HARRY KLYNN /APPOLO KALAMARIAS / Ε.P.Α.E.

Harry Klynn is a sports lover, and particularly a soccer lover. He got involved with soccer administration for purely sentimental reasons. Being himself of Pontian descent and raised in Kalamaria, Thessaloniki, he could never forget the 1956, 1957, 1958 glorious days, when KALAMARIA was champion in Thessaloniki making all Pontian children of refugees proud.

Coming back  from America, Harry Klynn found APOLLO lost in oblivion with the team  on its way from B' to C' NATIONAL category. So, in 1980, and with a group of Pontian fanatics and friends of the historic team  at his side, he decided to lead the effort and restore the glorious name of the historic football club.

That is how he became APOLLO's president. Together with his partners, Harry Klynn planned a long term program and organised the club on modern technocratic base. By his side he gathered the team's disappointed and embittered fans. At the same time, he recruited some fresh blood, people with ability and courage, potent and imaginative. He enriched the team's athletic force and created the required infrastructure by establishing a hotbed for young athletes. Harry Klynn's largest contribution to APOLLO, however,  was the construction of its own private stadium. In three years time, the open –air, dirt field of Kalamaria, was transformed, due to Harry Klynn’s efforts,  to a modern stadium, in the nicest part of Thessaloniki. It's a shame that ever since Harry Klynn ceased been APOLLO's president, the project remained as it was.

Soon things begin to change in Kalamaria. In the first year, he literally saves APOLLO from being degraded to C’ National Category,  and in the next year APOLLO  rightfully takes the first place in the B’ Category  championship, thus returning to its rightful place at the Premiere League after twenty years of unfortunate adventures. That same year, he founded the PAE APOLLO (the official football club) enforcing the team by signing the most promising young talents from Northern Greece.  APOLLO’s presence in A National Category was remarkable.

APOLLO reemerges not only as a model team, but also as an institutional reformer for professional soccer in general, presenting crucial proposals which became the base for the 1975 revision of the law 75. Being president of APOLLO, he gained respect and complete acceptance from all teams in A', B' and C' NATIONAL categories. In 1988, all A' NATIONAL category teams with Harry Klynn as leader confronted State polices, resulting in the legendary interruption of the championship for the first time in Greek soccer history. Thus, the State was forced  to seriously discuss the teams demands. Following these events, Harry Klynn evolved to a lead figure in professional soccer.

At that same time, professional soccer was going through a major new crisis. The State took championship organisation away from EPAE (Greek Union of Football Clubs) and surrendered it to EPO. Taking advantage of EPAE  falling apart and being powerless, the State arranged everything exactly the way it wanted it. Perhaps this was the biggest crisis in professional soccer history. It was at this most difficult hour, that all teams decided unanimously to nominate Harry Klynn for president of EPAE. He accepted the challenge, fought historic battles with the State, restructured EPAE, contacted the corresponding european organisations, FIFA and UEFA, and with a team of technocrats, he proceeded with substantial and realistic proposals that the State could hardly face.

Championship organisation returned to EPAE and Harry Klynn's positions and proposals constituted the base supporting all healthy proposals and efforts concerning professional soccer's complete rejuvenation. After three years as EPAE president, once again, he clashed with the State because it tenaciously refused to proceed with drastic measures in order to thoroughly purge professional soccer; and in spite of the constant pressures and requests Harry took from the so called small teams, that were seeing the duet STATE- LARGE TEAMS imposing their anachronistic tactics, he decided to resigned his presidency.

Today, in spite of almost eight years with Harry Klynn outside the official soccer scene, he remains in the mind of Greek fans as well as  the field’s factors, who really feel for this popular sport, as the golden reserve of Greek soccer.