Bundesliga (ice hockey)
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Most recent season or competition: 1993–94 ice hockey Bundesliga season |
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 |
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| Formerly | Oberliga (1948–58) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Inaugural season | 1958–59 |
| Ceased | 1994 |
| Country |
 Germany
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| Most titles | EV Füssen (9) Duesseldorfer EG (7) Koelner Haie (6) |
| Related competitions |
Deutsche Eishockey Liga 2nd Bundesliga |
The Eishockey-Bundesliga ("Federal Ice Hockey League") was formed in 1958 as the elite hockey competition in the Federal Republic of Germany, replacing the Oberliga in this position. From the 1994-95 season, it was in turn replaced by the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, which now also carries the name 1st Bundesliga in its logo. The DEL, originally administrated by the DEB, the German Ice Hockey Federation, became an independent league in 1997.
With the German reunion, the Bundesliga became a truly nationwide league, initially including two teams from the former East Germany.
Ice hockey was first played in Germany in 1887, in Berlin, and it was there that the first ice hockey department of a sports club was formed, as part of the Berliner SC.
The history of the German ice hockey championship began in 1912 when the Berliner SC won the first edition of the competition. The BSC was also to become the most dominating side in German ice hockey before the Second World War, winning 17 out of a possible 21 editions until 1937, with its best run of six consecutive championships between 1928 and 1933. The MTV München (1922), SC Riessersee (1927 & 1935) and Brandenburg Berlin (1934) were the only other clubs to earn some honours in this era.
From 1938 onwards, the national championship featured Austrian clubs as well and twice the title went to Vienna after this. The war disrupted the championship and between 1941 and 1947 only one season was played, in 1944. In this era, teams came from all over Germany, including areas that would not be part of Germany any more after 1945.
Ice hockey restarted in the occupied Germany in 1947 and began with two regional leagues, north and south, of which the two champions played a national final, won by SC Riessersee, which marked the beginning of a Bavarian dominance in the sport in Germany. In the following year, the Eishockey-Oberliga (English: Ice hockey premier league) was formed, consisting of six clubs, those being the SC Riessersee, EV Füssen, HC Augsburg, Preußen Krefeld, Krefelder EV and VfL Bad Nauheim. The EV Füssen soon became the dominating side of this era, winning seven titles in twelve seasons, six of those in series from 1953 to 1958. Apart from Füssen, the Oberliga proved an inconsistent league, with members fluctuating season-by-season and consequently, in 1958, the decision was made to form a Bundesliga, the first ever league in Germany to carry that name.
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