Oberliga Berlin (1945-63)
Encyclopedia
Oberliga Berlin
Founded
1945
Disbanded
1963
Nation
State
Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

Relegation To
Amateurliga Berlin
Number of Seasons
18
Replaced by
Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

Level on Pyramid
Level 1
German football league system
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to a series of hierarchically interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Germany that consists of over 2,300 men's divisions, in which all leagues are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation...

Domestic Cup
Berlin Cup
Berlin Cup
The Berliner Landespokal is an annual football cup competition held by the Berlin Football Association . The cup winner qualifies for the national DFB-Pokal. Cup finals are usually held in the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. The competition has been held since 1906, with various interruptions...

Last Champions 1962-63
Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha Berliner Sport-Club von 1892, commonly known as Hertha BSC or Hertha Berlin, is a German association football club based in Berlin. A founding member of the German Football Association in Leipzig in 1900, the club has a long history as Berlin's best-supported side...



The Oberliga Berlin (Premier league Berlin) was the highest level of the German football league system
German football league system
The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to a series of hierarchically interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Germany that consists of over 2,300 men's divisions, in which all leagues are bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation...

 in the city of West-Berlin in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 from 1945 until the formation
Introduction of the Fußball-Bundesliga
The Introduction of the Fußball-Bundesliga was the long-debated step of establishing a top-level association football league in Germany in 1963. The new league, the Fußball-Bundesliga, played its first season in 1963–64 and continues to be the higest league in the country...

 of the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

 in 1963. It was by far the smallest of the five Oberligas.

Overview

The league was created in 1945, incorporating clubs from all four sectors of the allied-occupied Berlin. It replaced the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg
Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg
The Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg was the highest football league in the provinces of Brandenburg and Berlin in the German state of Prussia from 1933 to 1945...

 as the highest league in the region. In its first year, it was staged in four groups with the winner of each group taking part in a finals tournament. In 1946, three clubs from each of those four groups went to form the single-division, twelve team, Oberliga Berlin. Alongside the Oberliga Berlin, four other Oberligas were formed in Germany in those years:
  • Oberliga West
    Oberliga West (1947-63)
    The Oberliga West was the highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963...

     (formed in 1947)
  • Oberliga Nord
    Oberliga Nord (1947-63)
    The Oberliga Nord was the highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.-Overview:...

     (formed in 1947)
  • Oberliga Südwest
    Oberliga Südwest (1945-63)
    The Oberliga Südwest was the highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland.-Overview:...

     (formed in 1945)
  • Oberliga Süd
    Oberliga Süd (1945-63)
    The Oberliga Süd was the highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.-Overview:...

     (formed in 1945)


The clubs in Berlin were originally not permitted to carry their pre-war names and had to be simply named after the suburb they represented. This rule was slowly lifted in the three western sectors and by 1948, clubs in what was to become West-Berlin carried their original names again. In the Soviet sector, the future East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...

, clubs took up names in accordance with the requirements of the new communist regime.

With the reintroduction of the German championship in 1948, the winner of the Oberliga Berlin went on to the finals tournament with the other Oberliga champions. Being the smallest of the five Oberligas it is not surprising that no club from Berlin won a German championship in these years or even reached the final.

After the 1949-50 season, the clubs from East Berlin left the unified Berlin league system and joined the East German leagues instead. Union Oberschöneweide, qualified for the German championship finals in 1950, was not permitted to participate in this tournament either. The Oberliga Berlin carried on with clubs from West-Berlin only.

Below the Oberliga Berlin ranked the Amateurliga Berlin
Oberliga Berlin
The Amateur-Oberliga Berlin was the second tier of the German football league system in the city of West-Berlin in Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963, operating under the name of Amateurliga Berlin. After 1963, it was the third tier until 1991, when the league was...

 as a second tier. Originally staged in a varying number of groups, it became a single-group competition from 1950.

In 1963, after 18 seasons, the Oberliga Berlin was disbanded in favor of the new Bundesliga. The champion of the 1962-63 season, Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha Berliner Sport-Club von 1892, commonly known as Hertha BSC or Hertha Berlin, is a German association football club based in Berlin. A founding member of the German Football Association in Leipzig in 1900, the club has a long history as Berlin's best-supported side...

, was admitted to the new Bundesliga.

The four sectors of Allied occupation in Berlin

Reforming of the Oberliga Berlin

In 1974, with the disbanding of the Regionalliga Berlin, the Oberliga Berlin
Oberliga Berlin
The Amateur-Oberliga Berlin was the second tier of the German football league system in the city of West-Berlin in Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963, operating under the name of Amateurliga Berlin. After 1963, it was the third tier until 1991, when the league was...

 was re-created, but now as the third tier of German football. This was however not the formation of a new league but rather the renaming of the Amateurliga Berlin to Oberliga Berlin.

