SpVgg ASCO Königsberg
Encyclopedia
SpVgg ASCO Königsberg was a German association football club
from the city of Königsberg
, East Prussia
. The club was formed in 1919 out of the merger of Sportclub Ostpreußen 1902 Königsberg and Akademischer Sportclub Königsberg.
player Alfred Hirsch and seven of his teammates. The club selected colors and a crest based on symbols of the province: a black eagle on a white background. They were based in the district of Maraunenhof and played their earliest matches against their former parent side, but always came out as losers in those contests. By 1904, several members of the new club had in turn moved on to form Sportzirkel Samland
.
On 3 September 1904, SCO was a founding member of the city-based Verbandes Königsberger Ballspiel-Vereine and Hirsch served as the new league's first secretary. The following year the club formed an ice hockey department. Future partner Akademischer Sportclub Königsberg was established in April and the two clubs quickly struck up a friendly relationship, agreeing to share training facilites. SCO shared similarly friendly relations with other clubs, including SV 05 Elbing, organized by former Ostpreußen member Paul Unruh, while SC Prussia Insterburg was regarded as a sister club. SCO marked it's first ever win over longtime rival FC, now playing as VfB Königsberg, in 1913 (3-1).
During World War I
, the club's sporting activities were suspended and its sports field requisitioned by the military as a training area. SCO had considerable debt at the end of the war and the club's existence was in question. It was decided to merge with ASC at a meeting held 20 June 1919.
. In the following years, ASC was very active in organizing sporting events in the city.
, one of Germany's top-flight regional leagues. SpVgg earned successively poorer results in each campaign and was finally relegated in 1938 with the reorganization of the Gauliga the next season.
The club's sporting activities were again suspended due to war when Königsberg was subject to bombing beginning in August 1944. ASCO disappeared in 1945 following the end of World War II when the city was annexed by the Soviet Union
and renamed Kaliningrad
. However, the tradition of the club was carried on in West Germany with Traditionsgemeinschaft der Leichtathleten aus den deutschen Ostgebieten, an organization established by refugees from the country's former eastern territories.
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
from the city of Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. The club was formed in 1919 out of the merger of Sportclub Ostpreußen 1902 Königsberg and Akademischer Sportclub Königsberg.
Sportclub Ostpreußen 1902 Königsberg
Predecessor Ostpreußen was formed 1 August 1902, by former Königsberg FCVfB Königsberg
VfB Königsberg was a German association football club from the city of Königsberg, East Prussia.-History:The club was established on 7 July 1900 as Fußball-Club Königsberg, later being renamed VfB Königsberg in 1907...
player Alfred Hirsch and seven of his teammates. The club selected colors and a crest based on symbols of the province: a black eagle on a white background. They were based in the district of Maraunenhof and played their earliest matches against their former parent side, but always came out as losers in those contests. By 1904, several members of the new club had in turn moved on to form Sportzirkel Samland
SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg
SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg was a German association football club from the city of Königsberg, East Prussia .The club was founded in early 1904 as Fußball-Club Prussia Königsberg and in 1908 merged with Sportzirkel Samland Königsberg 1904 to form Sportvereinigung Prussia-Samland Königsberg...
.
On 3 September 1904, SCO was a founding member of the city-based Verbandes Königsberger Ballspiel-Vereine and Hirsch served as the new league's first secretary. The following year the club formed an ice hockey department. Future partner Akademischer Sportclub Königsberg was established in April and the two clubs quickly struck up a friendly relationship, agreeing to share training facilites. SCO shared similarly friendly relations with other clubs, including SV 05 Elbing, organized by former Ostpreußen member Paul Unruh, while SC Prussia Insterburg was regarded as a sister club. SCO marked it's first ever win over longtime rival FC, now playing as VfB Königsberg, in 1913 (3-1).
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the club's sporting activities were suspended and its sports field requisitioned by the military as a training area. SCO had considerable debt at the end of the war and the club's existence was in question. It was decided to merge with ASC at a meeting held 20 June 1919.
Akademischer Sportclub Königsberg
ASC was established on 15 April 1905 by students of Albertina University and grew quickly with departments for athletics, gymnastics, swimming, rowing, and several other sports. By 1906, the club was sharing sports facilties with SCO and later developed a similar relationship with SV Prussia-Samland KönigsbergSV Prussia-Samland Königsberg
SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg was a German association football club from the city of Königsberg, East Prussia .The club was founded in early 1904 as Fußball-Club Prussia Königsberg and in 1908 merged with Sportzirkel Samland Königsberg 1904 to form Sportvereinigung Prussia-Samland Königsberg...
. In the following years, ASC was very active in organizing sporting events in the city.
Spielvereinigung Akademischer Sportclub Ostpreußen Königsberg
Following the merger, the combined side remained active in several sports. The footballers of ASCO played three seasons (1936-38) in the Bezirk Königsberg, a division of the Gauliga OstpreußenGauliga Ostpreußen
The Gauliga Ostpreußen was the highest football league in the Prussian province of East Prussia and the Free City of Danzig from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gau East Prussia the Prussian province...
, one of Germany's top-flight regional leagues. SpVgg earned successively poorer results in each campaign and was finally relegated in 1938 with the reorganization of the Gauliga the next season.
The club's sporting activities were again suspended due to war when Königsberg was subject to bombing beginning in August 1944. ASCO disappeared in 1945 following the end of World War II when the city was annexed by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and renamed Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
. However, the tradition of the club was carried on in West Germany with Traditionsgemeinschaft der Leichtathleten aus den deutschen Ostgebieten, an organization established by refugees from the country's former eastern territories.