Jacques Mairesse (27 February 1905 - 13 June 1940) was a French association footballer. He played for FC Sete, Red Star, and FC Strasbourg. He played 6 times for France, including matches during the 1928 Olympics and the 1934 World Cup Finals. He was even named captain for one match.
Off the pitch, Mairesse was very concerned with professionalism and the sport of football. In particular, Mairesse was concerned with the low income that French football players earned while playing (so little, in fact, that most players had to take on second jobs in order to make ends meet), and also that players (prior to their 35th birthday) had no control over which team they played for. In the French system, players could be transferred from team to team, with the players having no say in the matter. (A more modern comparison to Mairesse would be Marvin Miller and his free agency fight with Major League Baseball.) In 1936, Mairesse's concerns with the French football system led him to create the first players' union--the Amicale des joueurs professionnels (AJP).
In 1939, soon after the mobilization, Mairesse was drafted into the French army. In June 1940, Germany invaded France. Many French soldiers, including Mairesse, were taken into custody as prisoners of war. On 13 June 1940, Mairesse was shot and killed attempting to escape.
That this card survived the German occupation of France during World War 2 intact, makes it rare; that it was autographed on the reverse by Mairesse, makes the existence of this card nothing short of remarkable. (Because Byrrh issued these cards c1935, and he was killed in 1940, the period of time during which Mairesse could have signed this card is extremely limited.)
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