Founding members of the Oberliga Berlin

The following clubs took part in the first proper season of the Oberliga in 1946-47. The names in brackets are the ones they carried in this season:
  • Tennis Borussia Berlin
    Tennis Borussia Berlin
    Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in Berlin-Westend.- History :The team was founded in 1902 and takes its name from its origins as a tennis and ping-pong club. "Borussia" is a Latinised version of Prussia. In 1903 the club took up football and quickly developed a rivalry with...

    , (SG Charlottenburg)
  • BSV 1892 Berlin
    Berliner SV
    Berliner SV 1892 is a German association football club from the district of Wilmersdorf, Berlin. BSV 1892 is one of the country's oldest clubs and was a founding member of the DFB in 1900....

    , (SG Wilmersdorf)
  • Wacker 04 Berlin
    Alemannia Wacker Berlin
    BFC Alemannia 90 Wacker is a German football club based in northern Berlin. Today's club has its origins in the predecessor sides BFC 90 Alemannia and SC Wacker 04 Berlin.- Alemannia 90 Berlin :...

    , (SG Reinickendorf-West)
  • Alemannia 90 Berlin
    Alemannia Wacker Berlin
    BFC Alemannia 90 Wacker is a German football club based in northern Berlin. Today's club has its origins in the predecessor sides BFC 90 Alemannia and SC Wacker 04 Berlin.- Alemannia 90 Berlin :...

    , (SG Prenzlauer Berg)
  • SC Staaken, (SG Staaken)
  • Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin, (SG Mariendorf)
  • BFC Nordstern 07, (SG Osloer Straße)
  • Köpenicker SC, (SG Köpenick)
  • BFC Südring
    BFC Südring
    BFC Südring is a German football club from the city of Berlin. The club was formed on 15 June 1935 as Sportclub Südring Berlin out of the membership of Spielvereinigung Fichte Berlin, a worker's club that was banned in 1933 under the politically motivated policies of the Third Reich, which saw the...

    , (SG Südring)
  • SV Lichtenberg
    SV Lichtenberg
    SV Lichtenberg 47 is a German association football club from Berlin. The footballers are part of a larger sports club that currently has over 900 members in departments for bowling, boxing, fitness and aerobics, gymnastics, line dancing, table tennis, and volleyball.- History :The club was...

    , (SG Lichtenberg-Nord)
  • SG Stadtmitte
  • Viktoria 89 Berlin
    Viktoria 89 Berlin
    Berliner Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 is a German sports club based in the Tempelhof district of Berlin. Football, rugby, and cricket came to continental Europe in the late 19th century, and these "English games" became immediately popular in many countries. Viktoria is the oldest club in Germany...

    , (SG Tempelhof)

Disbanding of the Oberliga

With the introduction of the new Bundesliga, the Oberligas were disbanded. The top team of the Oberliga Berlin was admitted to the Bundesliga, the clubs placed second to eight went to the Regionalliga Berlin
Regionalliga Berlin (1963-74)
The Regionalliga Berlin was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the city of West-Berlin in Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It was by far the smallest of the five Regionalligen.-Overview:...

, one of the five new second divisions. The bottom two teams were relegated to the Amateurliga Berlin while the top three from the Amateurliga were promoted.

Admitted to Bundesliga:
  • Hertha BSC Berlin
    Hertha BSC Berlin
    Hertha Berliner Sport-Club von 1892, commonly known as Hertha BSC or Hertha Berlin, is a German association football club based in Berlin. A founding member of the German Football Association in Leipzig in 1900, the club has a long history as Berlin's best-supported side...



The following teams from the Oberliga went to the new Regionalliga:
  • Tasmania 1900 Berlin
    Tasmania 1900 Berlin
    SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin was a German association football club based in the Berlin district of Neukölln.- Tasmania 1900 :The team was founded on 2 June 1900 as Rixdorfer TuFC Tasmania 1900, changing its name when Rixdorf was re-named Neukölln in 1912...

  • Tennis Borussia Berlin
    Tennis Borussia Berlin
    Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in Berlin-Westend.- History :The team was founded in 1902 and takes its name from its origins as a tennis and ping-pong club. "Borussia" is a Latinised version of Prussia. In 1903 the club took up football and quickly developed a rivalry with...

  • Spandauer SV
    Spandauer SV
    Spandauer SV is a German association football club that plays in Berlin.-Early years:The capital city was one of the earliest centres of German football and was home to 1. Spandauer Fußballklub Triton, formed on 24 May 1894, and Sportclub Germania Spandau, formed on 15 October 1895...

  • Hertha Zehlendorf
    Hertha Zehlendorf
    The Hertha Zehlendorf is a German association football club from the suburb of Zehlendorf, Berlin.The club, one of the largest football clubs in the country, has a strong youth department which has developed a number of international players, not just for Germany and having won two national youth...

