cigarette dispenser in the form of a football, gift from Udo Proksch at the farewell of the Austrian national team at K&K Hofzuckerbäckerei Demel to the national coach Helmut Senekowitsch, hinged, on 3 legs, silver-plated brass, inscription “Viel Glück zur W. M. 78 wünscht CUM Udo SK” [Good luck to the W. M. 78 wishes CUM Udo SK] Note: (CUM Udo Proksch Company), SK stands for Udo Proksch’s pseudonym: Serge Kirchhofer. for his creative designs. Leather decor sewn on the top, inside with 2 shelves for cigarettes/cigars and with two removable ashtrays. Dimensions ball height approx. 14 cm, diameter approx. 14 cm. Photo Herbert Prohaska, 1978, photographer Michael Horowitz, with copyright stamp on the back, framed, frame dimensions height approx. 42 cm, width approx. 32 cm, photo dimensions height approx. 30.5 cm, width approx. 22 cm. Book: Soccer World Cup 1978, Bertelsmannverlag GmbH, Munich, 1978. Slight signs of age and wear, some small scratches and minor, partial abrasions. (MHA)

After the Austrian national soccer team prevailed in their group against the teams of German Democratic Republic, Turkey and Malta in qualifying for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, they met reigning soccer world champion German Federal Republic on June 21, 1978 in the intermediate round of the World Cup in Cordoba. The game ended with 3:2 for Austria and sealed the prematurely of both teams. It went down in football history as both the miracle of Cordoba and the shame of Cordoba. Like many things in life, it’s a matter of perspective.

Lit.:
Furniture & objects with history, Christof Stein, Erhard Löcker GesmbH, Vienna, 2022, page 86.

Provenance of the cigarette dispenser: Helmut Senekowitsch, Michael Horowitz, Lichterloh, Christof Stein.