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2. Oberliga West

2. Oberliga West
Founded1949
Folded1963 (14 seasons)
Replaced byRegionalliga West
Country Germany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia
Level on pyramidLevel 2
Promotion toOberliga West
Relegation to
Last championsVfB Bottrop
(1962–63)

The 2. Oberliga West (English: 2nd Premier League West) was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the west of Germany from 1949 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany.

Overview

The 2. Oberliga West was formed in 1949 with two groups of sixteen teams each, as a feeder league to Oberliga West. It was the first of the three 2nd Oberligas, the other two being 2. Oberliga Süd (formed in 1950) and 2. Oberliga Südwest (in 1951). The league adopted a single group format starting from 1952: The top two teams of the 2. Oberliga gained promotion to the Oberliga while the bottom two teams were relegated to the Verbandsliga's. Some years, however, exceptions applied and the number of promoted and relegated teams altered.

In July 1955 the Westdeutscher Fußballverband decided to disband the league from 1956, but the German federation DFB outlawed this decision and the league continued its existence.[1]

Below the 2. Oberliga West ranked the Amateurliga's, varying in numbers (and names) but split into three zones, Niederrhein, Mittelrhein, and Westfalen :

  • Niederrhein: Landesliga Niederrhein in two groups until 1952, then three groups. From 1956 single-group Verbandsliga Niederrhein.
  • Mittelrhein: Landesliga Mittelrhein in a single group in 1950, two groups from 1951. From 1956 single-group Verbandsliga Mittelrhein.
  • Westfalen: Landesliga Westfalen in two groups in 1950, single group in 1951 and 1952, five groups from 1953. From 1956 two groups, Verbandsliga Westfalen 1 and Verbandsliga Westfalen 2.

The 2. Oberliga West existed until 1963, when it was replaced by the Regionalliga West as the second division for North Rhine-Westphalia.

SpVgg Herten is the only team to have played in the league for all 14 seasons.

Schwarz-Weiß Essen became the first second-division side to win the German Cup when they did so in 1959, an achievement later repeated by Kickers Offenbach and Hannover 96 in the history of German football.

Disbanding of the 2. Oberliga

In 1963, the league was disbanded in favor of the new Regionalliga. The first eight teams from this season went to the Regionalliga West. The clubs placed from ninth to sixteenth were relegated to the Verbandsligas.

The following teams were relegated to the Amateurligas:

Winners and runners-up of the 2. Oberliga

Season Winner Runner-Up
1949–50 Rheydter SV
Sportfreunde Katernberg
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Borussia Mönchengladbach
1950–51 MSV Duisburg
Bayer Leverkusen
Schwarz-Weiß Essen
SSV 04 Wuppertal
1951–52 SV Sodingen
Borussia Mönchengladbach
VfB Bottrop
TSG Vohwinkel
1952–53 VfL Bochum Rheydter SV
1953–54 Duisburger SV Westfalia Herne
1954–55 Wuppertaler SV SV Hamborn 07
1955–56 VfL Bochum MSV Duisburg
1956–57 SV Hamborn 07 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen
1957–58 STV Horst-Emscher Borussia Mönchengladbach
1958–59 SV Hamborn 07 Schwarz-Weiß Essen
1959–60 SV Sodingen TSV Marl-Hüls
1960–61 Schwarz–Weiß Essen Fortuna Düsseldorf
1961–62 Bayer Leverkusen Wuppertaler SV
1962–63 VfB Bottrop Duisburg 48/99

Placings in the 2. Oberliga West

The league placings from 1949 to 1963:[2]

