Western German football championship
Encyclopedia
| Western German football championship |
|---|
| Founded |
| 1903 |
| Disbanded |
| 1933 |
| Nation |
 German Empire The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German... |
.svg.png) 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... |
 |
| Region Region Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity... |
| Western Germany Western Germany The geographic term Western Germany is used to describe a region in the west of Germany. The exact area defined by the term is not constant, but it usually includes, but does not have the borders of, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse... |
| Number of Seasons |
| 25 |
| Replaced by |
| Gauliga Hessen Gauliga Hessen The Gauliga Hessen was the highest football league in the German state of Hesse and the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1933 to 1945. From 1941, it was renamed Gauliga Kurhessen... |
| Gauliga Mittelrhein Gauliga Mittelrhein The Gauliga Mittelrhein was the highest football league in the central and southern part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gaue Köln-Aachen and Moselland replaced the... |
| Gauliga Niederrhein Gauliga Niederrhein The Gauliga Niederrhein was the highest football league in the northern part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gaue Essen and Düsseldorf replaced the Prussian province in... |
| Gauliga Westfalen Gauliga Westfalen The Gauliga Westphalia was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Westphalia and the small Free State of Lippe from 1933 to 1945... |
| 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... |
| Last Champions 1932-33 |
| FC Schalke 04 FC Schalke 04 Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major... |
The Western German football championship (German: Westdeutsche Fußball Meisterschaft) was the highest association football competition in Western Germany
Western Germany
The geographic term Western Germany is used to describe a region in the west of Germany. The exact area defined by the term is not constant, but it usually includes, but does not have the borders of, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse...
, in the Prussian
Provinces of Prussia
The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in...
Province of Westphalia
Province of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
, the Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
, the northern parts of the province of Hesse-Nassau as well as the Principality of Lippe
Principality of Lippe
Lippe was a historical state in Germany. It was located between the Weser River and the southeast part of the Teutoburg forest.-History:...
, later to become the Free State of Lippe
Free State of Lippe
The Free State of Lippe was a German state formed after the Principality of Lippe was abolished following the German Revolution of 1918.After the end of World War II, Lippe was restored from Nazi rule. This autonomy ended in January 1947 when British forces incorporated Lippe into the new German...
. The competition was disbanded in 1933 with the rise of the Nazis to power.
It is not to be confused with the German championship in what was commonly referred to as West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
from 1949 to 1990.
Overview
German football was, from its beginnings, divided into regional associations, which carried out their own championship, which often pre-dated the national German championshipGerman football champions
The German football champions are the annual winners of the highest association football competition in Germany. The history of the German football championship is complex and reflects the turbulent history of the country through the course of the 20th century.Brought to the country by English...
. With the interception of the later in 1903, the former became qualifying tournaments for it but these regional championships still held a high value for the local clubs. These regional championships were:
- Southern German football championshipSouthern German football championshipThe Southern German football championship was the highest association football competition in the South of Germany, established in 1898...
- formed in 1898 - Brandenburg football championshipBrandenburg football championshipThe Brandenburg football championship was the highest association football competition in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg, including Berlin, established in 1898...
- formed in 1898 - Central German football championshipCentral German football championshipThe Central German football championship was the highest association football competition in Central Germany, in what is now the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, established in 1902...
- formed in 1902 - Western German football championship - formed in 1903
- March football championship - existed from 1903 to 1911
- Northern German football championshipNorthern German football championshipThe Northern German football championship , operated by Norddeutscher Fußball-Verband , was the highest association football competition in Northern Germany, in the Prussian provinces of Schleswig-Holstein and Hanover and the German states of Hamburg, Lübeck, Mecklenburg-Schwerin,...
- formed in 1906 - South Eastern German football championshipSouth Eastern German football championshipThe South Eastern German football championship was the highest association football competition in the Prussian provinces of Silesia, which was divided into the Province of Lower Silesia and the Province of Upper Silesia after 1919, and Posen, which mostly became part of Poland in 1919...
- formed in 1906 - Baltic football championshipBaltic football championshipThe Baltic football championship was the highest association football competition in the Prussian provinces of East Prussia, Pomerania and West Prussia. The competition was disbanded in 1933....
