Oberliga Berlin (1945–1963)

Last updated
Oberliga Berlin
Karte-DFB-Lage von Berlin (1947-1990).png
Founded1945
Folded1963 (18 seasons)
Replaced by Bundesliga
CountryFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
State Flag of Berlin.svg Berlin
Level on pyramid Level 1
Relegation to Amateurliga Berlin
Domestic cup(s) Berlin Cup
Last champions Hertha BSC
(1962–63)

The Oberliga Berlin (English: Premier league Berlin), sometimes also referred to as Stadtliga Berlin (English: City league Berlin) [1] or Vertragsliga Berlin (English: Contract league Berlin) [2] [3] was the highest level of the German football league system in the city of West Berlin in West Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It was by far the smallest of the five Oberligas.

Contents

Overview

The league was created in 1945, incorporating clubs from all four sectors of the allied-occupied Berlin. It replaced the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg 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:

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

With the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 the clubs in West Berlin suffered a substantial loss of revenue because they were cut off from supporters in the Eastern part of the city, causing the Oberliga clubs to suffer financially. Novel ideas were floated to combat the problem, like, instead of players receiving the maximum legal wage for a footballer in West Germany's top tier at the time, DM 400 per month, the players should only be paid for results, meaning they would not receive any money for games the club lost. [2]

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, was admitted to the new Bundesliga.

The four sectors of Allied occupation in Berlin Occupied Berlin.svg
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 was re-created, now as the third tier of German football. This was not the formation of a new league, but 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:

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, 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:

The following teams from the Oberliga went to the new Regionalliga:

Relegated to the Amateurliga:

Qualifying for 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 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 determine the qualified team. [4]

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

Points table:

RankClubPoints 1952 to 1963Place in 1962–63
1Hertha BSC Berlin13461
2Tasmania 1900 Berlin 33242
3Viktoria 89 Berlin 33189

Honours

The winners and runners-up of the Oberliga Berlin: [5]

SeasonWinnerRunner-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 BerlinTennis Borussia Berlin
1949–50 Tennis Borussia BerlinUnion 06 Oberschöneweide
1950–51 Tennis Borussia Berlin Union 06 Berlin
1951–52 Tennis Borussia BerlinUnion 06 Berlin
1952–53 Union 06 Berlin Spandauer SV
1953–54 BSV 1892 Berlin Minerva Berlin
1954–55 Viktoria 89 Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin
1955–56 Viktoria 89 BerlinMinerva Berlin
1956–57 Hertha BSC Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin
1957–58 Tennis Borussia BerlinViktoria 89 Berlin
1958–59 Tasmania 1900 BerlinSpandauer SV
1959–60 Tasmania 1900 BerlinHertha BSC Berlin
1960–61 Hertha BSC BerlinTasmania 1900 Berlin
1961–62 Tasmania 1900 BerlinHertha BSC Berlin
1962–63 Hertha BSC BerlinTasmania 1900 Berlin

Placings & all-time table of the Oberliga Berlin

The final placings and all-time table of the Oberliga Berlin: [5]

Club 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 SGGFGAPoints
Tennis Borussia Berlin 13211136272176333174341038599561
BSV 1892 Berlin 2213485133848485817421833678483
Spandauer SV 611662464732344415374736586427
Viktoria 89 Berlin 1259734711424769916408811773412
Hertha BSC 103413710163212113345760570404
SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin 78129651121211299565406359
Wacker 04 Berlin 3565119998121010558616396677775352
SC Union 06 Berlin 221356399111011283533529295
Alemannia 90 Berlin 444455759111211252508465265
Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin 611127610105585912293451569263
BFC Südring 9786141111111176712296443671218
Minerva Berlin 9911824210119208349408200
Hertha Zehlendorf 11897689799232346425196
BFC Nordstern 71210108126138216351101
Union Oberschöneweide *1323671898798
VfB Pankow *8783669213356
Köpenicker SC *891036611414053
SC Staaken 5102448014833
VfB Britz 11132486111430
SV Lichtenberg 47 *10122446310628
SC Westend 01 10132526512628
Kickers 1900 Berlin 12102494713124
Rapide Wedding 12122556014821
Norden-Nordwest Berlin 10130417320
SC Tegel 10127398515
SG Stadtmitte Berlin 11122346113
VfL Nord Berlin 12142484716713
SSC Südwest 12124326412

Source: "Oberliga Berlin". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Retrieved 2008-01-10.

