Oberliga Nord (1947-63)

The Oberliga Nord was the highest level of the German football league system in the north of Germany from 1947 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein.

Overview

The league was created in 1947 as the highest level of football in the north of Germany, then part of the British occupation zone. It replaced the various Gauligas, which had existed until 1945 in the region:
* Gauliga Braunschweig-Südhannover
* Gauliga Hamburg
* Gauliga Osthannover
* Gauliga Schleswig-Holstein
* Gauliga Weser-Ems

It was, together with the Oberliga West, the last of the five Oberligas to be formed, the other four being:

*Oberliga West (formed in 1947)
*Oberliga Berlin (formed in 1945, originally with clubs from west and east Berlin until 1950)
*Oberliga Südwest (formed in 1945)
*Oberliga Süd (formed in 1945)

The league was formed from twelve clubs in 1947, four from Hamburg, three from Niedersachsen (South), three from Niedersachsen (North, incorporating Bremen at the time) and two from Schleswig-Holstein.

With the reintroduction of the German championship in 1948, the winners and (in most cases) runners-up of the Oberliga Nord went on to the finals tournament with the other Oberliga champions. In 1950, when 16 clubs were admitted, VfL Osnabrück competed as well, having finished 3rd in the North. In 1954, runners-up FC St.Pauli did not qualify because the number of participants was reduced to six clubs. In the period from 1948 to 1963, only two teams from the North of Germany managed to win the national title, Hamburger SV (1960) and Hannover 96 (1954).

The league was completely dominated by Hamburger SV, who won it 15 out of 16 times, only failing in 1954 when the club only came eleventh (a deduction of four points helped some).

Unlike the other Oberligas, the Oberliga Nord never formed a 2nd Oberliga as the second tier, the five local Amateurligas remained at this level instead.

Reforming of the Oberliga Nord

In 1974, with the disbanding of the Regionalliga Nord, the Oberliga Nord was re-created, but now as the third tier of German football. Geographically, it covered the same region as the old Oberliga Nord.

Founding members of the Oberliga Nord

*Hamburger SV
*FC St. Pauli
*Eintracht Braunschweig
*VfL Osnabrück
*Werder Bremen
*Arminia Hannover
*VfB Lübeck
*Concordia Hamburg
*Bremer SV
*Holstein Kiel
*Hannover 96
*SC Victoria Hamburg

Disbanding of the Oberliga

With the introduction of the new Bundesliga, the Oberligas were disbanded. The top three teams of the Oberliga Nord were admitted to the Bundesliga, the other thirteen clubs went to the Regionalliga Nord, one of the five new second divisions.

Admitted to Bundesliga:

*Hamburger SV
*Werder Bremen
*Eintracht Braunschweig

The following teams from the Oberliga went to the new Regionalliga:

*VfR Neumünster
*Holstein Kiel
*FC St. Pauli
*VfL Osnabrück
*VfV Hildesheim
*Hannover 96
*Arminia Hannover
*ASV Bergedorf 85
*VfB Oldenburg
*TuS Bremerhaven 93
*Concordia Hamburg
*FC Altona 93
*VfB Lübeck

Winners and runners-up of the Oberliga Nord

1948 Hamburger SV FC St. Pauli 1949 Hamburger SV FC St. Pauli 1950 Hamburger SV FC St. Pauli 1951 Hamburger SV FC St. Pauli 1952 Hamburger SV VfL Osnabrück 1953 Hamburger SV Holstein Kiel 1954 Hannover 96 FC St. Pauli 1955 Hamburger SV TuS Bremerhaven 93 1956 Hamburger SV Hannover 96 1957 Hamburger SV Holstein Kiel 1958 Hamburger SV Eintracht Braunschweig 1959 Hamburger SV Werder Bremen 1960 Hamburger SV Werder Bremen 1961 Hamburger SV Werder Bremen 1962 Hamburger SV Werder Bremen 1963 Hamburger SV Werder BremenSource:Cite web
url = http://www.f-archiv.de/
title = Oberliga Nord
accessdate = 2008-01-09
publisher = Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv

Bold denotes team went on to win German championship.

Placings & overall table of the Oberliga Nord 1947 to 1963

Source:Cite web
url=http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Midfield/2231/Europeiska_fotbollstabeller/GERMANY_OBERLIGA_45_63.htm
title = All-time table Oberliga Nord
accessdate = 2008-01-09
publisher = Clas Glenning

*Table includes results from the finals rounds of the German championship.

External links

* [http://www.f-archiv.de/ Das deutsche Fussball Archiv ]
* [http://www.fussballdaten.de/alteoberliga/nord/1963/ Oberliga Nord at Fussballdaten.de]

References

"Kicker Almanach" The Football Yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine