The 1959 Milli Lig was the first season of professional football in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. The league was made up of sixteen clubs split into two groups: the Kırmızı Grup (Red Group) and Beyaz Grup (White Group), the colours of the Turkish flag. The first season took place in the calendar year of 1959, instead of 1958-59, because the qualifying stages took place in 1958.

Overview

The top eight clubs from Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 and the top four club from Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

 and İzmir

Izmir

Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

 took part in the league. These clubs were Adalet

Alibeyköyspor

Alibeyköy S.K. is a Turkish sports club based in Alibeyköy quarter of Eyüp, Istanbul. It was founded in 1950 as Adaletspor with red-white colours. It changed its name as Alibeyköy Adalet in 1971 and as Alibeyköyspor in 1980. They played in Second League between 1980-1985...

, Beşiktaş

Besiktas J.K.

Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü , or simply Beşiktaş , is a Turkish sports club. The club's football team is one of the major teams in Turkey. The professional sports club, founded in 1903, is based in the Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey...

, Beykoz, Fatih Karagümrük

Fatih Karagümrük

Fatih Karagümrük is a football club in Turkey. The side currently plays in the TFF Third League, having been relegated in the 2007–2008 season....

, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray

Galatasaray S.K. (football team)

Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....

, Istanbulspor, Vefa (Istanbul), Ankaragücü

Ankaragücü

MKE Ankaragücü is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Ankara. The club wears a yellow and navy kit and play their home matches at Ankara 19 Mayis....

, Ankara Demirspor

Ankara Demirspor

Ankara Demirspor is a Turkish football club which plays in TFF Third League. They were one of First League's founder members in 1958. They played 13 seasons in this league and relegated to Second League in 1971 and never returned.-History:...

, Gençlerbirliği

Gençlerbirligi

Gençlerbirliği Spor Kulübü is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Ankara, which is the capital of Turkey. Formed in 1923, Gençlerbirliği are nicknamed Ankara Rüzgârı . The club colours are black and red. They play their home matches at Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium.Domestically,...

, Hacettepe (Ankara), Altay, Göztepe

Göztepe A.S.

Göztepe SK are a Turkish sports club in Güzelyalı, İzmir.They were founded in 1925 as a breakaway club from Altay. Their colours are red-yellow. They merged with İzmirspor and were renamed as Doğanspor in 1937. Some supporters of İzmirspor opposed the merger and founded Ateşspor in 1938. Doğanspor...

, İzmirspor

Izmirspor

İzmirspor is а Turkish footbаllteаm from İzmir. They were founded with the name Altınayspor but in 1930 their new name was İzmirspor. They are currently playing in the Amateur league.-League Participations:...

, Karşıyaka (İzmir).

The final consisted of two legs and took place between the winners of each group. Galatasaray won the Kırmızı Grup and Fenerbahçe won the Beyaz Grup. Galatasaray won the first match 1-0, but Fenerbahçe won the second 4-0, winning 4-1 on aggregate. The league title was Fenerbahçe's first league title and they qualified for 1959-60 European Cup. Metin Oktay

Metin Oktay

Metin Oktay nicknamed the Uncrowned King by Galatasaray fans, was a legendary Turkish footballer and one of the most successful goalscorers in Turkey....

 finished top scorer with 11 goals. No clubs were relegated this season.

League table

Championship final

First leg
Second leg

1959 Milli Lig winners
Fenerbahçe S.K. First title

Results table

Kırmızı Grup
































































Beyaz Grup