Sportbrüder Leipzig

SC Sportbrüder Leipzig was a German association football club from the city of Leipzig, Saxony, which co-existed alongside an athletics and cycling team of the same name.[1] It was one of the older teams in Leipzig's football history, as it was the fourth to be established in the city on 11 November 1893 – the same year as Leipzig BC 1893 and FC Lipsia 1893, and one year after VfK Südwest Leipzig.[2][3][4] The team was initially set up by young athletes from the ATV Leipzig 1845 athletics association and managed by them until becoming independent on 26 May 1896, spurred on by the loss of the team to Leizpig BC 1893 and the demanding training schedule being enforced by the athletics association. This was a common occurrence at the turn of the century, with other teams such as FC Bayern Munich also choosing to part ways with their men's gymnastics club.[3]

Sportbrüder Leipzig
Full nameSport-Club Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig
Founded11 November 1893
Dissolved2 November 1900
GroundExerzierplatz (until 1899)
Sportplatz (from 1900)

The team competed in the Verband Leipziger Ballspiel-Vereine (Federation of Leipzig Ballgame Clubs), the third established football league in Germany, for two seasons. In both seasons they placed bottom of the table and are considered to have dissolved from 2 November 1900 following the departure of original members after a team merger. 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig claim to be their successors.

History

Founded in November 1893 by 17-year-old Johannes Kirmse with Albert Rößler as Sport Club Sportbrüder Leipzig, it was one of Germany's earliest football clubs and a founding member of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball Bund) in 1900.[5][6] Initially the squad almost exclusively consisted of students under 20 years old from a local Realschule.[7][8][9] The team also became a part of the Verband Leipziger Ballspiel Vereine on 30 March 1987, being the first team accepted into the federation after the initial founding members.[10] Despite winning the last game of the 1899/1900 season against FC Wacker Leipzig,[10][11] they still placed at the bottom of the table for the second year in a row. All four founding members of this federation and Sportbrüder Leipzig initially shared the Exerzierplatz, formerly a military parade ground, in Rosenthal. After the closure of the ground in 1899[12] the Sportplatz was instead used by the teams as a their playing ground. The other four teams using the ground were:

  • Leipziger Ballspiel-Club
  • FC Wacker Leipzig
  • VfB Leipzig
  • Abteilung Bewegungsspiele der Leipziger Finkenschaft.[10]
Plaque outside Zum Marriengarten which commemorates the founding of the German Football Association.

Following a meeting at the restaurant Zum Mariengarten, the same location where the German Football Association was founded, Sportbrüder Leipzig merged with VfB Leipzig in 1898 to form VfB Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig[2] until the name was changed to the older VfB Leipzig on 2 November 1900.[13][14] This decision was encouraged by Thomas Schöffler[15] and proved to be of both personal and financial benefit for the teams.[7]

The athletic department of Sportbrüder organized the country's first marathon on 5 September 1897 from Paunsdorf to Bennewitz and back, for which eighteen participants signed up.[16][17] At 6 am the race began at Neuen Gasthof in Paunsdorf with Theodor Schöffler, a referee for VfB Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig and future founder of the German Football Association,[10][18] being the first out of thirteen participants to cross the finish line at a time of 3:35:51. According to media reports, the race was received well by spectators.[18] Another race took place the following year, but this time organised by the newly founded Deutschen Sportbehörde für Athletik (German Sports Authority for Athletics).[19] The athletic's division also had a prominent ice skating team which skated on Bad Rohrteich in Schönefeld .They hosted various races such as a 1200m ice skating race and a 600m race for the club championship.[1][20]

The first national marathon championship in Germany was held in 1925 with the course beginning in Halle and ending in Leipzig to commemorate the Sportbrüder athletics department's contribution to, and establishment of, the sport.[21]

Successors

It has sometimes been claimed that Sportbrüder Leipzig completely separated from VfB Leipzig in 1900 and faded into obscurity,[22] but this belief is either due to a possible misinterpretation of the German team Umbenennung (renaming) with reference to the change of VfB Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig to VfB Leizpig, or due to the departure of many, but not all, of the original Sportbrüder Leipzig members.[7] Under the name ''VfB Leipzig'' they enjoyed considerable success as one of the 86 founding clubs of the German Football Association and were the winners of the 1903 German football championship.[23] At the founding of the German Football Association they were represented by the chairman of the Federation of Leipzig Ballgame Clubs, Johannes Kirmse.[24]

Following the Insolvency of VfB Leipzig at the end of 2004, 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig claims to be the successor of the original Sportbrüder Leipzig and considers the team to be their "founding fathers",[25] since they are seeking to purchase the defunct club.[26] Should the deal go ahead, this would make them the nominal descendants of the team.

