980, the country's labor movement showed the Communists what a real "workers' revolution" looked like, and the Soviets withdrew their troops in 1989. The Communist Party was outlawed, and Poland has been a democracy ever since.

On March 14, 1916, Piłsudski's Polish Legions founded a sports club. After independence in 1918, the club became known as Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Legia Warszawa -- Military Sports Club Legia Warsaw -- the official sports club of the Polish Army. Their soccer team is the most famous, most successful, most popular, and most hated sports team in their country.

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November 11, 1918 was a Monday. Baseball season was over. There was no NBA yet. The NHL season wouldn't start for another month. And there was no Monday Night Football, or even an NFL, back then. So there were no scores on this historic day.

The prominent people born on this day include comedian Stubby Kaye; Alabama politician and civil rights attorney Richmond Flowers; and Louise Tobin, a jazz singer, known for singing with the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Her hits included "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and "There'll Be Some Changes Made." Once married to another bandleader, Harry James, she turns 104 on November 11, 2022. (UPDATE: She died on November 26, 2022.)