K. Lyra

Koninklijke Lyra was a Belgian football club that existed between 1909 and 1972. It was located in the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lyra is actually the Latin name for Lier.

History

The club was founded in 1909 as Turn- en Sportvereniging Lyra, meaning Gym and Sport Association Lyra in Dutch. It registered to the FA the same year to become the matricule n°52. In 1913 the club took part to the second division where it remained until the promotion in 1932. The first spell of the club at the highest level ended in 1938 when it finished 13th on 14. In 1934 the name changed to Koninklijke Maatschappij Lyra and then to Koninklijke Lyra in 1939.

Lyra achieved its best ranking ever on its first season in the first division with a 6th plae. The other spells were 1943-44, 1946-51 and 1953-54. In 1960 the club fell into the third division and decayed. On April 12, 1972 Lyra merged with its neighbour of K. Lierse S.K. to become K. Lierse S.V. with the matricule n°30 of Lierse. On June 16, 1972, a new club named K. Lyra T.S.V. was founded with the matricule n°7776. It now plays in the Promotion C.

Honours

*Belgian Second Division:
**Winners (4): 1931-32, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1952-53
*Belgian Cup:
**Runners-up (1): 1934-35

References

* [http://users.skynet.be/pluto/Textbelgium/Teams.html Belgian football clubs history]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/belghist.html RSSSF Archive] - 1st and 2nd division final tables