Robert Gadocha, Daniel Olbrychski and Maryla Rodowicz: a famous footballer, the “Kmicic” of The Deluge, and a legend of Polish song

I rarely attended football (soccer) matches in Poland. However, I do remember that the Legia Warsaw stadium on Łazienkowska Street was, at the time, associated not only with sport, but also with various fan-related incidents. Fights and acts of vandalism were not uncommon, sometimes even affecting buses serving the stadium.

This had a very practical consequence for me. Just a few meters from my apartment building there was a bus stop for line “366,” which went directly to Łazienkowska. After certain matches—especially emotionally charged ones, such as games between Legia Warsaw and Górnik Zabrze—waiting for a bus could become a long and uncertain affair, as some vehicles were withdrawn from service due to damage.

Fortunately, the match between Legia Warsaw and Zagłębie Sosnowiec, played on August 3, 1974, and ending in a 1–1 draw, passed without incident. For me, however, it turned out to be an exceptionally lucky day.

After leaving the stadium, I encountered Robert Gadocha (born 1946), an Olympic gold medalist (1972) and a member of Poland’s national team that won a silver medal at the 1974 FIFA World Cup—one of the greatest achievements in Polish football history.

Robert Gadocha

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Shortly afterward, Daniel Olbrychski (born 1946) appeared—one of Poland’s most prominent actors, best known at the time for his role as Andrzej Kmicic in The Deluge (1974), directed by Jerzy Hoffman. The film, an adaptation of a classic Polish historical novel, was later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Daniel Olbrychski

Źródło: Wikimedia Commons

Olbrychski was not alone—he was accompanied by Maryla Rodowicz (born 1945), one of the most popular and enduring Polish singers. At the time, the two were involved in a well-known romantic relationship. When I asked her for an autograph, she smiled broadly and said, “of course.” In that moment, I became a very happy twelve-year-old, holding a truly special souvenir.

Maryla Rodowicz

Źródło: Wikimedia Commons

Olbrychski and Rodowicz were on their way somewhere and encouraged Gadocha to join them, but in the end his wife intervened and took him home.

Interestingly, a few years later, my path crossed with Olbrychski’s again—indirectly and quite unexpectedly. I found myself in a small three-bed hospital room on Lindleya Street in Warsaw (today the Infant Jesus Clinical Hospital). It turned out that just a few days earlier, Daniel Olbrychski had occupied the very same bed, recovering from a broken leg sustained in a horse-riding accident.

*****

Blogi są również dostępne w języku polskim/blogs are also available in the Polish language

*****

More from the author

This entry is part of a broader collection of personal research and historical documentation across multiple blogs:

👉 Travel and nature archive/blog/: https://ontario-nature.blogspot.com/