Results
As VfB Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig
Season/Date Competition Result
17 Nov. 1897 First known competitive match, vs. FC Olympia Darmstadt 0:1[27]
1899/1900 Federation of Leipzig Ballgame Teams Championship 4th (last)[28]
1898/1899 Federation of Leipzig Ballgame Teams Championship 4th (last)[29]

Team
Known players' surnames and positions[30]
Name Position
Geyer Goalkeeper
Braune Defender
T. Schöffler Defender
Trummlitz (Zonal) Defender
Kühnel (Zonal) Defender
A. Roeßler (Zonal) Defender
Kühn Forward
van Reinsberg Forward
Paul ("II") Forward
Paul ("I") Forward
Keßler Forward
J. Ebermann Referee
J. Kirmes unknown

References
  1. "Competition: Wettlaufen des Clubs "Sportbrüder"". Speed Skating News. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  2. Malone, David (2019). "Evolution of the emblems of the Bundesliga. "RB Leipzig"". Betsnnn. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  3. Hesse-Lichtenberger, Ulrich (2003). Tor!: The Story of German Football. London: WSC Books Limited. p. 24. ISBN 978-0954013455.
  4. "Vereinsgründungen bis 1895". fussball-historie.de. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  5. "Clubgründungen". Initiative 1903 e.V. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. "Leipzig, VfB". Austria-Archiv.at. 15 June 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. Sachse, Horst (2000). Fussball in und um Leipzig: von den Anfängen bis 1945. Leipziger Universitätsverlag. p. 25. ISBN 393456514X.
  8. Rackwitz, Ingolf (2006). Zentralstadion Leipzig: vom Stadion der Hunderttausend zum Fussballtempel. Das Neue Berlin. p. 15. ISBN 978-3360012807.
  9. Dieter Baroth, Hans (1992). Als der Fussball laufen lernte: Tore, Triumphe, Tollheiten. Klartext. p. 70. ISBN 978-3884744680.
  10. "1896 - 1899". Leipziger Fussballverband. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  11. "1900 - 1909". Leipziger Fußballverband. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  12. "Rink Card Of: Exerzierplatz Leipzig". Speed Skating News. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  13. "Verein für Bewegungsspiele Leipzig". DSC Museum. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  14. "VfB Leipzig - Team Info". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  15. Schröter, Detlev (2018). Camillo Ugi: Weltklassefußballer. Engelsdorfer Verlag. p. 10. ISBN 978-3961454006.
  16. "Competition: Wettlaufen des Clubs "Sportbrüder"". Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  17. Duwe, Klaus (2008). 42 mal 42: Marathon-Erlebnisse von Antalya bis Zermatt. Germany: Copress Sport. p. 77. ISBN 978-3767910102.
  18. "Der Leipzig Marathon – Stationen vom Elite- zum Volkslauf – die Geschichte des Laufes in 3 Folgen". German Road Races. 9 December 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  19. "Sportroute Leipzig" Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  20. "Neue Rekords in Davos". Sport im Bild (4). 1898. p. 42. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  21. Gottert, Frank. Marathon-Mekka Leipzig. p. 9.
  22. "Lokomotive Leipzig". Football Grounds in Focus. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  23. "Wann wurde der DFB gegründet?". Was ist Was. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  24. "Spiel und Sport" (444). 3 February 1900.
  25. "Pionierarbeit Unter Der Pickelhaube (1893-1914)". 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  26. "Lok Leipzig: Fusion mit VfB ist näher gerückt". Fussball.de. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  27. "Sport im Bild". Sport im Bild (48). 1897. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  28. "Verband Leipziger Ballspiel Vereine 1899/00". asc-neuenheim.de. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  29. "Verband Leipziger Ballspiel Vereine 1898/99". asc-neuenheim.de. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  30. "Sport". Prager Tablatt. 13 March 1899. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
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