- formed in 1908
All this regional championships were suspended with the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933. At the end of the Second World War, some resumed, now in league format. Others completely disappeared, like the Baltic championship, as the territories they were held in were not part of Germany any more. With the South West German football championship, a new regional competition also appeared in 1945. Ultimately, with the formation of the Fußball-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...
, all this regional championships ceased altogether.
Background
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
:
- Hesse-Nassau, northern parts only, from 1906
- Rhine ProvinceRhine ProvinceThe Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
northern parts only - Province of WestphaliaProvince of WestphaliaThe Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
- Principality of LippePrincipality of LippeLippe was a historical state in Germany. It was located between the Weser River and the southeast part of the Teutoburg forest.-History:...
With the defeat of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1918 and the formation of a Republic, the former Kingdoms and Principalities became states. For the two Prussian provinces, this only meant that the Kingdom was replaced with the Free State of Prussia
Free State of Prussia (1918-1933)
The Free State of Prussia was a German state formed after the abolition of the Kingdom of Prussia in the aftermath of World War I. It was the major state of Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic, comprising almost 5/8 of its territory and population...
, while the Principality was transformed into the Free State of Lippe
Free State of Lippe
The Free State of Lippe was a German state formed after the Principality of Lippe was abolished following the German Revolution of 1918.After the end of World War II, Lippe was restored from Nazi rule. This autonomy ended in January 1947 when British forces incorporated Lippe into the new German...
.
Football association
On 23 October 1898, the Rheinischer Spielverband was formed, initially without the clubs from the region around KasselKassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, who moved across in 1906. In 1900, the Rheinisch-Westfälischen Spielverband was formed, which, in 1907, was renamed Westdeutscher Spielverband.
1903 to 1914
The Western German football championship was first contested in 1903 and won by the Cölner FC 1899. It consisted of three clubs, one each from EssenEssen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach , formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border....
, then spelled München-Gladbach, and was determined in a group stage with home-and-away games. The winner of this first competition did not take part in the first edition of the national German championship.
To qualify for the Western German championship, a club had to take out the title in its regional competition or league. As more football clubs were formed in Germany, the number of leagues increased and thereby also the numbers of clubs taking part in the Western championship.
The second edition was played out in the same modus and its champion was permitted to enter the national finals for the first time. A round of deciders was necessary to determine the Western champion as all three clubs sat on equal points. In 1906, the championship was expanded to four clubs with a decider once more being necessary to determine the champion.
In 1907, the system to determine the Western champion was altered to a knockout modus with six clubs participating, increased to seven for the following year and eight in 1909. The championship continued to operate as a knockout competition in the following years, and, in 1913, Duisburger SV became the first club from the west to reach a national German final, losing 3-1 to VfB Leipzig, who thereby won a record third German championship. The Duisburger SV in turn was an early powerhouse of western football, continuing to win regional championships up until the late 1920s.
The last pre-First World War season, 1914, saw a return to the finals being played as a league with home-and-away games. Five clubs were meant to compete but Düsseldorfer SV was deemed to have been determined to late as local champions and it was barred from participating.
1914 to 1919
In 1914-15, football in Germany had come to an almost complete halt. As it became clear, that the war would last longer than anticipated, local competitions restarted in 1915. In most regions of Germany, like the South, the championships were restarted from 1915 onwards but in the West, this was not so. A Western German Championship was not played again until 1920.1920 to 1933
As a consequence of the lost war, a strip of land along the German - BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
border was awarded to the later, with the cities of Eupen
Eupen
Eupen is a municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border , from the Dutch border and from the "High Fens" nature reserve...
and Malmedy
Malmedy
Malmedy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region, Province of Liège. It belongs to the French Community of Belgium, within which it is French-speaking with facilities for German-speakers. On January 1, 2006 Malmedy had a total population of 11,829...
becoming part of Belgium. These were the only territorial changes within the area of the Western championship.
The Western German championship was restarted in 1920 with eight clubs in a knockout system. The eight clubs represented the following regions:
- Berg/Mark
- Hesse/Hannover
- North Rhine
- Ruhr
- South Rhine
- South Westphalia
- Westphalia
- West Rhine
The following year, a return to a five-team group stage was made to determine the champion. In 1922, this was expanded to six clubs.
