The suggestion worked, Bauwens leg (which had been threatened with amputation) was saved and the young player even went as far as turning out for the Germany national side in a 3-0 reverse to Belgium in May 1910.

[1] A member of the upper middle class, Bauwens reputedly attained his doctorate in law in Leipzig on 7 April 1914 but there are questions as to whether this was a genuinely acquired title.

His marriage to Elizabeth Gidion, from a Jewish family in Cologne, in 1920 (having two children with her) got him into trouble with the authorities; his company being banned from affiliation with the National Socialist Factory Organisation (NSDAP) in May 1933 a year after he had applied to join.

He was outspoken on occasion, being responsible for the break in transmission of the radio broadcast following the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, after what were perceived to have been nationalistic comments he made to the national team at the Löwenbräukeller beer hall in Munich following their victory in Bern.

[6] Der Spiegel reported: "During the victory party with he [sic] championship team Dr. Peco Bauwens, president of the DFB-German Soccer Association, conjured the old Germanic god of thunder, with a 'wild swell of Teutonic phrases.'