Otto Harder

Otto Fritz Harder (Nickname: Tull Harder; 25 November 1892 – 4 March 1956) was a German

Harder was born in Braunschweig. He spent most of his career with Hamburger SV, scoring over 378 goals in 211 games.^[3] His football fame in Germany was comparable with Uwe Seeler's fame.^[4][5]

At the age of 16 he was discovered for football by FC Hohenzollern Braunschweig, and his impact was such that not even twelve months passed before the main club in the city, Eintracht Braunschweig, incorporated him into his ranks. There he received the nickname of "Tull" with which he would be known throughout his career, since his style of play was reminiscent of that of Tottenham Hotspur's center forward at the time, Walter Tull, the first black professional English player who died in action during World War I.

Initially, and since he was barely 17 years old, the young Tull Harder was only called up to play friendly matches with the Eintracht Braunschweig reserve team, which made him nervous, although this situation would not last long, since his quality and his tremendous physique ended up prevailing and he managed to make a career, as they say. At the beginning of 1912 he left for Hamburger SV for a few months. Eintracht Braunschweig fans wanted to avoid the departure of their young star at all costs. For this reason, they did not let him take the train to Hamburg, which he had to do almost secretly 25 kilometers from there, at the station in the neighboring town of Peine. Ultimately, Harder would play one more season with his hometown team before finally committing to Hamburger SV to play on the banks of the Elbe.

After the Great War, Harder soon established himself as the team's great star. Through him,

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition. Only official games are included in this table.^[2][3][7][8]

Club	Season	Regional Championship		Northern Germany		German Championship		North German Cup		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Eintracht Braunschweig	1909–10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1910–11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1911–12	0	0	2+	2+	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hamburger SV	1912	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Eintracht Braunschweig	1912–13	0	0	1+	1+	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hamburger SV
	1913–14	6+	12+	0	0	0	0	0	0	6+	12+
	1914–15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1915–16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1916–17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1917–18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1918–19	0	0	1+	1+	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1919–20	16	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	26
	1920–21	17	28	7+	15+	1	0	0	0	25+	43+
	1921–22	8	10	5+	7+	4	3	0	0	17	20
	1922–23	13	45	4+	1+	3	5	0	0	20+	51+
	1923–24	14	28	4+	9+	2	0	0	0	20+	37+
	1924–25	14	27	6+	10+	1	1	0	0	21+	38+
	1925–26	12	26	4+	10+	3	6	0	0	19+	42+
	1926–27	14	34	6	9	2	4	3+	7+	25+	54+
	1927–28	15	42	4	7	3	7	0	0	22+	55+
	1928–29	10	19	2+	4+	2	1	0	0	14+	24+
	1929–30	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1930–31	8	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	10
Victoria Hamburg	1931–32	6+	7+	0	0	0	0	0	0	6+	7+
	1932–33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1933–34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	155+	314+	42+	78+	21	27	3+	7+	221+	424+

International career

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Harder goal.

List of international goals scored by Otto Harder^[9]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 April 1914	Oude Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	3–1	4–4	Friendly
2	4 November 1923	Stadion Hoheluft, Hamburg, Germany	Norway	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3	31 August 1924	Deutsches Stadion, Berlin, Germany	Sweden	1–1	1–4	Friendly
4	21 September 1924	Üllői út, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1–3	1–4	Friendly
5	14 December 1924	Platz des Stuttgarter Sportclub, Stuttgart, Germany	Switzerland	1–1	1–1	Friendly
6	25 October 1925	Stadion Rankhof, Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	1–0	4–0	Friendly
7				2–0
8				3–0
9	18 April 1926	Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany	Netherlands	3–2	4–2	Friendly
10	20 June 1929	Stadion im Zerzabelshof, Nuremberg, Germany	Sweden	1–0	3–3	Friendly
11				2–2
12				3–2
13	31 October 1929	Oude Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	2–1	3–2	Friendly
14				3–1

Career in the Nazi Party

Following his football career, Harder ran an insurance agency, and in October 1932, he became a member of the

After World War II, Harder was tried for war crimes by the British military court at the Curio house in Rotherbaum. On 6 May 1947, he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.^[4] After the trial, Hamburger SV excluded him for a short time. However, his sentence was later reduced to ten years in prison, of which he ended up serving only four years. He was released from Werl Prison before Christmas 1951. Harder later moved to Bendestorf,^[13] where he worked as an insurance agent until his death on 4 March 1956 in Hamburg.^[12]

The Resistance Man and the Football Hero

In his 2023 book, The Resistance Man and the Football Hero by Frank Krake, the author contrasts the life of SS camp commandant Harder who "created a living hell" (according to

Harder died in a hospital in Hamburg after surgery in 1956.^[4] The Hamburger SV published an obituary

Er war (...) stets ein guter Freund und treuer Kamerad.

— Vereinsnachrichten des Hamburger Sport-Verein, April 1956

'He was (...) always a good friend and loyal comrade.'^[13]

For the

When Tull had the ball at his feet and off he went racing, he would plough through defenders. Then he took his measurements again and while the opposing goalkeeper stood there, pale and helpless, knowing that he couldn't do anything to stop the shot that was coming. The ball was already in the corner of the goal.[1]

Honours

Eintracht Braunschweig

• Duchy/Free State of Brunswick championship: 1909–10, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13

• Northern German championship: 1912–13

Hamburger SV

• Hamburg Championship: 1918–19, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–31

• Northern German champions: 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1931.

• German champion: 1922, 1923, 1928

• North German Cup: 1926

References