Western German football took a very different approach to its football championships from 1922 to 1924, expanded the local competitions to last over two years. The German championship still being an annual event, a Western championship was nevertheless needed in order to determine the club who would participate in the national finals. The seven top-of-the-table sides at the time therefore played a knockout competition to do so in 1923, something of an oddity. The 1924 championship, with seven clubs and a single round of games in a league format, was the proper Western German championship for 1922-24.
In 1925, a seven-team league was once more employed to determine the champion. The German championship had now been enlarged to sixteen clubs and for the West this meant, it could send three clubs to the national finals from now on.
Until 1928, the format of the Western championship did not change, but in 1929, the championship was enlarged to eight clubs in two groups of four. The two top-teams in each group then moved on to a four-team finals group. All games were played as single round, not home-and-away. This system remained in place until 1931.
In 1932 and 1933, eight clubs played in a knockout format once more. It was after this last edition of the Western championship, that the first German title went to the West, when Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf
' is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, currently playing in the second tier of German league football, the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga...
beat FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
3-0. After 30 years of little national success, the clubs from the west, led by Schalke, would dominate the German championship from now on.
Aftermath
The Western German championship was replaced with four regional Gauligen by the Nazis in 1933, a quarter of the 16 new tier-one football leagues in the country. In the era that followed, the clubs from Western Germany saw a fast improvement in their performance, taking out twelve national championships until 1963.After the end of the Second World War, Germany remained divided until 1991 and the new Oberliga West, formed in 1947, covered most of the heartland of the old Western German championship, being considered the successor to the later. The region of northern Hesse became part of the new Oberliga Süd instead, while the southern parts of the Rhine province became part of the new state of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
and the 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:...
.
Western German football champions
German champions in bold:{| border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0>
|
{| class="wikitable"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dfdfdf"
|width="70"|Season
|width="150"|Winner
|width="150"|Runner-Up
|width="60"|Result
|- align="center"
| 1903
| Cölner FC 1899
| Essener SV 1899
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1904
| Duisburger SV
| Bonner FV
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1905
| Duisburger SV
| not determined
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1906
| Cölner FC 1899
| Duisburger SV
| 3-2
|- align="center"
| 1907
| Düsseldorfer FC 1899
| Casseler FV 3
| 7-0
|- align="center"
| 1908
| Duisburger SV
| FC München-Gladbach 2
| 5-0
|- align="center"
| 1909
| FC München-Gladbach
| Preußen Duisburg
| 3-2 aet
|- align="center"
| 1910
| Duisburger SV
| Casseler FV
| 6-1
|- align="center"
| 1911
| Duisburger SV
| Vfvb Ruhrort
| 3-0
|- align="center"
| 1912
| Cölner BC 1901
| Borussia München-Gladbach
| 4-2
|- align="center"
| 1913
| Duisburger SV
| Arminia Bielefeld
Arminia Bielefeld
DSC Arminia Bielefeld is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of football, field hockey, figure skating and cue sports. The club has 11,394 members and the club colours are black, white and blue...
| declared
|- align="center"
| 1914
| Duisburger SV
| Preußen Münster
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1915
| colspan=3 |not held
|- align="center"
| 1916
| colspan=3 |not held
|- align="center"
| 1917
| colspan=3 |not held
|- align="center"
| 1918
| colspan=3 |not held
|- align="center"
| 1919
| colspan=3 |not held
|- align="center"
| 1920
| VfTuR München-Gladbach
| Cölner BC 01
| 3-1
|- align="center"
| 1921
| Duisburger SV
| Kölner BC 01 2
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1922
| Arminia Bielefeld
| Kölner BC 01
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1923 4
| Arminia Bielefeld
| TuRu Düsseldorf
TuRU Düsseldorf
TuRU Düsseldorf is a German sports club from the city of Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:Turn- und Rasensport Union Düsseldorf claims a number of early Düsseldorf clubs in its heritage...
| 4-3 aet
|- align="center"
| 1924
| Duisburger SV
| Arminia Bielefeld
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1925
| Duisburger SV
| Schwarz-Weiß Essen
| declared
|- align="center"
| 1926
| VfR Köln
| BV Altenessen
BV Altenessen
BV Altenessen is a German football club from the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was established 6 May 1906 and had short turns as a first division side prior to World War II.-History:...
