Sportfreunde 95 Dortmund

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The Sportfreunde 95 Dortmund were a soccer club in Dortmund in North Rhine-Westphalia . The club emerged in 1933 from a merger of Dortmund's SC 95 and BC Sportfreunde 06 Dortmund . The connection had only come about so that the Westphalian metropolis was represented with a supposedly powerful club in the new Gauliga Westfalen .

The reorganization of Dortmund football in 1933

One of the main goals of the National Socialists was the creation of large associations to prepare for conformity . In order to achieve this goal, clubs that emerged from a merger were given the chance to be assigned to a higher division in the planned reorganization of football.

This was especially true for Dortmund, which only had one first division club, VfL Hörde , in the 1932/33 season . The neighboring cities of comparable size such as Essen and Bochum , on the other hand, were represented with five, Gelsenkirchen with four clubs in the special class. Even Herne had two teams in the top class.

With the prospect of a place in the newly created Gauliga, Dortmund's sports commissioner Paul Wagner wanted to establish a connection between the oldest and most respected club, the Dortmund SC 95 and the most powerful club VfL Hörde. It was hoped that this combination would enhance the ailing Dortmund football reputation. But VfL Hörde did not agree to the merger.

A "retort club" for the new Gauliga

With the announcement of the new classes in the association gazette, the new club was presented: "Sportfreunde 95 Dortmund". Behind this was the merger of the “Sport Club 95” with the “Ballspielclub Sportfreunde 06”. Both clubs had the same catchment area with the southern inner city. In the chronicle of the 95s it is said that the merger came about "at the instigation of the district sports representative at the time". The purpose of the association was "to give the battered reputation of Dortmund football new shine from above".

The extent to which experts were surprised and skeptical about this choice can be seen in the comment in "Sport vom Sonntag" of September 4, 1933, which is to be reproduced here in excerpts:

“Unfortunately, the official notifications do not state the criteria according to which the clubs were allocated to the individual classes. The best club in Dortmund z. B., who has played in the major league so far, is VfL Hörde. The next best clubs after the last standings were Arminia Marten , Borussia Dortmund , TBV Mengede and Alemannia Dortmund . Sportfreunde follows in sixth place and Dortmund 95 in tenth place.According to the official announcement, only Sportfreunde and Dortmund 95 play in the highest class ...

We were able to find out that only one Dortmund association was approved for promotion to the Gauliga from the Gau. The extent to which all the clubs were then asked to join forces and to what extent these negotiations were officially promoted is a matter in itself. A discussion here would lead too far; Mr. Otto Röhr, Dortmund, will be happy to provide information to interested parties. We are only interested in the question: Why do you consider an association of lower clubs and not the first and second best club (VfL Hörde and Arminia Marten) to be worthy of playing in the Gauliga ..? "

The newspaper clearly expressed its skepticism and that skepticism was justified. After just one year, Sportfreunde 95 was relegated from the Gauliga, and Dortmund was without a first division club for two years. The relegation was followed by the separation of the two clubs. The "inner contradictions" would have caused the union to fail, according to the DSC Chronicle.

Aftermath for the 95s

The lack of success of the “test tube association” had consequences for the 95s. The chronicle says:

“Despite a promise not only verbally but also in writing that if the union failed, the association would have to reassign both clubs to the district class and then both clubs would have 'closed time' for one year, the association only made the first part of the commitment followed, while the DSC 95 was allowed to descend the following year. In the 1936/37 season, the DSC 95 saw itself transferred to the first district class, while Sportfreunde 06 remained in the district class. "

The 95s fought for years against the decision of the sports authority because of not kept promises. The legal battle dragged on until 1943. Only then did the then chairman, Paul Kemper, give up the fight: his fight for justice had, according to the chronicle, meanwhile shifted to the political stage, and he saw not only his professional existence but also his freedom threatened.

used material

  • Club publications of SC Dortmund 95 / TSC Eintracht Dortmund
  • Contemporary newspapers, especially "Sport vom Sonntag"
  • Conversations with contemporaries