Salute! The Inside Story of England’s Own Goal at Berlin’s Olympiastadion by John Leonard Review

By Karl Hornsey

With remarkably prescient timing, John Leonard’s book covers an infamous moment in English sporting history, just as the current incarnation of the England football team recovers from defeat to Spain in the final of Euro 2024 at the very same stadium in Berlin. So much has changed in the 86 years between the two moments, but the second will join the former as a key occasion in the development of the national team.

There are countless examples of the toxic mix of sport and politics, sometimes leading to positive change, other times with negative connotations, and the day in May 1938 when the England football team made the Nazi salute, en masse, ahead of their friendly against Germany has to be right up there as one of the most controversial. Even with the benefit of hindsight it seemed a remarkably naïve and needless gesture, but followed the British policy of appeasing the Germans as the seemingly inevitable build-up to war continued.

“Astonishing story”

This excellent book by Leonard delivers in the depth of research and knowledge about the months and days leading up to the match, as well as helping to bring to life an era that is hard for anyone these days to comprehend. Without his introduction to the time, the sheer folly and everlasting outrage to the salute wouldn’t fully come across, and Leonard takes his time to explain the how and why of it coming about, as well as focusing on the inevitable aftermath. More than half the book is ‘pre-match’ taking in various key moments, including the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, famous for Jesse Owens leaving Hitler apoplectic with rage at his success, the wonderfully brave Derby County goalkeeper Jack Kirby’s refusal to salute before the club’s match against a touring German side, and the increasingly desperate attempts at diplomacy by British officials to please the Germans.

The match itself is neatly covered, although of course what actually happened on the pitch itself following the salute became almost inconsequential in comparison, although the likes of Stanley Matthews, Eddie Hapgood and Cliff Bastin helped England to a 6-3 victory. And then there is the remarkable aftermath, including an astonishing story that Leonard brings wonderfully to life in which one England player found a positive redemption to take from the situation, and one that deserves to be so much more well-known than it is currently. While sporting controversies will never disappear, it’s always worth being reminded of the ones that stand the test of time as being genuinely important and life-changing, and this is very much one of those instances.

‘Salute! The Inside Story of England’s Own Goal at Berlin’s Olympiastadion’ by John Leonard is published by Pitch Publishing