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1927
| Duisburger SV
| FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1928
| SpVgg Sülz 07
| Preußen Krefeld
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1929
| FC Schalke 04
| Duisburger SV
| 2-1
|- align="center"
| 1930
| FC Schalke 04
| VfL 06 Benrath
VfL 06 Benrath
VfL Benrath is a German association football club from the southern city district of Benrath in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:...
| 2-1
|- align="center"
| 1931
| Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf
' is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, currently playing in the second tier of German league football, the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga...
| VfB Bielefeld
| N/A
|- align="center"
| 1932
| FC Schalke 04
| Borussia Fulda
Borussia Fulda
Borussia Fulda is a German association football club from Fulda, Hesse. The club was founded 4 July 1904 as FC Borussia 1904 Fulda and underwent a number of changes in 1923 when they were first joined by Radsportclub 1907 Fulda in July, and then by Kraftsportklub Germania Fulda in September. On 6...
| 5-1
|- align="center"
| 1933
| FC Schalke 04
| Fortuna Düsseldorf
| 1-0
|}
- 1 From 1950 onwards, München-Gladbach was spelled as MönchengladbachMönchengladbachMönchengladbach , formerly known as Münchengladbach, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine half way between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border....
. - 2 From 1920 onwards, Cöln was spelled as KölnKOLNKOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials...
. - 3 From 1926 onwards, Cassel was spelled KasselKasselKassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. - 4 Not an official championship.
Winners and runners-up of the Oberliga West
The Oberliga West, formed in 1947, is considered to be a continuation of the Western German football championship. It only included teams from the newly formed state of North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
and was disbanded with the introduction of the Fußball-Bundesliga in 1963. This event marked the end of the Western German football championship.
{| class="wikitable"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dfdfdf"
|width="70"|Season
|width="150"|Winner
|width="150"|Runner-Up
|- align="center"
| 1947-48
| Borussia Dortmund
| Sportfreunde Katernberg
|- align="center"
| 1948-49
| Borussia Dortmund
| Rot-Weiß Essen
|- align="center"
| 1949-50
| Borussia Dortmund
| Preußen Dellbrück
|- align="center"
| 1950-51
| FC Schalke 04
| Preußen Münster
|- align="center"
| 1951-52
| Rot-Weiß Essen
| FC Schalke 04
|- align="center"
| 1952-53
| Borussia Dortmund
| 1. FC Köln
|- align="center"
| 1953-54
| 1. FC Köln
| Rot-Weiß Essen
|- align="center"
| 1954-55
| Rot-Weiß Essen
| SV Sodingen
|- align="center"
| 1955-56
| Borussia Dortmund
| FC Schalke 04
|- align="center"
| 1956-57
| Borussia Dortmund
| Duisburger SV
|- align="center"
| 1957-58
| FC Schalke 04
| 1. FC Köln
|- align="center"
| 1958-59
| Westfalia Herne
| 1. FC Köln
|- align="center"
| 1959-60
| 1. FC Köln
| Westfalia Herne
|- align="center"
| 1960-61
| 1. FC Köln
| Borussia Dortmund
|- align="center"
| 1961-62
| 1. FC Köln
| FC Schalke 04
|- align="center"
| 1962-63
| 1. FC Köln
| Borussia Dortmund
|}
Source:
- Bold denotes team went on to win German championship.
Further reading
- Stürmen für Deutschland: Die Geschichte des deutschen Fussballs von 1933, publisher: Campus Verlag
Sources
- Fussball-Jahrbuch Deutschland (8 vol.), Tables and results of the German tier-one leagues 1919-33, publisher: DSFS
- Kicker Almanach, The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports MagazineKicker (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...
External links
- The Gauligas Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv
- German league tables 1892-1933 Hirschi's Fussball seiten
- Germany - Championships 1902-1945 at RSSSF.com