Ever since Turkish businessman, Acun Ilicali, bought Hull City back in January 2022, the club has been intrinsically linked to the new owners country of birth. A sea of red and white flags are now common place around the MKM stadium and the signings of Dogukan Sinik and Ozan Tufan have seen the first Turkish players touch ground in East Yorkshire. Hull and Turkey now appear intertwined however, the Tiger's love affair with the nation started long before Acun bought the club.
Almost two decades before Ilicali would be born, Hull City had just competed in their first post-war outing in divison two. A run of only one win from fifteen to round off the 1949-50 season had seen the Tigers drop from second to seventh and their hopes of back to back promotions disappear as a result. Perhaps an incentive to lift spirits throughout the club, Hull embarked on an end of season tour of both Israel and Turkey in order to test their strength against European opposition.
Hull City team photo from the 1949-50 season (Tiger Base)
The first stop for the Tiger's was to Israel with victories over Hapoel Tel-Aviv as well as a combined Israel XI building much needed confidence going into the second half of the trip. Travelling East alongside division one side Sunderland, Hull played two matches in Turkey during the tour, both within the City of Ankara.
When Hull arrived in Ankara, Turkish football was very much up and running with the Turkish National Division (Millî Küme 1. League) playing out ten seasons since its inception in 1937. Speaking on football within the Country, Hull director, S.T. Kershaw, told the Turkish media that: "We heard Turkish football is good and fast and that the players play with positions". Clearly not high praise by modern standards but a compliment for a nation still developing its footballing identity.
The first fixture for the Tigers came in the form of a tough matchup against Turkish first division side, Ankara Demirspor, who were fresh off the back of a 5th placed league finish. Despite the foreign terrain being unknown territory for the Tigers, Hull made light work of their opponents with Raich Carter's side winning comfortably. A double from Fred Smith, who had only scored once during the regular season, as well as a penalty from Ernie Shepard and a goal from Frank Varney rounded off a 4-0 win for the away side.
The second Turkish tie for Hull occurred a day later with the Tigers once again visiting the 19 Mayis Stadyumu to play Gençlerbirliği, who had finished one place below Demirspor during the regular season. 7000 fans were in attendance as Hull ran away 3-1 winners and left Turkey unbeaten. Ken Harrison added two goals to the nine he had scored during the season and Ernie Shepard found himself on the scoresheet for the second game in a row.
On the other side of the country, Sunderland also saw victory in their games in Turkey, beating Galatasaray in a closely fought 4-3 win. Hull were due to play against Galatasaray during their tour however, a Turkish international fixture versus Iran meant that the game had to be postponed. The game was swiftly rearranged with Hull inviting the 1939 league champions to Boothferry Park to play a friendly match in the September of 1950.
The Galatasaray team carrying a Union Jack flag onto the pitch before the game (Hull Daily Mail)
The match programme from the day described the travelling Galatasaray as the "Arsenal of Turkish football", (who had won the FA Cup that season) as well as a "sound side that play attractive football". It was clear that the admiration went both ways as Suphi Batur, the President of the Istanbul club said that "we learned this game from England", showing the clear respect that his club had for their English opponents.
The away team featured five Turkish international players, playing key parts in the sides that had qualified for both the 1950 and 1954 World Cups (although Turkey had to withdraw from the 1950 competition due to financial problems). Perhaps most prominent amongst the away squad was 18-year-old goalkeeper, Turgay Şeren. Playing over 352 times for Galatasaray, Şeren is still the clubs record appearance holder as well as raking up 52 caps for the national team.
The official match programme from the game, showing the full Galatasaray team (Tiger Base)
Adverse weather conditions kept the attendance to 13,000 supporters, with those able to get to the game able to witness a strong performance from the home side. The 35th minute saw a Ken Harrison corner eventually met by Gordon Inwood who opened up the scoring for the Tigers in what was the first team debut for the winger. The East Yorkshire outfit then doubled their lead at the hour mark with Alf Ackerman rounding Şeren and putting the ball into an empty net.
A newspaper clipping from the game showing Ken Harrison (left) running past a Galatasaray player (right) (Hull Daily Mail)
Speaking on his sides defeat, Suphi Batur had nothing but praise for the home side. He told the English media that "we realise how much we have still to learn, and we shall do our best to follow the example you (Hull City) have set us".
Hull City fly out to Antalya this Sunday with the travelling fans hoping that their side can recover from the last minute defeat against Reading before the World Cup break. Fixtures against Istanbul Basaksehir and Trabzonspor offer the chance for the Tigers to play against sides who have both competed in European competitions this season, making the games a good test for the championship outfit.
With Liam Rosenior's squad unaffected by the international tournament, the newly appointed Hull manager will surely be looking to replicate the performance of the Black and Amber side that conquered Turkey over 70 years ago and carry over that momentum into the second half of the season.
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