1920 (9 September) Herbert Müller is born in Hamburg.
1926 (around) Little Herbert and his friends Günter Peine and Harald Stender play football on Heiligengeistfeld and on the streets and backyards oft he district.
„When a police officer came around to send us away, we just ran down the streets and crossed the city limits between Altona and St. Pauli“
1931 Young Herbert shows interest in joining the Hitler Youth („such uniforms, I want to have, too“). Instead, his politically left father gives him football boots. And so Herbert Müller joins the youth department of FC St. Pauli, just a short time after his friend Günter Peine.
1937 At age 16, Müller begins a job training at Blohm & Voss shipbuilding company, where his father ist he head oft he company’s laundry. Georg „Schorsch“ Blohm, one of the company’s owners son, is his fellow. Herbert goes through several departments and eventually becomes technical drawer focussing on motor parts. In this function, he works on, among others, „KdF“-ship „Wilhelm Gustloff“, battle ship „Bismarck“ and numerous U-boats. On account of his classification as „war important worker“, he – as he said later – could escape from conscription five times.
1937 (1 November) The „Reichsbund für Leibesübungen“ (Reich association for Sports) orderst hat „youngsters are only „elegible to play and start resp. when being member of the Hitler Youth“. At FC St. Pauli, the new „Jugendwart“ (youth officer) and SA-member Walter Koehler, oversees closely that these new regulations are met. Still, Herbert Müller does not become a member of the Hitler Youth and contents himself with training and street football until he reaches the age of majorty.
1938-39 Promotion to the first team, at first as substitution.
1940 After a numerous players were conscripted to military service, Herbert gains a place in the starting line-up. In the first team, he plays over a 150 times for FC St. Pauli, where among others, he duels with Erwin Seeler.
1944 (1 July) Herbert is conscripted to the infantry air defence batallion 52 in Delmenhorst (west of Bremen), where he serves a loader for flak-cannons and driver – a task he got by an „FC St. Pauli enthusiastic“ superior. During the necessary additional training, he is able to continue playing football.
1945 After several redeployments, Herbert’s unit is disbanded. The war is over. He puts off his uniform and walks home to Hamburg all the way from the Netherlands.