“Man of a Thousand Hands”
©IMAGO
Hamburger SV mourns Horst Schnoor. The club’s record goalkeeper died on February 25, 2026 at the age of 91 – as the Bundesliga club announced. The Rothosen wrote: “The native of Hamburg was the symbol of reliability during his playing days. Between 1952 and 1967 he stood between the posts for HSV for more than a decade and played 507 competitive games with the diamond on his chest. No other goalkeeper in the club’s glorious history comes even close to this number.”
495 of these HSV competitive games are recorded in the TM database. Most of them – 384 in number – took part in Schnoor together with Uwe Seeler. Schnoor won the championship with the Rothosen in the 1959/60 season and the DFB Cup in 1962/63. Seeler, who died on July 21, 2022 at the age of 85, once described his colleague as a “man of a thousand hands.” In the list of HSV players with the most appearances, Schnoor is in third place behind Seeler (582 games) and Manfred Kaltz (741).
Hamburger SV also wrote in its statement: “After his career ended, the father of two remained closely connected to football in general and to his HSV in particular. As one of many HSV legends who found their home in Norderstedt, Schnoor attended many home games in the Volksparkstadion together with old companions and maintained close contact with the club for which he once saved so many balls. On August 8, 2007, he became the first goalkeeper to be awarded a handball Footprint immortalized on the HSV “Walk of Fame” at the Uwe Seeler foot.”
In the list of goalkeepers with the most appearances for HSV, Schnoor has set a record for eternity. “Hamburger SV remembers Horst Schnoor, one of the greatest keepers and personalities in the club’s history, and expresses its deepest condolences to his family and all friends. Rest in peace, number 1!”
