Charles Herlofson

Charles Herlofson started his football career with the club IF Viking in Kristiania (now Oslo). After the club’s dissolution in 1910, he joined the Mercantile and played there as centre half until the late 1920s. With the club, he won four district championships but lost the final of the Norwegian cup in 1913. In 1912, Herlofson had a short stint with German club Hannover 96 thus becoming the first Norwegian to play in Germany.

Between 1910 and 1915 he represented Norway in 12 international games acting as captain in 11 of them. His matches as international included nine defeats and three draws but no victory. At the 1912 Olympic Games, he represented Norway in the matches against Denmark and Austria, both of which were lost without scoring a single goal. He was awarded the gold medal of the Norwegian Football Association and was a member of the selection committee in 1920. Charles was the younger brother of rowing Olympian Harald Herlofson.

Charles Herlofson passed the state economics exam in 1912 and worked in Hannover for one year. After taking the exam as a general average adjuster in 1916, he worked as an office manager for shipowners, shipbrokers, and insurance companies. In 1914, he married Ellinor Boe. One of their four children was the naval officer Charles Oluf Herlofson, who was highly decorated during World War II.