The Kreisliga Hessen (English: District league Hesse) was the highest association football league in parts of the German state of Hesse (Rheinhessen) and parts of the Bavarian region of Palatinate as well as the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1919 to 1923. The league was disbanded with the introduction of the Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar in 1923.

Kreisliga Hessen
Map of Germany in 1925
Founded1919
Folded1923
Replaced byBezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar
Country Germany
State
Level on pyramidLevel 1
Last championsSV Wiesbaden
(1922–23)

While the league carries the name Kreisliga Hessen it did not cover anywhere near the whole area of what is now the federal state of Hesse. Its main body lay in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, together with the Wiesbaden area of the state of Hesse.

Overview

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Predecessor

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From 1907, four regional leagues were formed within the structure of the Southern German football championship, in a move to improve the organisation of football in Southern Germany, these being:

In 1908, a first Nordkreis-Liga (English: Northern District League) and Westkreis-Liga (English: Western District League) were established.[1] With the outbreak of the First World War, league football came to a halt and, during the war, games were only played on a limited level.

Post-First World War

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With the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, no Nord- or Westkreis championship was played in 1918-19 but football returned to a more organised system in 1919.

Southern Germany, now without the Alsace and Lorraine regions, which had to be returned to France, was sub-divided into ten Kreisligas, these being:

The new Kreisliga Hessen was made up from ten clubs from both the Nordkreis and Westkreis leagues.[2] The league winners of the Kreisligas advanced to the Southern championship. This system applied for the 1919-20 and 1920-21 season.[3]

In 1921-22, the Kreisliga Hessen was split into two groups of eight, increasing the number of tier-one clubs in the region to 16. The two league winners then played a final to determine the Hessen champion, which in turn advanced to a Rheinhessen-Saar championship final against the Saar champion.[4] This "watering down" of football in the region lasted for only one season, in 1922-23, the number of top clubs was reduced to eight clubs in a single division, with a Rheinhessen-Saar final against the Saar champion once more.[5]

In 1923, a league reform which was decided upon in Darmstadt, Hesse, established the Southern German Bezirksligas which were to replace the Kreisligas.[6] The best four teams each from the Kreisliga Hessen and Saar were admitted to the new Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar. The four clubs from Hessen were:

National success

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The clubs from the Kreisliga Hessen were not particularly successful in this era and none managed to qualify for the German championship.

Rheinhessen-Saar championship

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Played in 1922 and 1923, these were the finals:

  • 1922:
    • Hessen final: SV Wiesbaden - Alemannia Worms 2-0 / 1-4 / 2-1
    • Rheinhessen-Saar final: Borussia Neunkirchen - SV Wiesbaden 3-1 / 3-0
  • 1923:
    • Rheinhessen-Saar final: Borussia Neunkirchen - SV Wiesbaden 0-0 / 2-2 / 3-0

Southern German championship

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Qualified teams and their success:

  • 1920:
    • Germania Wiesbaden, Group stage
  • 1921:
    • FSV Mainz 05, Group stage
  • 1922:
    • SV Wiesbaden, not qualified
  • 1923:
    • SV Wiesbaden, not qualified

Winners and runners-up of the Kreisliga Hessen

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Season Champions Runner-Up
1919–20 Germania Wiesbaden SV Wiesbaden
1920–21 FSV Mainz 05 Alemannia Worms
1921–22 SV Wiesbaden Alemannia Worms
1922–23 SV Wiesbaden TG Höchst

Placings in the Kreisliga Hessen 1919-23

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Club 1920 1921 1922 1923
Germania Wiesbaden 1 5 4 7
SV Wiesbaden 2 6 1 1
Alemannia Griesheim 3 4 5
Höchst 01 4
Fvgg Kastel 5 10 2 5
Höchst 08 6
FC Kreuznach 02 7 7
FV 02 Biebrich 8 8 3 4
FSV Mainz 05 9 1 3 6
SG Egelsbach 10
Alemannia Worms 2 1 3
TG Höchst 3 2 2
Wormatia Worms 7 6
Union Wixhausen 9
FC Unterliederbach 6
FV Geisenheim 7
SpVgg Griesheim 8
FV Kreuznach 07 4 8
Fvgg Mombach 5
VfR Worms 1 8
  • 1 VfR Worms joined Wormatia Worms in 1922.

References

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  1. ^ Verband Süddeutscher Fussball Vereine 1909 Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in German), accessed: 22 March 2009
  2. ^ Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, (in German) author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 62, accessed: 22 March 2009
  3. ^ Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, (in German) author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 65, accessed: 22 March 2009
  4. ^ Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, (in German) author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 70, accessed: 22 March 2009
  5. ^ Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, (in German) author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 73, accessed: 22 March 2009
  6. ^ History of the Offenburger Fußballverein Archived March 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (in German) Page 5, accessed: 14 December 2008

Sources

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  • Fussball-Jahrbuch Deutschland (in German) (8 vol.), Tables and results of the German tier-one leagues 1919-33, publisher: DSFS
  • Kicker Almanach, (in German) The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine
  • Süddeutschlands Fussballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897-1988 (in German) History of Southern German football in tables, publisher & author: Ludolf Hyll
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