April 24 is traditionally in Armenia, and in the whole world, the Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. Sportball24 offers to remember all the famous Armenian athletes, who became victims of the massacre.
By the end of the XIX century Armenians made up more than 20% of the population of the Ottoman Empire, formed its cultural and economic elite. They controlled up to 80% of the state's economy. In addition, Armenians and Greeks laid the foundation for the development of sports in the empire. In the Ottoman Empire there were numerous Armenian football teams and sports clubs in various sports.
Armenians were the first participants of the Olympic Games in the Ottoman Empire. They were Vahram Papazian and Mkrtich Mkreyan, who competed at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. Unfortunately, Mkrtych Mkreyan did not survive the massacre, but Vahram Papazian escaped to Lebanon and then settled in the USA.
From 1911 to 1914 four All-Armenian Olympic Games (Pan-Armenian Games) were held in Constantinople. During the Games records were set and silver medals were awarded to the winners.
The most famous Armenian football teams were Baltaliman, Arax and Tork. Armenian sports clubs were also established in Nicomidia (Izmit), Karina (Erzurum), Marzvan (Merzifon), Samson , Adana, Van, Kesaria (Kayseri), Dortyol (Dortol), Trapizon (Trabzon) and Konya.
Several Armenian football clubs are still active in Turkey. Earlier we wrote about the Taksim team.
Let's remember famous Armenian athletes who became victims of the Armenian Genocide
Shavarsh Krissian (22 July 1886 - 15 August 1915) was the founder of Armenian sports. Founder, coach and player of the first Armenian football club ‘Baltaliman’.
Founder and editor-in-chief of the first sports magazine of the Ottoman Empire ‘Marmnamarz’, published in Armenian. He took part in the organisation of the Armenian Olympic Games (Pan-Armenian) series and prepared the projects of the ‘Homenetmen’ General Armenian Physical Culture Union and the Armenian Football League, which were implemented a few years after his death.
Shavarsh Krissian was born in Constantinople in 1886 and died during the Armenian genocide on 15 August 1915.
Under the leadership of Shavarsh Krissian, the first Armenian athletes, Vahram Papazian and Mkrtich Mkryan, competed at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm.
‘It is not so important whether Vahram Papazian will be the first or the last - what is important is his participation as an Armenian. Let him be the last, but he will speak there, let Armenians be represented at this forum of big nations. For thirty years Armenians have been known to Europe as a nation subjected to robbery and murder, as a synonym of tears and blood, and now it is time to speak about us differently. We want the civilised world to recognise us and in our achievements,’ said Shavarsh Krissian .
On 24 April 1915 Shavarsh Krissian was captured and sent to prison as part of the Armenian elite. Shavarsh Krissian was eventually rounded up and killed in the outskirts of Ankara.
Mkrtich Mkreyan (12.09.1882 - 1915) was a track and field athlete. Together with another ethnic Armenian, Vahram Papazyan, he represented the Ottoman Empire at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
At the Olympics in Stockholm Mkrtich Mkreyan took part in five sports competitions - shot put, discus throw, shot put with two hands, pentathlon and decathlon, he took fifth place in the overall standings of athletics disciplines. Nothing is known about his death.
Vahram Papazian, on the other hand, managed to escape and fled to Beirut. He continued the work of Shavarsh Krisisyan and founded ‘Omenetmen’ in Lebanon. Later Vahram Papazyan changed his country of residence many times. Syria, Canada and Thailand found a place in his biography. After South-East Asia, Papazyan came to North America and settled in the USA, where he worked as an electrician until his retirement.
At the 1912 Olympic Games, Vahram Papazian took part in the 800 and 1500 metre races.
Vahan Cheraz (1986 - 1928) - although not a victim of the Genocide but of the Soviet authorities, he should have been mentioned.
Vahan Cheraz was a social activist and sportsman. He was born in Constantinople and was the founder of the scouting movement in Armenia, as well as one of the first football clubs in Constantinople - FC ‘Tork’.
FC ‘Tork’
He was the first to bring football to the Ottoman Empire, founding football teams and organising games. Through the efforts of Vahan Cheraz and his associates, the famous Armenian sports club ‘Tork’ was established in Constantinople in 1908, where he was the leading player of the football team. In 1912, the Tork Sports Club organised swimming, tennis and cycling competitions in Constantinople .
In 1914, when World War I broke out, Vahan Çeraz travelled to Tiflis, joined the Zoravar Andranik Volunteer Unit and participated in the fighting in the region under his command until 1919.
From 1920 Vahan Cheraz lived already in the First Armenian Republic, where he founded the scout movement. When the Bolsheviks came to power, Vahan was under surveillance and was accused of spying for the USA. He was sent into exile several times and was later shot in Tiflis (Tbilisi).
Here is more information about Armenian sports in the Ottoman Empire and some of the athletes about whom little is now known.
‘Vagharshak Varjapetyan and Ashot Papazian had no equal in cycling, while Vahan Cheraz and Ararat Krissian distinguished themselves in the swimming competitions organised in Constantinople. Another Armenian athlete, Vahram Shiranian, a graduate of the Constantinople ‘Hayordiner’ Union, did not go unnoticed in tennis competitions and won the Turkish championship several times. Significant articles published in ‘Marmnamarz’ testify to the success of Armenian athletes in international competitions organised in Constantinople.
The activities of Armenian athletic and sporting life witnessed the formation of a qualitatively new social field of activity and were a new manifestation of national self-organisation, which was to play a decisive role in providing new features for the formation of national unity.’
‘There are different information about the origin of the first Armenian football clubs and teams. It is known that back in 1905-1906, Shavarsh Krissian created the first Armenian football team called ‘Baltaliman’. It featured both Armenian and foreign athletes, including Grigor and Levon Hakobyan, Shavarsh Krisyan, Varag Pogharyan, Vardges Aghabekyan, Mihran Nakashyan, G. Gasparyan, S. Poghosyan, G. Khupeseryan and others. ‘Baltaliman’ took part in the international competitions held in Constantinople in 1905-1906 and won with a big score over Turkish ‘Galatasaray’ (5-0), taking the second place’.