Source: "All-time table of the Oberligas". Clas Glenning. Archived from the original on 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2008-01-10.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spandauer SV</span> German football club

Spandauer SV was a German football club from Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wacker 04 Berlin</span> German football club

Wacker 04 Berlin was a German football club based in Berlin. The club folded in 1994 after becoming insolvent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regionalliga Süd (1963–1974)</span> Football league

The Regionalliga Süd was the second-highest level of the German football league system. It existed in the south of West Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oberliga Südwest (1945–1963)</span> Football league

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 Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regionalliga Südwest (1963–1974)</span> Football league

The Regionalliga Südwest was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of West Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the states of Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2. Bundesliga Süd (1974–1981)</span> Football league

The 2. Bundesliga Süd was the second-highest level of the West German football league system in the south of West Germany from its introduction in 1974 until the formation of the single-division 2. Bundesliga in 1981. It covered the southern states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Bavaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2. Bundesliga Nord (1974–1981)</span> Football league

The 2. Bundesliga Nord was the second-highest level of the West German football league system in the north of West Germany from its introduction in 1974 until the formation of the single-division 2. Bundesliga in 1981. It covered the northern states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and the city of West Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regionalliga West (1963–1974)</span> Football league

The Regionalliga West was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, the most populous state of Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regionalliga Nord (1963–1974)</span> Football league

The Regionalliga Nord was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2. Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the states of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

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 Regionalligas.

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.

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 disbanded. In 1974, the league changed its name from Amateurliga Berlin to Amateur-Oberliga Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertha Zehlendorf</span> Association football club in Germany

The Hertha Zehlendorf is a German football club from the suburb of Zehlendorf in Berlin, currently playing in Regionalliga Nordost, the fourth tier of German football.

BSC Kickers 1900 is a German football club from the Schöneberg district of south central Berlin. The roots of the club are in the establishment of Berliner Thor- und Fußball Club Elf on 1 November 1900. This was followed by a series of mergers that led to the formation of Schöneberger FC Kickers 1900 in 1923 and the club's advance to first division play in the Oberliga Berlin-Brandenburg (I).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFC Südring</span> German football club

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 dissolution of left-leaning worker's clubs like Fichte as well as clubs with religious affiliations.

The Introduction of the Bundesliga was the long-debated step of establishing a top-level association football league in Germany in 1963. The new league, the Bundesliga, played its first season in 1963–64 and continues to be the highest league in the country. Its introduction reduced the number of first division teams in Germany from 74 to 16 and finally eliminated the problem of the top-teams having to play uncompetitive teams in regional leagues.

The Introduction of the 2. Bundesliga was the step of establishing a professional second tier association football league in Germany in 1974. The new league, the 2. Bundesliga, played its first season in 1974–75 and continues to be the second-highest league in the country. Its introduction reduced the number of second divisions in Germany from five to two and the number of teams at this level from 83 to 40. It eliminated the necessity of having a promotion round at the end of the season to determine the two teams promoted to the Bundesliga.

The 1974–75 season of the Oberliga was the inaugural season of the Oberliga as a tier-three league. The Oberligas, then as tier-one leagues, had been disestablished after the 1962–63 season, when the Bundesliga was introduced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1960–61 Oberliga</span> Football league season

The 1960–61 Oberliga was the sixteenth season of the Oberliga, the first tier of the football league system in West Germany. The league operated in five regional divisions, Berlin, North, South, Southwest and West. The five league champions and the runners-up from the west, south, southwest and north then entered the 1961 German football championship which was won by 1. FC Nürnberg. It was 1. FC Nürnberg's eighth national championship and its first since 1948.

References

  1. ↑ Stadtliga Westberlin 1950 bis 1963 (in German) die-fans.de, accessed: 22 December 2015
  2. 1 2 BERLIN: Harte Zeiten (in German) Der Spiegel , published: 18 April 1962, accessed: 22 December 2015
  3. ↑ Als ein Flüchtling 1951 zum Helden für Hertha wurde (in German) Der Tagesspiegel , published: 4 February 2011, accessed: 22 December 2015
  4. ↑ DSFS Ligachronik: Qualifikation zur Bundesliga 1963 (in German), page: B 11 - 12, publisher: Deutscher Sportclub für Fussballstatistik - DSFS, accessed: 3 November 2008
  5. 1 2 Germany - Oberliga Berlin 1945-63 rsssf.org, accessed: 15 December 2015

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.