SC Graudenz
| SC Graudenz | |||
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| Full name | Sport Club Graudenz | ||
| place | Graudenz | ||
| Founded | 1906 | ||
| Dissolved | 1945 | ||
| Club colors | Black-and-white | ||
| Stadion | |||
| Top league | Baltic Lawn and Winter Sports Association | ||
| successes | Semi-finals 1909/10, 1910/11, 1912/13 | ||
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The Sports Club Graudenz was a German sports club from the West Prussian town of Graudenz , today Grudziądz.
history
Two-time finalist
In mid-October 1906, the Graudenz sports club was founded as the first football club in the West Prussian city. Both in terms of membership and football, the SCG developed quickly. The number of members rose from 38 in 1908 to 134 in 1911. The people of Graudenz also attracted attention early on in terms of sport: in 1909/10 the club won the "Pomeranian Championship" - the association had merged the East Pomeranian and West Prussian clubs to form the "Pomeranian" district . The SCG was thus qualified for the Baltic finals, in which it was defeated 1: 2 in the semifinals by BuEV Danzig . In 1912/13, the Graudenzer team were again in the finals as champions of District VI. In the qualification, opponents Hertha Schneidemühl did not appear, so that the West Prussians reached the quarter-finals without a fight. There was a 6-5 win at Elbinger SV . The final destination was the semi-finals: In Marienwerder the SC lost 5-1 to BuEV Danzig.
This ended the sporting highlights of SC Graudenz, the rest of the football and club history set other priorities. First of all, the outbreak of the First World War brought an abrupt end to the "peaceful and informal development of sport". And after the end of the war, Graudenz became part of the "corridor" in Polish territory. The homeland book "Die Stadt und der Landkreis Graudenz" describes the events and their effects on sport: "The occupation of the city by Polish troops in January 1920, the takeover of all public facilities by the Poles and the closure of German schools exerted a terrifying effect on the German residents of the city that paralyzed all activity, so that there is nothing to report about sporting events from that year. Only in the following year did sporting activity slowly revive. "
Athletes migrate
In the town, which was now called Grudziądz, the sports club became active again and played some football matches. But soon he was faced with the same problems as the other German sports clubs. The Heimatbuch explains: "The emigration of many long-established families from Graudenz caused the number of members of the sports clubs to decline so much that normal sports activities were hardly possible." The only exception was the rowing department. As there was no corresponding Polish club, so many Poles registered for membership in a short time that regular rowing was hardly possible with the limited number of boats. It was also feared that if the number of registrations remained the same, the club would soon pass into Polish hands, and they imposed a ban on membership. This could only be lifted when a Polish rowing club was founded and the situation normalized again.
The Heimatbuch: "In all other areas of sport we quickly found our own Polish clubs with a lot of visitors, while the German clubs led an arduous existence threatened by the constant decline in membership." German sports in Graudenz countered this problem by merging all German sports clubs under a single umbrella organization, the Graudenz sports club. The Heimatbuch: "For around 25 years, the sports club united all of the city's sporting German youth under its black and gold shield, which showed the letters SCG in a simple form between two narrow diagonal stripes."
Omnisport club instead of soccer club
The football club SCG - the abbreviation now stood for SC Grudziądz - had become an omnisport club with footballers, gymnasts, cyclists, tennis players and track and field athletes, at times also boxers and bike ballers. However, the club - especially in the early days - had to struggle with the problem of missing or inadequate exercise and competition facilities. Nevertheless, comparisons with German or Polish opponents were often made. The SCG track and field athletes in particular made a name for themselves. The friendly atmosphere at competitions with Polish opponents is particularly emphasized in the Heimatbuch: "The national differences, often stoked by the authorities and the press, could not prevent the youth of both peoples from measuring their strengths on the grass and on the cinder track with mutual respect. "
In the years 1923-1936 the SCG (also known as KS Grudziądz) played in the Polish B-class (3rd division). After the 1936 season, they relegated to the C-Class. In the course of time, the Germans only formed a small minority compared to the Polish population. The "Annual Report 1938" of SC Grudziądz shows that the footballers suffered. You only had a full first team, you couldn't get a second eleven together or a full youth team. This leads to the conclusion that just 20 of the almost 400 SCG members were active footballers. Income from entrance fees, etc., the department recorded in the amount of 4.25 zloty, on the other hand expenses of 294.55 zloty. After all, the 1938 game statistics are positive. The first team played 16 games, eight of which were won. Total goal difference: 53:44.
New upswing after 1939
A year later, the situation for the entire club improved again. Because from 1939 onwards, numerous families who had left the country since the First World War returned to Graudenz and also replenished the thinned ranks of the SCG. In addition, the association was reinforced by members of the armed forces stationed in the city, and the club found a special supporter of its sporting work in Major General Voigt. But there was not enough time to rebuild a football department whose performance could meet the demands of the top division, the Gauliga. The SCG failed in 1943 in the promotion games to the Gauliga Danzig-West Prussia . In the last years of the war, the individual departments had to limit their activities more and more due to a lack of active athletes and finally stop them completely. The end of the war in 1945 finally ended the chapter Sport-Club Graudenz after 39 years of club history.
literature
- Hardy Greens : Encyclopedia of German League Football. Volume 7: Club Lexicon . AGON-Sportverlag, Kassel 2001, ISBN 3-89784-147-9 .
- The city and the district of Graudenz , ed. on behalf of the home districts of Graudenz Stadt and Graudenz Land, by Dr. Nordewin by Diest-Koerber, Gerhart Meißner and Hans-Jürgen Schuch.
- Annual report 1938 of the SC Grudziadz
- German Football Association : DFB yearbooks 1905 to 1913
- LIBERO Special German , No. D 3, 1992
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sportowiec 1923, R. 1 nr 43 (from page 13)
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from November 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
