The 1952–53 Oberliga was the eighth season of the Oberliga, the first tier of the

football league system Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and the

Saar Protectorate The Saar Protectorate (german: Saarprotektorat ; french: Protectorat de la Sarre) officially Saarland (french: Sarre) was a French protectorate separated from Germany; which was later opposed by the Soviet Union, one side occupying Germany like ...

. The league operated in five regional divisions,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. The five league champions and the runners-up from the south, north and west then entered the

1953 German football championship The 1953 German football championship was the culmination of the football season in the West Germany in 1952–53. 1. FC Kaiserslautern were crowned champions for the second time after a group stage and a final, having previously won the champio ...

which was won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern. It was 1. FC Kaiserslautern's second

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

, having previously won it in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. 1. FC Köln set a new Oberliga start record in 1952–53, winning its first eleven games, a mark later equaled by

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

in 1953–54 and

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

in 1961–62 but never surpassed. A similar-named league, the

DDR-Oberliga The DDR-Oberliga (English: ''East German Premier League'' or ''GDR Premier League'') was the top-level association football league in East Germany. Overview Following World War II, separate sports competitions emerged in the occupied eastern ...

, existed in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, set at the first tier of the

East German football league system The football league system of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, German: ''Deutsche Demokratische Republik'' or DDR) existed from 1949 until shortly after German reunification in 1991. Structure For most of its history, competitive GDR footb ...

. The

1952–53 DDR-Oberliga The 1952–53 DDR-Oberliga was the fourth season of the DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of league football in East Germany. The league was contested by seventeen teams, two less than in the previous season, and Dynamo Dresden won the championship ...

was won by

Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...

Oberliga Nord

The 1952–53 season saw three new clubs in the league,

FC Altona 93 Altonaer FC von 1893, commonly known as Altona 93 and abbreviated to AFC, is a German association football club based in the Altona district of the city of Hamburg. The football team is a department of a larger sports club which also offers h ...

Harburger TB Harburger TB 1865 () is a German sports club in Heimfeld, Hamburg, Germany. History Harburg TB was founded on 6 September 1865 through the merger of Harburg Turnerschaft 1858 and Männerturnvereins 1861 Harburg. In 1883, Männer Turnverein 1 ...

and

VfB Lübeck VfB Lübeck is a German association football club playing in Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein in the country's north. In addition to its football side the 1,000 member sports club also has departments for badminton, women's gymnastics, handball, and ...

, all promoted from the Amateurliga. The league's top scorer was Günter Schlegel of Göttingen 05 with 26 goals.

Oberliga Berlin

The 1952–53 season saw two new clubs in the league,

BFC Südring 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'',Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Li ...

and SC Südwest Berlin, both promoted from the

Amateurliga 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 league's top scorer was Alfred Herrmann of Minerva 93 Berlin with 17 goals.

Oberliga West

The 1952–53 season saw two new clubs in the league,

SV Sodingen SV Sodingen is a German association football club based in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia. The team currently plays in the Landesliga, the seventh tier of German football. Although a regional league side today, the club played in the first divi ...

and Borussia München-Gladbach, both promoted from the

2. Oberliga West The (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 popu ...

. The league's top scorer was

Hans Schäfer Hans Schäfer (19 October 1927 – 7 November 2017) was a German footballer who played as an outside left. Career Schäfer was born in Zollstock, Cologne. He played for 1. FC Köln between 1948 and 1965, and for the West Germany national team, ...

of 1. FC Köln with 26 goals.

Oberliga Südwest

The 1952–53 season saw four new clubs in the league,

BFV Hassia Bingen The BFV Hassia Bingen is a German association football club from the city of Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate. It last played at the highest level of German football in 1952–53 and reached the third round of the German Cup twice. History ...

FV Speyer FV Speyer was a German association football club from the town of Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club's greatest success has been promotion to the tier one Oberliga Südwest in 1952 and 1956, spending seven seasons at this level. In the Bun ...

and VfR Kirn, all promoted from the

2. Oberliga Südwest The (English: 2nd Premier league Southwest) was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1951 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rhineland-Palatinate a ...

while

Saar 05 Saarbrücken Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player *Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname *Ain Saar (born 1968), Eston ...

was promoted from the

Amateurliga Saarland The Amateurliga Saarland was the highest football league in the state of Saarland and the third tier of the German football league system from 1951, when the clubs from the Saar returned to Germany, till the formation of the Oberliga Südwest an ...

. The league's top scorer was

Fritz Walter Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany a ...

of 1. FC Kaiserslautern with 38 goals, the highest total for the five Oberligas in 1952–53.

Oberliga Süd

The 1952–53 season saw two new clubs in the league,

TSG Ulm 1846 SSV Ulm 1846 is a German football club from Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. The modern-day football department, officially playing as SSV Ulm 1846 Fussball, was formed on 9 March 2009 when the department separated from SSV Ulm 1846. The club's great ...

and

BC Augsburg BC Augsburg was a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. The team was founded as Fußball-Club Allemannia Augsburg in 1907 and played as Ballspiel-Club Augsburg from 1921 to 1969. Facing imminent financial collapse, BC merged with the ...

, both promoted from the

2. Oberliga Süd The 2. Oberliga Süd was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1950 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. Overvi ...

. The league's top scorer was

Horst Schade Horst Schade (10 July 1922 – 28 February 1968) was a German football player and manager. Schade began his career with Dresdner SC Dresdner Sportclub 1898 e.V., known simply as Dresdner SC, is a German multisport List of football clubs in Ge ...

of SpVgg Fürth with 22 goals.

German championship

The 1953 German football championship was contested by the eight qualified Oberliga teams and won by 1. FC Kaiserslautern, defeating

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

in the final. The eight clubs played a home-and-away round of matches in two groups of four. The two group winners then advanced to the final.Das Finale der Deutschen Meisterschaft 1952/1953

Fussballdaten.de fussballdaten.de is a German-language website that predominantly collects comprehensive statistics on the top five tiers of German football. The website offers statistics on every Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga The 3. Liga is a pr ...

, accessed: 21 December 2015

Group 1

Group 2

Final

References

Sources

* ''30 Jahre Bundesliga'' 30th anniversary special, publisher: ''

kicker Sportmagazin ''Kicker'' (stylized in all lowercase) is Germany's leading sports magazine, focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice weekly, usually Monday and Thursday ...

'', published: 1993 * ''kicker-Almanach 1990'' Yearbook of German football, publisher: ''kicker Sportmagazin'', published: 1989, * ''DSFS Liga-Chronik seit 1945'' publisher: DSFS, published: 2005 * ''100 Jahre Süddeutscher Fußball-Verband'' 100 Years of the Southern German Football Federation, publisher: SFV, published: 1997

External links

The Oberligas on Fussballdaten.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberliga, 1952-53 1952-53 1 Ger