Today, Grodno is in Belarus. It is not far from the Polish border. To reach Bialystok, for example, you need to travel 80 kilometres. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the town belonged to the Republic of Poland. And it was one of the most important sports centres in the region.

Football was the most popular sport of the interwar period. The situation was no different in Grodno. Even before Poland regained its independence, the Society for the Promotion of Physical Development was active in the city. In 1920, Trzeciak was founded by the 3rd Legion Infantry Regiment.

Too strong for the district, too weak for the league

The best club in the city of the twentieth century was the Military Sports Club Grodno. Its origins can be traced back to 1921-1922 and the military men from the Ludwik Narbutt 76th Lidzki Infantry Regiment, who were fascinated by football and founded the WKS 76th pp Grodno. Running around the pitch in their green and red uniforms was not only to bring them joy and allow them to enjoy their free time. Sport was an integral part of their military training.

The president of the club was Colonel Antoni Żurakowski, while Lieutenant Bronisław Dowgiało was responsible for the selection of players. In the Sports Review of 22 June 1939, he was characterised as follows:

"A very active and energetic organiser; thanks to his efforts, the football section is now one of the most numerous and lively, as it has over 150 players, 132 of whom are confirmed by the P. Z. P. N.".

WKS was fortunate in that it was a military club, and so footballers who were required to do military service were selected for its ranks. Thus, until 1939, the team featured, among others, Jerzy Hasselbusch, a well-known football referee after the war. Similarly, national team player and Garbarnia Kraków midfielder Adam Chaliszki, and strikers Leon Gabrysiak and Kazimierz Skrzypczak, among others, were sent to Grodno. This does not mean, however, that only the soldierly "enlistment" was the strength of the team. The WKS relied heavily on youngsters, whose mentor before the outbreak of the Second World War was Sergeant Marczewski. At the time, the junior team was a regional powerhouse, fighting for the title of national champion.

The senior team was doing well, although, one might also add, somewhat unluckily. Since 1929, when the Bialystok District Football Association was founded, only twice (in 1931 and 1935) had a club from Grodno (including WKS) failed to win the championship. The regional winner was then given a chance to play in the highest Polish league, but WKS never once made it to this level of competition. A stronger centre in the region was Vilnius and the local "Śmigły", which had to be competed against in the qualifiers.

Nevertheless, the team was a "tasty" morsel for other, very decent teams. It was characterised by very good attacking work, which scored a lot of goals, ending some matches with double-digit scores. A particular feat in 1938 was shown off by Eugeniusz Adamczyk, who scored 30 of the 57 total goals scored by WKS that season.

Volleyball revelation

Another well-known sports club from Grodno was Cresovia, founded in 1921 by junior high school students. The footballers of this club even won the Bialystok district championship in 1929. And in 1934, the club was merged with WKS 76 pp Grodno. From 1925, there was a boxing section. But before September 1939, the greatest recognition for Cresovia came from... the volleyball players.

'At the end of January 1939 the final tournament for the Polish volleyball championship was played in Lviv. The Voice of the Nation reported: "The following teams qualified for the fights for places from 1-4: Pogoń (Brześć) CWS (W-wa), II Sokół (Lviv), Cresovia (Grodno)". The Grodno team were the revelation of the qualifiers. In the first match they defeated Znicz Lodz 2:0, and in the second match they caused quite a sensation, winning against their eternal rival Smigly Vilnius (2:0).

"A meeting at a high level. The Propeller team did not hold their nerve, collapsing right away in the first set. Cresovia has three excellent 'cutters'," reported the "Przegląd Sportowy".

In the finals, which took place on Sunday 29 January 1939, the players from Grodno lost only one match. It turned out to be decisive in the final against the later champion, Sokol II Lviv. However, the Polish vice-championship was still a huge success!

On a bike, on a track and on a motorbike

Other Grodno clubs were the Jewish ones, Kraft and Makkabi. The former competed for several seasons in football class A. In 1930, it even stood on the lowest step of the podium of this competition. The latter was famous for taking part in all eleven seasons of the Białystok OZPN's A-League played until 1939. The club also had a basketball section, as well as swimming and rowing teams. In 1925 it was even given land by the magistrate's office on the Niemno River to develop for water sports enthusiasts, as reported in the Tygodnik Sportowy (in issue 21/1925).

But the press made a big deal about both teams, thanks to a certain dangerous and at the same time amusing incident. During a derby football match, a player from one of the teams got into an argument with the referee.

"It was a South American situation. The footballer told the referee he was stupid, the referee hit him in the face, the footballer kicked him, at which the referee took a revolver out of his pocket, ending the conflict," wrote the press.

Various disciplines developed in Grodno before the war. Local automobile clubs organised motor races. In 1933, for example, a cycling competition was organised. In the "Bialystok Daily" one could find an announcement of this event:

"Thanks to the efforts of the cycling section of the Grodno sports club "Cresovia", on Pentecost, i.e. on 4 and 5 June this year, a road cycling race will be held on the route Grodno - Suwalki -Grodno for the cup of the cycling section of the K.S. "Cresovia". In addition to the cup, many valuable prizes will be donated by local companies. Both associated and non-associated cyclists may take part in the competition. Entry fee PLN 2. The secretariat of the K.S. "Cresovia" is responsible for registration and all information.

In addition to this there were struggles of athletes, fists and many other enthusiasts of sports competition. Grodno was a strong sports centre in pre-war Poland...