This is a list of all clubs that have taken part in the German football championship from 1903 to 1963, in the era when the national championship was decided by a finals round with a national title game at the end.
The German football championship was first held in 1903 and won by VfB Leipzig.Deutsche Meisterschaft 1903 Hirschis Fussball Seiten, German football championship 1903, accessed: 30 May 2009 In 1904, the championship was not completed due to a protest by Karlsruher FV about a technicality, with all games but the final played.kicker Almanach 1990 Yearbook of German football, page: 168, publisher: kicker, published: 1989, accessed: 30 May 2009Deutsche Meisterschaft 1904 Hirschis Fussball Seiten, German football championship 1904, accessed: 30 May 2009 The competition was held again in 1905 and, from then on, annually.
The championship was interrupted by the World War I, and not held from 1915 to 1920, when football returned to more organised fashion after the disruptions caused by the war.Germany - Championships 1902-1945 RSSSF.com, accessed: 30 May 2009Deutsche Meisterschaft 1915-1919 Hirschis Fussball Seiten, German football championship 1903, accessed: 30 May 2009
In 1922, the final was inconclusive and Hamburger SV was declared champions but declined the honor.Germany - Championships 1922 RSSSF.com, accessed: 30 May 2009 After this, a championship was held every season until 1944. With the expansion of Nazi Germany, clubs from occupied territories or annexed countries took part in the competition, including teams from Austria, France, Luxembourg, Poland, and Czechoslovakia.Germany - Championships 1902-1945 RSSSF.com - Intro, accessed: 30 May 2009
The German championship resumed in 1948, three years after the end of the World War II. Germany, now greatly reduced in size, originally was divided into four occupation zones;What Is to Be Done? Time magazine article on occupied Germany, published: 9 July 1945, accessed: 30 May 2009 from 1949 into three political entities, the German Democratic Republic, known in English as East Germany, the Saar Protectorate, now the German Federal State of the Saarland, and the Federal Republic of Germany, widely called in English, West Germany.
The clubs from the Saar protectorate remained within the German football league system for the most part and continued to take part in the national championship. East German clubs did not. SC Planitz, the team from Zwickau, in Saxony qualified for the 1948 championships at Nuremberg, but was refused a travel permit by the Soviet authorities. After 1948, no clubs from the East entered the championship again.Germany - Championships 1947-1963 RSSSF.com, accessed: 30 May 2009
The German championship continued to operate in this form until 1963, when the system was superseded by the Bundesliga as a means of determining the national champion.kicker Almanach 1990 Yearbook of German football, page: 178, publisher: kicker, published: 1989, accessed: 30 May 2009
With thirty-one appearances, Hamburger SV holds the record, while 1. FC Nürnberg won the most titles, eight, followed by FC Schalke 04 with seven. The now defunct VfB Königsberg has the most appearances in the national finals without ever reaching the championship game, sixteen.
List
A ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Alemannia Aachen 1 0 0 1938 Hindenburg Allenstein 5 0 0 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1939 BV Altenessen 1 0 0 1926 TuS Helene Altenessen 1 0 0 1941 FC Altona 93 4 0 0 1903, 1909, 1914, 1925
B ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons VfL Benrath 5 0 0 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 Alemannia Berlin 2 0 0 1924, 1925 Berliner BC 1 0 0 1914 SpVgg Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin 2 0 0 1939, 1942 Hertha BSC 15 2 4 1906, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1944, 1957, 1961, 1963 Kickers 1900 Berlin 1 0 0 1927 Minerva 93 Berlin 1 0 0 1932 Norden-Nordwest Berlin 3 0 0 1906, 1922, 1926 BFC Preussen 2 0 0 1910, 1912 Berliner SV 92 7 0 1 1903, 1904, 1936, 1938, 1943, 1949, 1954 Tasmania 1900 Berlin 6 0 0 1909, 1910, 1911, 1959, 1960, 1962 Tennis Borussia Berlin 10 0 0 