Jan Byś was a Polish footballer, a midfielder who was one of the mainstays of the Szombierki Bytom side that won the Polish league title in the 1979/80 season, one of the most unexpected championships in the history of the Polish game. He was also remembered by supporters for scoring the opening goal in Szombierki's European Cup win over Trabzonspor in October 1980.
He was born on 9 December 1953 and took his first senior steps in football with Sparta Zabrze, the club of Mikulczyce, a district of Zabrze in Upper Silesia. From there he moved to Szombierki Bytom, known to their fans as the Greens, where he spent the best years of his career, playing from 1977 to 1985 according to Wikipedia.
In the championship season of 1979/80 he played in 29 of Szombierki's 30 league matches. The following season the club made its debut in the European Cup. In the return leg of the first round against Trabzonspor, on 1 October 1980, Byś opened the scoring in the 17th minute of a 3-0 win that took Szombierki through 4-2 on aggregate. The club later called it a goal that had written itself into its history for ever. In all he played 179 top-flight matches for Szombierki, scoring 12 goals according to the club, or 13 according to some press reports. After leaving Bytom he returned to Sparta Zabrze.
Away from the pitch he kept out of the public eye. The Silesian journalist Paweł Czado, who visited him at his family home in Mikulczyce while writing his 2020 history of the club, Zieloni, described him as exceptionally modest and devoted to his family, a sincere and charming man who chose to stay absent from the media. Czado called him a remarkable footballer of uncommon skill.
Jan Byś died in late October 2026, aged 72. His death was announced by Sparta Zabrze on 28 October and by Szombierki Bytom the following day, and was reported by Przegląd Sportowy, Polsat Sport and Sportowe Fakty. The cause of death was not made public. His funeral was held on 30 October 2026 at the parish of St Lawrence in Zabrze-Mikulczyce.
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