Péter Palotás

Who was Péter Palotás?

Péter Palotás, also referred to as Péter Poteleczky and Palotás Péter, was a Hungarian footballer who played as a forward for MTK Hungária FC and Hungary. During the 1950s he was a fringe member of the legendary team known as the Mighty Magyars and played alongside the likes of Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, Sándor Kocsis, Nándor Hidegkuti and József Bozsik. Palotás was an early pioneer of the deep lying centre-forward role and in 1955 he scored the first ever hat-trick in a European Cup game. In 1959 he was forced to retire as a player due to a heart condition. The same condition led to his premature death on 17 May 1967.