The 1963–64

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

season was the inaugural season for a single division highest tier of

football 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 ...

. It began on 24 August 1963 and ended on 9 May 1964. The first goal was scored by

Friedhelm Konietzka Friedhelm "Timo" Konietzka (2 August 1938 – 12 March 2012) was a German professional association football, football player and manager who played as a striker (association football), striker. He earned his nickname "Timo" due to a suppose ...

for

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

in their game against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

. The championship was won by 1. FC Köln. The first teams to be relegated were

Preußen Münster Preußen or Preussen is the German word for Prussia. It also refers to: Ships * ''Preußen'' (ship), windjammer built in 1902 * SMS ''Preußen'' (1873), armored frigate * SMS ''Preußen'' (1903), pre-dreadnought Battleship * , vorpostenboot ...

and 1. FC Saarbrücken.

Competition modus

Every team played two games against each other team, one at home and one away. Teams received two points for a win and one point for a draw. If two or more teams were tied on points, places were determined by

goal average A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

. The team with the most points were crowned champions while the two teams with the fewest points were relegated to their respective Regionalliga divisions.

Teams

Sixteen teams were chosen from all Oberliga teams on both competitive and infrastructural aspects. The

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 ...

and

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 ...

divisions supplied five teams each, three clubs came from the

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 ...

, while the

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 ...

provided two participants. The final member was chosen from the Oberliga Berlin. The selection of teams for the inaugural Bundesliga season was controversial. Alemannia Aachen and

Kickers Offenbach Offenbacher Kickers, also known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs ...

believed that they should have been chosen, due to their superior record over division rivals over the previous twelve seasons. They were not selected due to their relatively poorer performance in the seasons immediately preceding the start of the Bundesliga.

League table

Results

Top goalscorers

;30 goals *

Uwe Seeler Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German footballer and football official. As a striker, he was a prolific scorer for Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the West Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of ...

''(

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 ...

)'' ;20 goals *

''(

)'' ;19 goals *

Rudolf Brunnenmeier Rudolf "Rudi" Brunnenmeier (11 February 1941 – 18 April 2003) was a German football player. The former top scorer of the Bundesliga and five times player for Germany is closely associated with the great era of 1860 Munich in the 1960s. Career ...

''( 1860 Munich)'' ;18 goals * Wilhelm Huberts ''(

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

)'' * Klaus Matischak ''(

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

)'' ;16 goals *

Lothar Emmerich Lothar "Emma" Emmerich (29 November 1941 – 13 August 2003) was a German football player and manager who played as a forward. He was born in Dortmund-Dorstfeld and died in Hemer. He won five caps for West Germany in 1966. Emmerich scored 115 ...

''(

)'' *

Heinz Strehl Heinz Strehl (20 July 1938 – 11 August 1986) was a German footballer who played as a forward. Career A Bundesliga title-winner with 1. FC Nürnberg in 1968, Heinz Strehl was one of the proven goalscorers in West Germany in the 1960s and abl ...

''( 1. FC Nürnberg)'' *

Karl-Heinz Thielen Karl-Heinz Thielen (born 2 April 1940) is a German former footballer who played as a striker or defender. Club career Thielen spent ten seasons in the Bundesliga with 1. FC Köln. He played as right winger for 1. FC Köln, which was a foun ...

''( 1. FC Köln)'' ;15 goals * Christian Müller ''( 1. FC Köln)'' * Dieter Höller ''(

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 ...

)'' *

Gert Dörfel Gert is a mainly masculine given name ( short form of Gerrit, Gerard, etc.) with some female bearers (short for Gertrude). Since 1993 no one in Sweden has been baptised as Gert according to the Swedish Bureau of Census, so the name is becomin ...

''(

)''

Champion squad

References

External links

DFB archive, 1963–64 season
*Sebastian Stolz.
The Bundesliga: a true success story
'. www.bundesliga.com. 2 June 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:1963-64 Bundesliga Bundesliga seasons 1

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...