Hungary - 2025 150 Years Of The Hungarian Athletics Club - mint stamp with personalized coupon (MNH)
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Hungary - 2025 150 Years Of The Hungarian Athletics Club - mint stamp with personalized coupon
The Hungarian Athletics Club (MAC) held its inaugural meeting at the National Riding Hall on 8 April 1875, and thus is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its foundation in 2025. The Club was established on the initiative of Count Miksa Esterházy and Lajos Molnár, who introduced Anglo-Saxon-style “gentlemen’s sports” to Hungary. The foundation of the Club was a milestone in Hungarian sporting life, as it launched the advancement of not only athletics, but also of wrestling, swimming, fencing, rowing, cycling and football. Only a few weeks after its foundation, on 6 May 1875, the first Hungarian athletics meeting was held, where running, throwing, jumping and boxing events were presented. At the first Olympic Games of the modern era in 1896, the Club provided two medallists for the Hungarian team, and later trained world-class athletes in numerous disciplines, including 18 Olympic champions (in fencing, water polo and wrestling). In 1901, the Club built its iconic sports complex on Margaret Island, which became a centre for athletics, football and tennis. Between the two World Wars, it remained the country’s most important sports club, fostering the careers of the likes of the Olympic silver medallists Elemér Somfay and Béla Szepes, and the leading tennis player of the era and table tennis world champion Béla Kehrling. After World War II, the communist regime dissolved the Club, confiscated its facilities, and built the Pioneers’ Stadium in its place. The Club was re-established in 1989 and remains one of the most prestigious symbols of Hungarian sporting life today. Source: Hungarian Olympic and Sports Museum, Hungarian Athletics Club