BSC Kickers 1900 Berlin
Encyclopedia
BSC Kickers 1900 Berlin is a German association 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).
(1:3).
The following season Kickers adopted the name Berliner Sport-Club 1900 Kickers. Their play slipped and after a 10th place finish in 1931, the team was bankrupted and out of first division play. A new club called Berliner SC Grün-Weiß-Rot was quickly formed (1 July 1931) out of the ashes of the old, and it took on the name Kickers on 1 January 1934. The club remained an anonymous side in lower-tier city play over the next decade-and-half.
(I) for a single season on the strength of a second place Amateurliga result.
Following the formation of the top-flight Bundesliga
in 1963, the Amateurliga became a third-tier circuit. Another second place finish there in 1966 saw Kickers promoted to the Regionalliga Berlin (II) where they would remain for four seasons until being sent down in 1970. They made single-season appearances in Oberliga (IV) and Landesliga (V) in 1974 and 1996 respectively, but have since slipped to obscurity, descending through Bezirksliga to play most of the past four decades in the Kreisliga
. Kickers are today part of the Kreisliga B (X).
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 Schöneberg
Schöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
district of south central 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...
. The roots of the club are in the establishment of Berliner Thor- und Fußball Club Elf
Berliner TuFC Elf
Berliner Thor- und Fußballclub Elf 1900 was a German association football club from the Schöneberg district of south central Berlin. Predecessor to current day club BSC Kickers 1900 Berlin, it was established 1 November 1900 — which Kickers take as their foundation date — and was active as an...
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
Oberliga Berlin-Brandenburg
The Oberliga Berlin-Brandenburg was the highest association football competition in the Prussian Province of Brandenburg, including Berlin, from 1923 to 1933...
(I).
Early mergers
From 1904 to 1906, predecessor BTuFC Elf was part of the Märkischen Meisterschaft, one of two competing top-flight city leagues, where they earned only lower table finishes. On 1 January 1912, they merged with Berliner Fußballclub Hubertus 05 (established 23 September 1905) to form Berliner Sport-Club Hubertuself. A subsequent merger with Ballspielverein Sportlust-Borussia 1899 Schöneberg in 1923 created Kickers. BSV was the product of an earlier 1920 union between TuFC Sportlust 1904 and Schöneberger FC Borussia which had been formed 1 March 1899 as Berliner TuFC Borussia.Success through the 1920s
Schöneberger Kickers were a competitive side in the early 1920s, and after a second place finish in Staffel B of the Oberliga Berlin-Brandenburg in 1925–26, followed up with a first place result the next season. They lost the divisional final to Hertha Berlin, but still advanced to the national level playoff. They beat Duisburger SV (5:4) in an eighthfinal match-up, before being convincingly put out in the quarterfinals by defending national champions SpVgg Fürth (0:9). The team also took part in the 1927 Berliner Pokal (Berlin Cup) where the advanced out of the quarterfinal by beating BV Luckenwalde (2:1) before being eliminated in the semifinals by Viktoria 89 BerlinViktoria 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...
(1:3).
The following season Kickers adopted the name Berliner Sport-Club 1900 Kickers. Their play slipped and after a 10th place finish in 1931, the team was bankrupted and out of first division play. A new club called Berliner SC Grün-Weiß-Rot was quickly formed (1 July 1931) out of the ashes of the old, and it took on the name Kickers on 1 January 1934. The club remained an anonymous side in lower-tier city play over the next decade-and-half.
Postwar play
After World War II, occupying Allied authorities disbanded organizations throughout the country, including sports and football clubs. The former membership of Kickers became part of the community-based Sportgruppe Schöneberg Nord which took up play in the postwar Stadtliga Berlin in 1945–46 and the Amateurliga Berlin (II) in 1946–47. By 1949, SG re-adopted its historical identity as Kickers and in 1953 advanced to the Oberliga BerlinOberliga 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...
(I) for a single season on the strength of a second place Amateurliga result.
Following the formation of the top-flight 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, the Amateurliga became a third-tier circuit. Another second place finish there in 1966 saw Kickers promoted to the Regionalliga Berlin (II) where they would remain for four seasons until being sent down in 1970. They made single-season appearances in Oberliga (IV) and Landesliga (V) in 1974 and 1996 respectively, but have since slipped to obscurity, descending through Bezirksliga to play most of the past four decades in the Kreisliga
Kreisliga
The Kreisliga is a low tier in league sports in Germany and the 9th tier of league soccer there.The Kreisligen usually rank right below the Bezirksligen, Bezirksklassen or Landesligen. Any teams finding themselves at the bottom of the Kreisligen would find themselves in one of the local...
. Kickers are today part of the Kreisliga B (X).