FC Heilbronn () was a
German association football club based in
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
From the late Mid ...
,
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
formed in 2003 out of a merger between VfR Heilbronn () and Heilbronner SpVgg.
In 2012 the club merged with the football department of
Union Böckingen
Union Böckingen is a German sports club from the district of Böckingen in the city of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg. Founded in 1908 out of the merger of ''Fussball Klub Germania 08 Böcking'' and ''Viktoria Böcking'', the club today has 1,200 ...
to form a new club, the
FC Union Heilbronn
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
.
History
![VfR Heilbronn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/VfR_Heilbronn.png)
The club was founded in 1896 as ''Heilbronner Fußball Club 96'' and over the next decade assimilated a number of other local clubs beginning in 1900 with a high school team called ''Schüler Fußball Club''. Shortly after that they merged with ''Württemberger Fußball Club'' to become ''Heilbronner Fussballgesellschaft'', and in 1907, were joined by ''FC Amicitia Heilbronn''. The team took on the name ''Heilbronner Fußballvereinigung'' in 1913 after being joined by ''Sportverein Adler''. They finally became ''Verein für Rasenspiele Heilbronn'' in 1920 and started playing in the ''
Kreisliga Württemberg
The Kreisliga Württemberg (English: ''District league Württemberg'') was the highest association football league in the German state of Württemberg from 1919 to 1923. The league was disbanded with the introduction of the Bezirksliga Württemberg ...
'' (I). The club was briefly submerged in the widespread politically motivated mergers of clubs that took place under the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1934. It re-emerged as ''Sportverein Heilbronn 96'' that same year and by 1937 was again playing as ''VfR''.
''Heilbronner Spielvereinigung'' was the younger side, founded in 1907 as ''Sportverein Adler''. This club joined ''VfR'' for the first time in 1907, but was re-formed as a separate side in 1927. They joined ''Turnerbund Heilbronn'' in 1933 to form ''Heilbronner Spvgg 07''. Through the years, the new club maintained good relations with ''VfR Heilbronn'' in all its incarnations, until the two sides finally merged in 2003.
''VfR'' celebrated few successes during its existence. It became part of the
Gauliga Württemberg
The Gauliga Württemberg was the highest football league in the German state of Württemberg and the Prussian province of Hohenzollern from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions ...
, one of sixteen top-flight divisions formed in the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich, but played only 13 matches of the 1933–34 season before being disqualified after failing financially. The club was soon playing again and won a promotion round playoff in 1941 to return to the Gauliga, where they played two seasons before being relegated.
After the war, ''Heilbronn'' earned a string of indifferent results playing in the Amateurliga Württemberg (III) and lower-tier play through the late 40s and on into the mid-50s. The team captured the Amateurliga title in 1956 and advanced to the 2. Liga Süd for a single season turn in 1956–57. They were promptly sent down, but returned to second division play in 1962. ''VfR'' was again immediately relegated and failed in its attempt to win re-promotion the following season, settling into competition in the Amateurliga Nordwürttemberg (III) for a handful of seasons. Another Amateurliga championship in 1969 and a successful promotion round playoff propelled the team into the Regionalliga Süd where they played as a mid-table side until 1975. The team made regular appearances in the opening rounds of play for the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
(German Cup) through the 1970s. Over the next three decades ''VfR'' played in tier III, IV and V football until financial problems finally grounded them in 2002.
''Heilbronner SpVgg'' never enjoyed even that level of success, only managing to work their way up to the Landesliga (VI) before the merger.
Following the merger of the two clubs, newly formed ''FC Heilbronn'' took up the place of ''VfR'' in the Verbandsliga Württemberg. On-going financial woes drove them down to the Landesliga Württemberg (VI) in 2004, where they continue to compete until 2011, when another relegation took them down to the Bezirksliga Unterland.
In 2012 the football department of the club left to merge with
Union Böckingen
Union Böckingen is a German sports club from the district of Böckingen in the city of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg. Founded in 1908 out of the merger of ''Fussball Klub Germania 08 Böcking'' and ''Viktoria Böcking'', the club today has 1,200 ...
to form a new club, the
FC Union Heilbronn
FC may refer to:
Businesses, organisations, and schools
* Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India
* Finncomm Airlines (IATA code)
* FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC
* Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...
. Both clubs voted on the merger on 27 March 2012 and achieved the necessary 75 percent majority to carry out the merger, ending the history of the football department of Union Böckingen.
Honours
*
Verbandsliga Württemberg
The Verbandsliga Württemberg is a German amateur football division administered by the Württemberg Football Association, one of the 21 German state football associations. Being the top flight of the Württemberg state association, the Verbandsli ...
(IV-V)
** Champion: 1979, 1986, 1997, 1999
*
Amateurliga Württemberg
The Amateurliga Württemberg was the highest football league in the region of the Württemberg Football Association and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 until the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württ ...
(III)
** Champion: 1956
*
Amateurliga Nordwürttemberg (III)
** Champion: 1969
Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:
Fussball.de – Ergebnisse
Tables and results of all German football leagues
* With the introduction of the Regionalliga
The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...
s in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier.
References
External links
Abseits Guide to German Soccer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heilbronn, Fc
Football clubs in Germany
Defunct football clubs in Germany
Defunct football clubs in Baden-Württemberg
Association football clubs established in 1896
1896 establishments in Germany
2003 disestablishments in Germany
Association football clubs disestablished in 2003
Heilbronn
2. Bundesliga clubs