Hakkı Yeten

Hakkı Yeten

Personal information
Date of birth	3 December 1910
Place of birth	Vodina, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Date of death	16 April 1989 (aged 78–79)
Place of death	Istanbul, Turkey
Playing position	Second striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1926–1931	Karagümrük	?	(?)
1931–1948	Beşiktaş J.K.	439	(382)
National team
1931–1933	Turkey national football team	3	(1)
Teams managed
1949, 1950–1951	Beşiktaş J.K.
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Hakkı Yeten, (3 December 1910 – 16 April 1989) was a Turkish football player and president of the İstanbul-based football club Beşiktaş J.K., which he also coached.

Yeten was born in 1910 at Vodina, in the Salonica Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (present-day Greece). His father, a major in the Ottoman Army moved his family of six children to İstanbul, settling in the Beşiktaş district when Yeten was a year old. In 1914, Yeten's father was killed in the Battle of the Dardanelles. Yeten went on to attend military high school, as his two elder brothers did before him.

Yeten was attracted to football after his eldest brother, Muhtar, a multi-talented sportsman) introduced him to the sport. Yeten played in the school team, and was discovered soon by Beşiktaş J.K. club managers. He was one of the founders of Karagümrük and played for them between 1926 and 1931. In 1931, Yeten dropped out of school and joined Beşiktaş.

He played for Beşiktaş for 17 years mostly in the second striker position, contributing to its numerous victories. Declared as permanent captain, he led Beşiktaş to 8 İstanbul League Champions, 3 İstanbul Cups, one İzmir International Fair Cup, 3 National League Champions, one Turkish Champion, 2 Prime Minister Cups and 4 Private Cups. Yeten was capped only three times for the Turkey national football team due to World War II.^[1] His fame became international, and eventually the English team Arsenal showed and interest in him. However, Yeten preferred to stay in Turkey . Yeten scored 382 goals in 439 games. He quit football as a player in 1948 after fans hooted him during a match.

He was appointed coach in the 1948–1949 season, and served once again as manager in the 1950–1954 season.

Yeten studied Law, graduating in 1937. He became a legal advisor for a state owned bank. After his retirement from the active sports, he served as Vice Chairman of the Turkish Football Federation, and acted as president of Beşiktaş J.K. for three terms in 1960–1963, 1964–1966 and 1967–1968. In 1984, he backed Süleyman Seba in the elections, who became his successor.

Called "Baba" ("Father") Hakkı, he was elected the first honorary president of his club before he died on April 17, 1989 in İstanbul. He was buried at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.^[1]

Career statistics

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	27 September 1931	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	5–1	Lost	Balkan Cup
Correct as of 10 February 2010 [2]

References

1. Danaş, Ali (2011-04-16). "Beşiktaş'ta 'Baba Hakkı' anıldı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2011-10-15.
2. Profile at TFF.org

External links

• Biography in Turkish
• Beşiktaş JK website in Turkish