BC Augsburg

Football club infobox
clubname = BC Augsburg


fullname = Ballspiel-Club Augsburg
nickname =
founded = 8 August 1907
ground = Rosenaustadion
capacity = 28,000
chairman =
manager =
league =
season = defunct
position =
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leftarm1=ffffFF|body1=ffffFF|rightarm1=ffffFF|shorts1=0000FF|socks1=0000FF
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=ffffff|body2=ffffff|rightarm2=ffffff|shorts2=ffffff|socks2=ffffff

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 football side of "TSV Schwaben Augsburg" in July 1969 to form "FC Augsburg". The union was short-lived and "Schwaben" re-established its own football department the following year. "FCA" remains active today and carries on the tradition of the original side.

History

Foundation to WWII

On 11 May 1909, "BC" joined the gymnastics club "Turnverein 1871 Oberhausen" as that association's football department, based in the suburb of Oberhausen. "Oberhausen" merged with "Turnverein Augsburg II" to create "Turn- und Sportverein 1871 Augsburg" with the footballers playing as "Ballspielclub im TSV 1847". A year later the footballers went their own way as a separate club and first adopted the name "BC Augsburg".

In the 1930s the club shared unions with "Sportverein Augsburg" and "Turn- und Sportverein Stadtbach". "SV" was established in 1888 as "Turnverein Augsburg-Kriegshaber". A football department was formed within that club in 1916, became independent in 1924, and joined "BC" in 1935. "TSV" was formed in 1896 as "Turnverein Stadtbach" and its footballers went their own way as "Fußball-Club Stadtbach" in August 1919. In 1930 they were renamed "VfL Teutonia Augsburg" and on 15 June 1932 the association was joined by the athletics department of "BC Augsburg". Two years later "VfL" rejoined its parent club to create "TSV 1896 Stadtbach", which in its turn became part of "BC" in 1938. [Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag ISBN 3-89784-147-9]

WWII and postwar

German football was reorganized in 1933 under the Third Reich into 16 top-flight divisions known as Gauligen. "BC" finsihed second in regional second division that following year and beat "FC Memmingen" 3:2 in a promotion playoff to win its way into the Gauliga Bayern for the 1934-35 season. Over the next several seasons they played there as a lower to mid-table side with their best results coming as second places finishes in 1940 and 1943. During this period the team made two appearances (1935, 1943) in play for the Tschammer-Pokal, predecessor of today's DFB-Pokal (German Cup), and were put out in the early going on both occasions.

World War II caused player shortages and forced play to become more local in character. In 1943 the Gauliga Bayern became the Gauliga Südbayern and "BC" joined "Post-SG Augsburg" to form the wartime side "Kriegspielgeminde Augsburg". This club earned another second place result in 1943-44 before conflict overtook the area and play ended nearly half way into the 1944-45 season.

Following the war occupying Allied authorities order the dissolution of most organizations in the country, including sports and football clubs. "BC" was remade, but the former memberships of "SV" and "TV" left to form "TSV Kriegshaber" in 1946.

"BC Augsburg" took up play in the first division Oberliga Süddeutschland in 1945, but were sent down after just two seasons. The bounced back with a Amateurliga Südbayern (II) title in 1948 and then beat "1. FC Bamberg" (4:1, 1:1) in promotion round play. The Oberliga Süddeutschland became the Oberliga Süd in 1950, and "BC" spent 10 of the next 13 seasons in top flight play there, but struggled as a lower table side. After the 1963 formation of the Bundesliga, Germany's first national professional circuit, the Augsburg club became part of the second tier Regionalliga Süd. In 1965, "BC" captured the division title in the Amateurliga Bayern (III) and advanced to the semi finals of the national amateur championship. Through the 60s the club bounced back and forth between second and third division play until financial problems led to 1969 merger with "TSV Schwaben Augsburg" that created current day club "FC Augsburg".

Current

While the FC Augsburg holds up the traditions of the "BCA", there is another club claiming some of the heritage of the club, the BC Augsburg-Oberhausen. Based in the Oberhausen suburb of Augsburg where once the "BCA" hailed from, the club plays its home games at the "Sportanlage Nord", where the old "BCA" also was based. The "BCA-O" gained promotion to the "Bezirksliga Schwaben-Süd" for the first time for the 2008-09 season, where it will meet the "BCA's" old rival, Schwaben Augsburg, relegated to the league. [ [http://www.bayliga.de/Bezirksliga/tabellen/lmo.php?action=program&file=Bz_Sw_Sued.l98&selteam=7 Bezirksliga Schwaben Süd 2008/09 - Schedule for the BCA-O] accessed: 27 July 2008]

BC Augsburg seasons (1945-1969)

External links

* [http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/augsburg.html Abseits Guide to German Soccer]

References

* [http://www.f-archiv.de/ Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv] historical German domestic league tables de icon