  • Wacker 04 Berlin
  • BFC Südring
    BFC Südring
    BFC Südring is a German football club from the city of Berlin. The club was formed on 15 June 1935 as Sportclub Südring Berlin out of the membership of Spielvereinigung Fichte Berlin, a worker's club that was banned in 1933 under the politically motivated policies of the Third Reich, which saw the...

  • BSV 1892 Berlin
    Berliner SV
    Berliner SV 1892 is a German association football club from the district of Wilmersdorf, Berlin. BSV 1892 is one of the country's oldest clubs and was a founding member of the DFB in 1900....



Relegated to the Amateurliga:
  • Viktoria 89 Berlin
    Viktoria 89 Berlin
    Berliner Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 is a German sports club based in the Tempelhof district of Berlin. Football, rugby, and cricket came to continental Europe in the late 19th century, and these "English games" became immediately popular in many countries. Viktoria is the oldest club in Germany...

  • SC Tegel

Qualifying to the Bundesliga

The qualifying system for the new league was fairly complex. The league placings of the clubs playing in the Oberligen for the last ten seasons were taken into consideration, whereby results from 1952 to 1955 counted once, results from 1955 to 1959 counted double and results from 1959 to 1963 triple. A first place finish was awarded 16 points, a sixteenth place one point. Appearances in the German championship or DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...

 finals were also rewarded with points. The five Oberliga champions of the 1962-63 season were granted direct access to the Bundesliga. All up, 46 clubs applied for the 16 available Bundesliga slots.

Following this system, by 11 January 1963, the DFB announced nine fixed clubs for the new league and reduced the clubs eligible for the remaining seven places to 20. Clubs within the same Oberliga that were separated by less than 50 points were considered on equal rank and the 1962-63 placing was used to determined the qualified team.

From this league, only three clubs applied for the one available spot, Hertha BSC Berlin qualified early.

Points table:
Rank Club Points 1952 to 1963 Place in 1962–63
1 Hertha BSC Berlin 1 346 1
2 Tasmania 1900 Berlin 3 324 2
3 Viktoria 89 Berlin 3 318 9
  • Source: DSFS Liga-Chronik , page: B 12, accessed: 4 November 2008
  • Bold denotes club qualified for the new Bundesliga.
  • 1 denotes club was one of the nine selected on 11 January 1963.
  • 2 denotes club was one of the 20 taken into final selection.
  • 3 denotes club was one of the 15 applicants which were removed from final selection.
  • 4 denotes club withdrew Bundesliga application.

Winners and runners-up of the Oberliga Berlin

Season Winner Runner-Up
1945-46 BSV 1892 Berlin Alemannia 90 Berlin
1946-47 Tennis Borussia Berlin BSV 1892 Berlin
1947-48 Union 06 Oberschöneweide BSV 1892 Berlin
1948-49 BSV 1892 Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin
1949-50 Tennis Borussia Berlin Union 06 Oberschöneweide
1950-51 Tennis Borussia Berlin Union 06 Berlin
1951-52 Tennis Borussia Berlin Union 06 Berlin
1952-53 Union 06 Berlin Spandauer SV
1953-54 BSV 1892 Berlin Minerva 93 Berlin
1954-55 Viktoria 89 Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin
1955-56 Viktoria 89 Berlin Minerva 93 Berlin
1956-57 Hertha BSC Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin
1957-58 Tennis Borussia Berlin Viktoria 89 Berlin
1958-59 Tasmania 1900 Berlin Spandauer SV
1959-60 Tasmania 1900 Berlin Hertha BSC Berlin
1960-61 Hertha BSC Berlin Tasmania 1900 Berlin
1961-62 Tasmania 1900 Berlin Hertha BSC Berlin
1962-63 Hertha BSC Berlin Tasmania 1900 Berlin
  • Union 06 Oberschöneweide
    1. FC Union Berlin
    1. FC Union Berlin is a German association football club based in Berlin. It is one of two sides in the city bearing the name Union that emerged during the Cold War and played in East Germany, while the other played in the west. The club currently plays in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga.-Foundation to...

    , a club from East Berlin, left the unified league in 1950. Its players moved to West Berlin and formed Union 06 Berlin.

Placings & overall table of the Oberliga Berlin 1946 to 1963

Club 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 S G GF GA Points
Tennis Borussia Berlin
Tennis Borussia Berlin
Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in Berlin-Westend.- History :The team was founded in 1902 and takes its name from its origins as a tennis and ping-pong club. "Borussia" is a Latinised version of Prussia. In 1903 the club took up football and quickly developed a rivalry with...

 
1 3 2 1 1 1 3 6 2 7 2 1 7 6 3 3 3 17 434 1038 599 561
BSV 1892 Berlin 2 2 1 3 4 8 5 1 3 3 8 4 8 4 8 5 8 17 421 833 678 483
Spandauer SV
Spandauer SV
Spandauer SV is a German association football club that plays in Berlin.-Early years:The capital city was one of the earliest centres of German football and was home to 1. Spandauer Fußballklub Triton, formed on 24 May 1894, and Sportclub Germania Spandau, formed on 15 October 1895...

6 11 6 6 2 4 6 4 7 3 2 3 4 4 4 15 374 736 586 427
Viktoria 89 Berlin
Viktoria 89 Berlin
Berliner Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 is a German sports club based in the Tempelhof district of Berlin. Football, rugby, and cricket came to continental Europe in the late 19th century, and these "English games" became immediately popular in many countries. Viktoria is the oldest club in Germany...

12 5 9 7 3 4 7 1 1 4 2 4 7 6 9 9 16 408 811 773 412
Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha Berliner Sport-Club von 1892, commonly known as Hertha BSC or Hertha Berlin, is a German association football club based in Berlin. A founding member of the German Football Association in Leipzig in 1900, the club has a long history as Berlin's best-supported side...

10 3 4 13 7 10 1 6 3 2 1 2 1 13 345 760 570 404
Tasmania 1900 Berlin
Tasmania 1900 Berlin
SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin was a German association football club based in the Berlin district of Neukölln.- Tasmania 1900 :The team was founded on 2 June 1900 as Rixdorfer TuFC Tasmania 1900, changing its name when Rixdorf was re-named Neukölln in 1912...

7 8 12 9 6 5 1 1 2 1 2 11 299 565 406 359
Wacker 04 Berlin 3 5 6 5 11 9 9 9 8 12 10 10 5 5 8 6 16 396 677 775 352
Union 06 Berlin 2 2 1 3 5 6 3 9 9 11 10 11 283 533 529 295
Alemannia 90 Berlin 4 4 4 4 5 5 7 5 9 11 12 11 252 508 465 265
Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin 6 11 12 7 6 10 10 5 5 8 5 9 12 293 451 569 263
BFC Südring
BFC Südring
BFC Südring is a German football club from the city of Berlin. The club was formed on 15 June 1935 as Sportclub Südring Berlin out of the membership of Spielvereinigung Fichte Berlin, a worker's club that was banned in 1933 under the politically motivated policies of the Third Reich, which saw the...

9 7 8 6 14 11 11 11 11 7 6 7 12 296 443 671 218
Minerva 93 Berlin 9 9 11 8 2 4 2 10 11 9 208 349 408 200
Hertha Zehlendorf
Hertha Zehlendorf
The Hertha Zehlendorf is a German association football club from the suburb of Zehlendorf, Berlin.The club, one of the largest football clubs in the country, has a strong youth department which has developed a number of international players, not just for Germany and having won two national youth...

11 8 9 7 6 8 9 7 9 9 232 346 425 196
BFC Nordstern 07 7 12 10 10 8 12 6 138 216 351 101
Union Oberschöneweide * 1 3 2 3 67 189 87 98
VfB Pankow * 8 7 8 3 66 92 133 56
Köpenicker SC * 8 9 10 3 66 114 140 53
SC Staaken 5 10 2 44 80 148 33
VfB Britz 11 13 2 48 61 114 30
SV Lichtenberg 47 * 10 12 2 44 63 106 28
SC Westend 01  10 13 2 52 65 126 28
Kickers 1900 Berlin  12 10 2 49 47 131 24
Rapide Wedding 12 12 2 55 60 148 21
Norden-Nordwest Berlin
Norden-Nordwest Berlin
SV Norden-Nordwest is a German association football club from Berlin. It was established as Berliner Fußball Club des Nordens on 16 October 1898 and in 1906 merged with Berliner Fußball Club Norden-West, also established in 1898, to play as FC Norden-Nordwest Berlin...

 
10 1 30 41 73 20
SC Tegel 10 1 27 39 85 15
SG Stadtmitte 11 1 22 34 61 13
VfL Nord 12 14 2 48 47 167 13
SSC Südwest 12 1 24 32 64 12

Source:

Source:
  • Table includes results from the finals rounds of the German championship.
  • * denotes clubs based in East Berlin.

Sources

  • Kicker Almanach, The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine
    Kicker (sports magazine)
    kicker Sportmagazin is Germany's leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, in Nuremberg...

  • Die Deutsche Liga-Chronik 1945-2005 History of German football from 1945 to 2005 in tables, publisher: DSFS, published: 2006

External links

Das deutsche Fussball Archiv Historic German league tables Oberliga Berlin at Fussballdaten.de
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