Club 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63
Westfalia Herne 8 6 6 8 2 W W W W W W W W W
MSV Duisburg 4 1 W W W W 2 W W W W W W W
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen W W 3 11 4 8 8 2 W W W W W W
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2 W 1 W W W W W 2 W W W W W
Hamborn 07 W W W 10 7 2 W 1 W 1 W W W W
TSV Marl-Hüls 13 6 5 3 7 2 W W W
Schwarz-Weiß Essen 7 2 W W W W W W 7 2 W 1 W W
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2 W W W W W W W W W W 2 W W
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 5 1 W W W W W 4 4 4 5 3 1 W
Wuppertaler SV * 1 W W W 5 3 9 2 W
VfB Bottrop 11 2 7 10 3 3 3 5 6 6 13 11 1
Duisburg 48/99 14 7 9 2
SpVgg Herten 6 13 8 16 5 4 10 9 6 10 7 5 10 3
STV Horst-Emscher W W W W W 7 4 6 1 W 10 6 7 4
Sportfreunde Siegen 8 5
Rot-Weiß Essen W W W W W W W W W W W W 5 6
Arminia Bielefeld W 9 4 6 16 7
Duisburger SV W W 3 3 1 W W W W W W W W 8
SV Sodingen 4 1 W W W W W W W 1 W W 9
Eintracht Gelsenkirchen * 5 9 5 7 9 3 9 4 4 10
Sportfreunde Gladbeck 10 9 8 8 13 11
SC Dortmund 95 10 14 13 11 14 12 12
SV Neukirchen 6 13
VfL Bochum 12 7 5 1 W W 1 W W W W W 3 14
Duisburger FV 08 W 3 16 15
Bonner FV 16 4 10 14 16
VfL Benrath 13 5 14 14 8 8 12 11 15
SpVgg Erkenschwick W W W W 11 5 9 15 12 13 12 16
SSV Hagen 14 11 15
BV Osterfeld 16
Union Krefeld 5 13 5 13 8 9 12 8 13 11 15
Rheydter SV 1 W W 2 W 10 14 14 12 14 16
SG Düren 99 11 7 12 13 11 11 13 11 15
TuS Lintfort 16
SG Wattenscheid 09 13 10 7 5 3 6 7 12 15
VfB Marathon Remscheid 4 6 8 9 15 13 11 16
VfB Speldorf 16
Rhenania Würselen W 15 6 15 9 12 15
VfB Bielefeld 11 14 16
Sportfreunde Katernberg 1 W W W 6 15
TSG Vohwinkel * W 4 2 4 12
SSV Wuppertal * 3 2 4 14 14
TuRU Düsseldorf 15 10 9
Hombrucher FV 09 3 15 10
Preußen Krefeld 9 12 10
SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 14 3 11
TuS Essen-West 8 12
Union Ohligs 14 14 12
Fortuna Köln 16 13
Sportfreunde Wanne-Eickel 16 13
SpVgg Röhlinghausen 9 15
SC Rapid Köln 6 7 15
TSV Detmold 12 17
VfL Köln 99 8
SC West Köln 7 9
TuRa Essen 8
TB Eickel 10
Alemannia Gelsenkirchen * 10
VfL Witten 11
Viktoria Alsdorf 12
SSV Troisdorf 05 15
Union Gelsenkirchen * 16

Source: "2nd Oberliga West". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv. Archived from the original on 5 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-10.

Key

Symbol Key
W Oberliga West
1 League champions
Place League
Blank Played at a league level below this league

Notes

  • SSV Wuppertal and TSG Vohwinkel merged in 1954 to form Wuppertaler SV.
  • Union Gelsenkirchen merged with Alemannia Gelsenkirchen to form Eintracht Gelsenkirchen in 1950.

References

  1. ^ Spielzeit 1955/56 - Der DFB in Aufruhr: Revolutionsversuche Archived 2012-11-23 at the Wayback Machine (in German) www.revierkick.de, accessed: 31 July 2012
  2. ^ Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv (in German) Historical German domestic league tables

Sources

  • Kicker Almanach, (in German) The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine
  • Die Deutsche Liga-Chronik 1945-2005 (in German) History of German football from 1945 to 2005 in tables, publisher: DSFS, published: 2006