Józef Korbas

Who was Józef Korbas?

Józef Franciszek Korbas was an interwar Polish football player, forward of Cracovia and Polish National Team. He played two games for Poland.

Korbas is famous for his excellent national team debut. On September 12, 1937 in Sofia, versus Bulgaria, he scored 3 goals and the match ended in 3-3 draw. In the history of the Polish national football team only two players managed to score a hat-trick in their first game, the other being Zygmunt Steuermann. Korbas's second and last match in white-red jersey took place in Warsaw, on September 25, 1938. In this game, he also scored a goal.

In Cracovia, played in 1935–1939. In 69 games during that time, scored 54 goals. Considering this data, he was a very skilled scorer. In spite of modest frame, Korbas was famous for his very powerful kicks.

During Nazi occupation of Poland, in 1942 was arrested by the Germans and in March 1943 sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. From there, was shuttled to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Having survived this, after the war returned to Poland, Korbas became a sport official as well as a coach.