Gymnasial-Spielverein Gütersloh

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The high school game club Gütersloh from the East Westphalian Gütersloh was the first football club in what is now North Rhine-Westphalia . However, the student game club founded in 1878 at the Evangelisch Stiftisches Gymnasium in Gütersloh preferred the "German football game" until 1907.

In four and a half years from Braunschweig to Gütersloh

October 1874, when Professor Konrad Koch introduced the new game at the Martino-Katharineum grammar school in Braunschweig , is considered to be the birth of football in Germany. The new game caused a sensation among high school students, spread quickly, especially in secondary schools in northern Germany, and reached western Germany after just four and a half years. On May 28, 1878, a student game club was founded at the Evangelical-Stiftisches Gymnasium in Gütersloh, Westphalia, which mainly operated the soccer game.

At the beginning the game was more of a mixture of soccer and rugby , but with a round ball and not with the rugby ball . Although the exact way of playing has not been passed down from Gütersloh, a look at the first set of rules that Professor Koch developed shows roughly how football must have gone in Gütersloh. The most important differences: the ball could also be thrown with the hands and a goal was scored if the ball went over the crossbar.

This rugby / soccer / home-made mix was not played anywhere in the world except in Germany and was therefore called the “German soccer game”, especially since it was able to refute the accusation that they were engaging in “Engländerei”. Even if Konrad Koch in Braunschweig approached English football with new rules after a short time, the Gütersloher were by no means the only ones who played the "German football game": Examples are Magdeburg from around 1890 and Nuremberg , where the forerunners of the " Club “not only kicked football since 1888, but also threw it.

A playground was found and leased, "on which one was eagerly responsible for the German football game until the end of the summer semester". But then - nothing is known about the reasons - the club must have "fell asleep" for a while. It wasn't until 1880 that there was another sign of life, when the then Obertertian Kottig re-founded the association - with the new colors blue and white. From now on there is consistent evidence of its existence, at least until the 50th anniversary celebration. On average the club had a strength of 40 to 45 men, only temporarily this number was limited to 36 by a decision of the teachers' conference. The game was not only played on Heide-Platz, but for a long time also on the so-called “Mutton Market”, where the middle school was later built.

Care of the movement games

Even if you completely disregard the rules of the game, you should not compare your sporting life with that of a modern football club. The focus was of course on the soccer game “according to German rules”, in which a goal was so rare that one believed that the scorers had to be passed on to posterity. But the “maintenance of movement games” included much more. This also included gymnastics games such as sauball or slinging ball. Excursions - then called exits - z. B. to the Hermannsdenkmal , were undertaken, as well as "turn trips", which were connected with demonstrations. The program of such demonstrations included, for example, running, rope running, tug-of-war , wrestling, three-legged walking and later, above all, “building pyramids”. A “Niklasfeier” and an annual concert were also part of the club's life.

In 1889 there was a high point for the high school game club. A meeting of the Westphalian gymnastics teachers took place in Gütersloh. The club was allowed to appear and be pleased that its achievements were recognized with the title “good”. However, it was with deep regret that the chronicler discovered that the soccer game had only met with little approval.

“Revolution” in 1907: From German to English football

In 1907 there was a decisive change for the game club of the Gütersloh high school students. After 29 years of “German football matches”, the move was made to “ Association football ”, as it was meanwhile spread across Germany. The reason was that a competition had been arranged with a student association in Bad Oeynhausen , for which the teaching staff had also given permission. However, the Oeynhausers played "Association", so the Gütersloher had to adapt to this style of play. The chronicle describes the effect as follows: "One also found pleasure in it and now this way of playing was generally introduced."

By changing the way of playing new problems came to the club. Some students also wanted to chase the round leather outside of school and joined the non-school sports club "Germania", which now exists in Gütersloh. It is not known how long the Gütersloh high school game club existed. It existed at least until 1928, the year of the 50th anniversary - albeit with different omens: The sport of football had moved into the background, and athletics and gymnastics , floor exercises and batting took its place . How and how long it went on is uncertain.

literature

  • 50 years of the Gymnasial-Spielverein Gütersloh , Gütersloh 1928

Coordinates: 51 ° 54 ′ 19.4 "  N , 8 ° 22 ′ 24.5"  E