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1941, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1958 Union Oberschöneweide 4 0 1 1920, 1923, 1940, 1948 Union 92 Berlin 2 1 0 1905, 1906 Union 06 Berlin 2 0 0 1950, 1953 Viktoria 89 Berlin 10 2 2 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1933, 1934, 1955, 1956 Vorwärts Berlin 1 0 1 1921 Beuthen 09 6 0 0 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1937 Arminia Bielefeld 2 0 0 1922, 1923 VfB Bielefeld 1 0 0 1931 Union Böckingen 1 0 0 1934 Eintracht Braunschweig 5 0 0 1905, 1908, 1943, 1944, 1958 Werder Bremen 9 0 0 1934, 1936, 1937, 1942, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 TuS Bremerhaven 93 1 0 0 1955 FV Breslau 06 1 0 0 1927 SC Breslau 08 5 0 0 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1932 Schlesien Breslau 3 0 0 1905, 1906, 1907 Sportfreunde Breslau 7 0 0 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1930 SV Breslau 02 1 0 0 1942 VfR Breslau 2 0 0 1908, 1910 LSV Brieg 1 0 0 1943 MSV Brünn 2 0 0 1943, 1944 NSTG Brüx 1 0 0 1944
C ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons WSC Celle 1 0 0 1944 Chemnitzer BC 2 0 0 1927, 1933 PSV Chemnitz 3 0 0 1932, 1935, 1936 Alemannia Cottbus 2 0 0 1905, 1909
D ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons BuEV Danzig 1 0 0 1912 LSV Danzig 1 0 0 1944 Preußen Danzig 2 0 0 1934, 1941 Preußen Dellbrück 1 0 0 1950 SV Dessau 05 6 0 0 1937, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1944 Borussia Dortmund 7 3 2 1949, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1963 Guts Muths Dresden 1 0 0 1923 Dresdner SC 13 2 1 1905, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1944 FV Stadt Düdelingen 1 0 0 1942 KSG Duisburg 1 0 0 1944 MSV Duisburg 2 0 0 1929, 1931 Duisburger SV 13 0 1 1904, 1905, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1957 Fortuna Düsseldorf 9 1 1 1927, 1928, 1931, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940 Düsseldorfer FC 99 1 0 0 1907 TuRU Düsseldorf 1 0 0 1925
E ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Eimsbütteler TV 5 0 0 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1942 SC Erfurt 1 0 0 1909 Rot-Weiß Essen 3 1 0 1950, 1952, 1955 Schwarz-Weiß Essen 1 0 0 1925
F ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Askania Forst 3 0 0 1911, 1913, 1914 FC Viktoria Forst 3 0 0 1922, 1925, 1926 Eintracht Frankfurt 11 1 1 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1938, 1953, 1954, 1959, 1961, 1962 FSV Frankfurt 3 0 1 1925, 1926, 1933 Freiburger FC 2 1 0 1907, 1908 Borussia Fulda 5 0 0 1932, 1934, 1941, 1942, 1944 SpVgg Fürth 11 3 1 1914, 1920, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1950, 1951
G ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz 7 0 0 1933, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941 SV Göppingen 1 0 0 1944 NSTG Graslitz 1 0 0 1940 HSV Groß-Born 1 0 0 1944
H ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Wacker Halle 3 0 0 1920, 1928, 1934 SV Hamborn 07 1 0 0 1942 Westende Hamborn 1 0 0 1943 Germania Hamburg 1 0 0 1904 LSV Hamburg 1 0 1 1944 Hamburger SV 31 3 4 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 FC St. Pauli Hamburg 4 0 0 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951 SC Victoria Hamburg 4 0 0 1905, 1906, 1907, 1943 FC Hanau 93 3 0 0 1935, 1936, 1938 Arminia Hannover 3 0 0 1920, 1930, 1933 ASC Hannover 1 0 0 1904 Hannover 96 6 2 0 1905, 1935, 1938, 1941, 1954, 1956 BC Hartha 2 0 0 1937, 1938 Westfalia Herne 2 0 0 1959, 1960 Preussen Hindenburg 1 0 0 1929 STG Hirschberg 1 0 0 1944 STV Horst-Emscher 1 0 0 1950
I ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Yorck Boyen Insterburg 2 0 0 1935, 1938
J ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons 1. SV Jena 5 0 0 1925, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941
K ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons 1. FC Kaiserslautern 12 2 3 1942, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963 Karlsruher FV 6 1 2 1903, 1904, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1912 Phönix Karlsruhe 2 1 0 1909, 1910 Karlsruher SC 3 0 1 1956, 1958, 1960 FV Kassel 1 0 0 1904 CSC Kassel 2 0 0 1939, 1940 SV 06 Kassel 2 0 0 1937, 1943 Holstein Kiel 15 1 2 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1943, 1944, 1953, 1957 Kölner BC 1 0 0 1912 CfR Köln 1 0 0 1936 1. FC Köln 8 1 2 1953, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 KSG Köln-Sülz/VfL 99 1 0 0 1944 SC 99 Köln 1 0 0 1906 VfL Köln 99 4 0 0 1941, 1942 VfR Köln 3 0 0 1926, 1935, 1937 Victoria Köln 1 0 0 1943 Prussia Samland Königsberg 5 0 0 1910, 1913, 1914, 1931, 1933 VfB Königsberg 16 0 0 1908, 1909, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944 Germania Königshütte 3 0 0 1942, 1943, 1944 LSV Krakau 2 0 0 1942, 1944 Preußen Krefeld 1 0 0 1928
L ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Fortuna Leipzig 1 0 0 1926 SpVgg Leipzig 5 0 0 1912, 1914, 1922, 1924, 1931 VfB Leipzig 12 3 3 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1920, 1925, 1927, 1930 Wacker Leipzig 2 0 0 1908, 1929 ATV Liegnitz 1 0 0 1912 VfB Liegnitz 1 0 0 1931 Polizei Litzmannstadt 1 0 0 1942 Phönix Ludwigshafen 1 0 0 1935
M ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons SV Victoria 96 Magdeburg 3 0 0 1903, 1904, 1905 VfR Mannheim 8 1 0 1925, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1949, 1950 Waldhof Mannheim 5 0 0 1934, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1942 HUS Marienwerder 1 0 0 1942 Borussia Mönchengladbach 1 0 0 1920 FC Mönchengladbach 1 0 0 1909 FC Mülhausen 93 3 0 0 1941, 1943, 1944 Mülheimer SV 2 0 0 1934, 1940 FC Bayern Munich 5 1 0 1926, 1928, 1929, 1932, 1944 TSV 1860 Munich 7 0 1 1927, 1931, 1933, 1941, 1943, 1948, 1963 FC Wacker München 2 0 0 1922, 1928 Preußen Münster 1 0 1 1950
N ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons VfL Neckarau 1 0 0 1941 TuS Neuendorf 5 0 0 1943, 1944, 1948, 1950, 1956 SV Neufahrwasser 1919 1 0 0 1943 Borussia Neunkirchen 5 0 0 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 1. FC Nürnberg 24 8 4 1920, 1921, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1948, 1951, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963
O ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Kickers Offenbach 12 0 2 1934, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1960 LSV Olmütz 1 0 0 1942 VfL Osnabrück 4 0 0 1939, 1940, 1950, 1952
P ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons DFC Prag 1 0 1 1903 NSTG Prag 1 0 0 1941 1. FC Pforzheim 1 0 1 1906 FK Pirmasens 4 0 0 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962 SC Planitz 2 0 0 1942, 1948 SuBC Plauen 1 0 0 1932 DWM Posen 2 0 0 1943, 1944 LSV Pütnitz 2 0 0 1942, 1943
R ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons LSV Rerik 1 0 0 1944 SSV Reutlingen 2 0 0 1950, 1955 TSG Rostock 1 0 0 1943
S ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons KSG Saarbrücken 1 0 0 1944 1. FC Saarbrücken 4 0 2 1943, 1952, 1957, 1961 FC Schalke 04 22 7 3 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1962 FC Schweinfurt 05 2 0 0 1939, 1942 SV Sodingen 1 0 0 1955 LSV Stettin 1 0 0 1941 Preußen Stettin 1 0 0 1928 SC Stettin 4 0 0 1921, 1926, 1935, 1938 Titania Stettin 6 0 0 1920, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1930 VfL Stettin 1 0 0 1940 Viktoria Stolp 5 0 0 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1939 SG SS Straßburg 1 0 0 1942 Stuttgarter Kickers 7 0 1 1908, 1913, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942 VfB Stuttgart 9 2 2 1935, 1937, 1938, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956 SpVgg Sülz 07 3 0 0 1928, 1930, 1939
T ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Lituania Tilsit 1 0 0 1911
W ClubQualifiedChampionsRunners-upSeasons Warnsdorfer FK 1 0 0 1939 SG Warschau 1 0 0 1943 Admira Wien 1 0 1 1939 First Vienna 3 0 1 1942, 1943, 1944 Rapid Wien 2 1 0 1940, 1941 SV Wilhelmshaven 2 0 0 1943, 1944 Wormatia Worms 5 0 0 1936, 1937, 1939, 1949, 1955 Bold denotes champions and championship-winning seasons. Italics denotes club was from territories outside of what is now the Federal Republic of Germany.
Sources kicker Allmanach 1990, by kicker, page 160 & 178 - German championship Pre-1933 Football leagues in Germany Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv Germany - Championships 1902-1945 at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation