Editing Fritz Walter (section)

===Later life and legacy===
[[Image:DielautrerheldenvonBern.JPG|thumb|right|Memorial for the [[1. FC Kaiserslautern]] players in the [[1954 FIFA World Cup Final]]. From left to right: [[Werner Liebrich]], Walter, [[Werner Kohlmeyer]], [[Horst Eckel]] and [[Ottmar Walter]].]]
The home stadium of 1. FC Kaiserslautern was renamed the [[Fritz-Walter-Stadion]] in 1985.

Fritz Walter was named an honorary captain of the German football squad in 1958.<ref>The [[German Football Association|DFB]] [https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=12351 Fritz Walter: Das Idol vom Betzenberg].</ref> The other five are [[Uwe Seeler]], [[Franz Beckenbauer]], [[Lothar Matthäus]], [[Bettina Wiegmann]] and [[Jürgen Klinsmann]].

Walter died in [[Enkenbach-Alsenborn]] on 17 June 2002, aged 81.<ref name="bbc1">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/germany/newsid_2050000/2050347.stm|title=World Cup hero Walter dies|date=17 June 2002|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=5 July 2010}}</ref> It was his dream to see the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|World Cup 2006]] in "his" town Kaiserslautern as the town had not been selected in the smaller tournament of 1974, but it was denied with his death. But on the fourth anniversary of his death on 17 June 2006, the [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]] played [[Italy national football team|Italy]] in Kaiserslautern and a minute of silence was observed in his memory. Today people may visit the "Fritz Walter Haus" in the town of [[Enkenbach-Alsenborn]] approx. 20&nbsp;km east of Kaiserslautern (first exit from Kaiserslautern on [[Bundesautobahn 6]] direction Mannheim).<ref name="boston1">{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/articles/2006/06/20/immortal_beloved/|title=Immortal, beloved German icon still a presence|last=Dell'Apa|first=Frank|date=20 June 2006|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=5 July 2010}}</ref>

In November 2003, to celebrate [[UEFA]]'s 50th anniversary, the [[German Football Association]] (DFB) selected him as its [[UEFA Jubilee Awards|Golden Player]] of the past 50 years (from 1954 to 2003).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uefa.com/uefa/news/Kind=256/newsId=130150.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=10 August 2006 |archive-date=12 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312053707/http://www.uefa.com/uefa/news/Kind=256/newsId=130150.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the eighties and nineties, there was another successful [[Bundesliga]] striker called "[[Fritz Walter (footballer, 1960)|Fritz Walter]]", who mainly played for [[VfB Stuttgart]]. Although he had no relationship to the great Kaiserslautern captain, sports fans jokingly called him "Fritz Walter junior".

In 2005, the ''[[Fritz Walter Medal]]'', a series of annual awards which were established in his honour, and which are given by the [[German Football Association]] to youth footballers in Germany, was first awarded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=511739&tx_dfbnews_pi1&#91;showUid&#93;=1784 |title=DFB verleiht Fritz-Walter-Medaille an Nachwuchsspieler|trans-title=DFB to award Fritz-Walter-Medal to youth players|publisher=[[German Football Association]]|language=de|date=9 February 2004|access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref>