The Istanbul Football League () was founded as a regional football league under the name Constantinople Football Association League by James La Fontaine and Henry Pears in Istanbul, the capital of the former Ottoman Empire, in 1904. The League was the first football organization ever in the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey. In the inaugural 1904–05 season the matches between the four teams, Moda FC, HMS Imogene, Elpis FC, and Cadi-Keuy FC were played on Sundays, leading to the name of the league, Istanbul Sunday League. Henry Pears, an Englishman and one of the three founders, promised to ultimately award the shield to the club with the most championships won during the initial 10 years.

The Istanbul Friday League was founded in 1915 and replaced the Istanbul Sunday League. Seven teams participated in its inaugural 1915–16 season. From 1923–24 to 1950–51 the league was called Istanbul League. The name was later changed and became Istanbul Professional League in the 1952 season, as professionalism was introduced by the Turkish Football Federation in 1951.

Fenerbahçe are the most successful club, having won the league a record 16 times in total.

History and dates The first league was officially known as the Constantinople Football Association League or Sunday league and the games were played every Sunday. The first editions were played between English and Greek clubs and in 1906 Galatasaray became the first Turkish team to enter the league. In the 1914–15 season, there were two separate leagues: the existing Constantinople Football Association League and the Constantinople Championship League, due to the large number of teams. For the first time, no English or Greek club competed and the league consisted only of Turkish clubs, following the eruption of WW I.

The Constantinople Championship League was actually a Friday league who was founded in 1912 as the games were played every Friday.Soccer from the Ottoman Times - maviboncuk.blogspot.com The teams playing in this league were Darülfünun SK, İstanbul Jimnastik K (later on known as (Türk İdman Ocağı), Anadolu SK, Sanayii FK, Şehremini SK, and Fenerbahçe SK (II). The Constantinople league was still the main league and they refused the promotion requests from the Friday league until 1915 when the two leagues (Sunday and Friday) merged under the name of the Friday League (Cum Ligi) and were played until 1923.

A third league in İstanbul had started in 1919-1920 by Beşiktaş JK, who were denied the to join the Friday league. This league was called "İstanbul Türk İdman Birliği" and it was played every Sunday.

In the early seasons all matches were played at two venues: in Kadıköy (called as Union Club Field or Papazın Çayırı) and Moda (Yoğurt Çesme).

The Türkiye İdman Cemiyetleri İttifakı (The Turkish Gymnastics Clubs Union) was established in April 1922 and organized sports clubs in other cities as well. TICI has setup a temporary committee to set up the Turkish Football Federation under the name of "Futbol Encümeni". The committee completed its work and the Football Federation was established in the meeting of 23 April 1923 under the name of "Futbol Hey'et-i Müttehidesi". Then the league games became more official and the federation started soccer leagues in several cities like İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Adana, Eskişehir and Trabzon. The Constantinople football leagues by dates:

Ottoman Empire era Constantinople Football Association League: 1904-1915 (Sunday League) Constantinople Championship League: 1914-1915 (Friday League) Cuma Ligi (unified): 1915-1923 (Friday League) Turkish League (İstanbul Türk İdman Birliği Ligi): 1919-1921 (only Turkish teams) Bazaar League (Pazar Ligi): 1920-1922 (Sunday League)

Turkey Republic era Istanbul League: 1923-1951 Istanbul Professional League: 1952-1959 (Istanbul Professional League Div.2: 1956-1959)

Various notes -The 1912-13 seasons were not held due to the Balkan Wars -The 1918-19 and 1919-20 seasons were not held due to World War I -The Friday League was organized with the participation of teams that were not included in the Friday League because they were not considered strong enough -After the merge, The Sunday League was organized among the teams that could not participate in the primary Friday League -1927-28 season was not played due to preparations for the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Champions

SeasonWinners Runners-up1904–05HMS Imogene FC (1)Moda FC1905–06Cadi-Keuy FC (1)HMS Imogene FC1906–07Cadi-Keuy FC (2)Moda FC1907–08Moda FC (1)Cadi-Keuy FC1908–09Galatasaray SK (1)Moda FC1909–10Galatasaray SK (2)Strugglers FC1910–11Galatasaray SK (3)Progress FC1911–12Fenerbahçe SK (1)Rumblers FC1912–13 Unaccomplished due to the Balkan Wars1913–14Fenerbahçe SK (2)Altınordu İdman Yurdu1914–15Galatasaray SK (4)Üsküdar Anadolu SK1914–15Fenerbahçe SK (3)Türk İdman Ocağı1915–16Galatasaray SK (5)Fenerbahçe SK 1916–17Altınordu İdman Yurdu (1)Üsküdar Anadolu SK1917–18Altınordu İdman Yurdu (2)Fenerbahçe SK 1918–19 Unaccomplished due to Armistice of Mudros1919–20 Cancelled1920–21Fenerbahçe SK (4)Galatasaray SK 1921–22Galatasaray SK (6)Fenerbahçe SK1922–23Fenerbahçe SK (5)Altınordu İdman Yurdu1923–24Beşiktaş JK (1)Galatasaray SK1924–25Galatasaray SK(7)Vefa SK1925–26Galatasaray SK(8)Fenerbahçe SK1926–27Galatasaray SK(9)Fenerbahçe SK1927–28 Cancelled due to the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam1928–29Galatasaray SK (10)Fenerbahçe SK1929–30Fenerbahçe SK (6)Galatasaray SK1930–31Galatasaray SK (11)Fenerbahçe SK1931–32İstanbulspor (1)Süleymaniye FC1932–33Fenerbahçe SK (7)Beşiktaş JK1933–34Beşiktaş JK (2)Fenerbahçe SK1934–35Fenerbahçe SK (8)Galatasaray SK1935–36Fenerbahçe SK (9)Galatasaray SK1936–37Fenerbahçe SK (10)Güneş SK1937–38Güneş SK (1)Fenerbahçe SK1938–39Beşiktaş JK (3)Fenerbahçe SK1939–40Beşiktaş JK (4)Fenerbahçe SK1940–41Beşiktaş JK (5)Fenerbahçe SK1941–42Beşiktaş JK (6)Galatasaray SK1942–43Beşiktaş JK (7)Fenerbahçe SK1943–44Fenerbahçe SK (11)Beşiktaş JK1944–45Beşiktaş JK (8)Fenerbahçe SK1945–46Beşiktaş JK (9)Fenerbahçe SK1946–47Fenerbahçe SK (12)Vefa SK1947–48Fenerbahçe SK (13)Beşiktaş JK1948–49Galatasaray SK (12)Beşiktaş JK1949–50Beşiktaş JK (10)Fenerbahçe SK1950–51Beşiktaş JK (11)Galatasaray SK1952Beşiktaş JK (12)Galatasaray SK1952–53Fenerbahçe SK (14)Beşiktaş JK1953–54Beşiktaş JK (13)Galatasaray SK1954–55Galatasaray SK (13)Beşiktaş JK1955–56Galatasaray SK (14)Fenerbahçe SK1956–57Fenerbahçe SK (15)Galatasaray SK1957–58Galatasaray SK (15)Fenerbahçe SK1958–59Fenerbahçe SK (16)Galatasaray SK

Istanbul Sunday League (İstanbul Pazar Ligi)

1905 HMS Imogene FC 1906 Cadi-Keuy FC 1907 Cadi-Keuy FC 1908 Moda FC 1909 Galatasaray SK 1910 Galatasaray SK 1911 Galatasaray SK 1912 Fenerbahçe SK 1913 Unaccomplished due to the Balkan Wars 1914 Fenerbahçe SK 1915 Galatasaray SK & Fenerbahçe SK

Istanbul Friday League (İstanbul Cuma Ligi)

1916 Galatasaray SK 1917 Altınordu İdman Yurdu 1918 Altınordu İdman Yurdu 1919 Unaccomplished due to Mudros Armistice 1920 Cancelled 1921 Fenerbahçe SK 1922 Galatasaray SK 1923 Fenerbahçe SK

Istanbul League (İstanbul Ligi)

1924 Beşiktaş JK 1925 Galatasaray SK 1926 Galatasaray SK 1927 Galatasaray SK 1928 Cancelled due to the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam 1929 Galatasaray SK 1930 Fenerbahçe SK 1931 Galatasaray SK 1932 İstanbulspor 1933 Fenerbahçe SK 1934 Beşiktaş JK 1935 Fenerbahçe SK 1936 Fenerbahçe SK 1937 Fenerbahçe SK 1938 Güneş SK 1939 Beşiktaş JK 1940 Beşiktaş JK 1941 Beşiktaş JK 1942 Beşiktaş JK 1943 Beşiktaş JK 1944 Fenerbahçe SK 1945 Beşiktaş JK 1946 Beşiktaş JK 1947 Fenerbahçe SK 1948 Fenerbahçe SK 1949 Galatasaray SK 1950 Beşiktaş JK 1951 Beşiktaş JK

Istanbul Professional League 1952 Beşiktaş JK 1953 Fenerbahçe SK 1954 Beşiktaş JK 1955 Galatasaray SK 1956 Galatasaray SK 1957 Fenerbahçe SK 1958 Galatasaray SK 1959 Fenerbahçe SK

Performance by club ClubTitlesRunners-upSeasons won1912, 1914, 1915*, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1957, 19591909, 1910, 1911, 1915*, 1916, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1949, 1955, 1956, 19581924, 1934, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1952, 19541917, 19181906, 19071908190519381932––––– *Galatasaray in the Istanbul Football Union League and Fenerbahçe in the Istanbul Champions League became champions.

Top Scorers SeasonClubTop scorerGoalsMatchesRate 1928–29 Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1929–30 Fenerbahçe SK (2) 1930–31 Fenerbahçe SK (3) Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1931–32 Beşiktaş JK (1) 1932–33 Beşiktaş JK (2) 1933–34 Beşiktaş JK (3) 1934–35 Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1935–36 Fenerbahçe SK (1) Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1936–37 Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1937–38 Beşiktaş JK (1) 1938–39 Fenerbahçe SK (2) 1939–40 Galatasaray SK (1) 1940–41 Beşiktaş JK (2) 1941–42 Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1942–43 Galatasaray SK (2) 1943–44 Beşiktaş JK (1) Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1944–45 Beşiktaş JK (1) 1945–46 Beşiktaş JK (2) 1946–47 Beşiktaş JK (3) Galatasaray SK (1) 1947–48 Fenerbahçe SK (1) Fenerbahçe SK (1) 1948–49 Beşiktaş JK (4) 1949–50 Beşiktaş JK (1) 1950–51 Beşiktaş JK (1) 1952 Beşiktaş JK (1) 1952–53 Beşiktaş JK (2) 1953–54 Fenerbahçe SK (2) 1954–55 Galatasaray SK (1) 1955–56 Galatasaray SK (1) 1956–57 Galatasaray SK (2) 1957–58 Galatasaray SK (3) 1958–59 Galatasaray SK (4)

Records

Titles Most titles: 16 Fenerbahçe SK

Most consecutive titles: 5 Beşiktaş JK (1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43)

Biggest wins 20–0, Galatasaray SK vs Vefa SK, 1925–26 16–0, Fenerbahçe SK vs Anadolu Üsküdar 1908, 1930–31 14–0, Fenerbahçe SK vs Topkapı SK, 1938–39 14–0, Fenerbahçe SK vs Topkapı SK, 1939–40 14–1, Galatasaray SK vs Anadolu Üsküdar 1908, 1914–15 13–0, Fenerbahçe SK vs Süleymaniye SK, 1930–31 13–0, Beşiktaş JK vs Hilal SK, 1939–40 13–1, Fenerbahçe SK vs Davutpaşa SK, 1942–43 12–0, Fenerbahçe SK vs Süleymaniye SK, 1915–16 12–0, Beşiktaş JK vs Topkapı SK, 1939–40 12–1, Galatasaray SK vs Topkapı SK, 1936–37 12–1, Beşiktaş JK vs Taksim SK, 1941–42 11–0, Galatasaray SK vs Moda-Imogene Muhteliti, 1909–10 10–0, Galatasaray SK vs Süleymaniye SK, 1934–35 11–2, Beşiktaş JK vs Eyüp SK, 1936–37 11–2, Galatasaray SK vs Eyüp SK, 1937–38 11–2, Beşiktaş JK vs Eyüp SK, 1937–38 11–2, Beşiktaş JK vs Kasımpaşa SK, 1943–44 11–2, Beşiktaş JK vs İstanbulspor, 1943–44

References

Sources Fenerbahçe Spor Kulübü Tarihi 1907–1957, Dr. Rüştü Dağlaroğlu