Note : my thanks to sports journalist Erich Altmann for contributing to today’s content.
In Wuppertal today, and that means three thing – first, THE TRAIN!
The Schwebebahn is a suspended railway that runs above the river Wupper, and constitutes the oldest ‘hanging car’ style electric railway system in the world. The best thing about it is that on corners it swings out like a fairground ride. Ace!
Second, TUFFI! A particularly famous incident occurred in 1950, when Tuffi – a female Asian elephant, fell from the railway cars into the river (luckily suffering only minor injuries). No photograph exists of this event – this well-known postcard picture is actually a montage:
but… it is depicted on an equally well-known mural in Wuppertal, thusly:
Third, WUPPERTALER SV!
Today’s clash features third vs seventh on the Regionalliga West.
Wuppertaler’s greatest ever player was Günter Pröpper.
Pröpper scored 52 goals in 34 games for Wuppertaler during the 1971-72 season, playing in the second tier (which was then the ‘Regionalliga’) , setting a record which still stands today. Incidentally, in the following season he was the third highest scorer in the Bundesliga (behind Gerd Müller and Jupp Heynckes).
