On the spirit of capitalism in football: Dr David Rothschild and Alfred J. Meyers – presidents of FSV Frankfurt, 1925–33

After the First World War, football in Germany became a mass phenomenon that was increasingly organized according to the laws of capitalism. Yet, for tax reasons, the German Football Association (DFB) stuck rigidly to amateurism. Nevertheless, the top football clubs were increasingly run like business enterprises. This opened the door to ‘shamateurism’ and resulted in countless conflicts. An instructive example is provided by the Fußballsportverein Frankfurt (FSV): two Jewish presidents, Dr David Rothschild and Alfred J. Meyers, succeeded in professionalizing the club between 1925 and 1933. This article firstly reconstructs the merits of Rothschild and Meyers for the rise of the FSV in the context of the commercialization of football in the Weimar Republic. Secondly light is shed on the fierce conflicts between the top football clubs and the DFB. Following this, Rothschild’s and Meyers’ lives after 1933 under the dictatorship and persecution of the National Socialists are briefly discussed.