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Viktoria 89 Berlin

BFC Viktoria 1889
Viktoria89Berlin.png
Full name Berliner Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 e.V.
Nickname(s) Die Himmelblauen (the Sky-Blues), Tempelhofer Löwen (Tempelhof Lions)
Founded 6 June 1889
Dissolved 2013
Ground Friedrich-Ebert-Stadion
Ground Capacity 12,000
2012–13 NOFV-Oberliga Nord, 1st

Berliner Fußball-Club Viktoria 1889 was a German sports club based in the Tempelhof district of Berlin. Football, rugby, and cricket came to continental Europe in the late 19th century, and these "English games" became immediately popular in many countries. Viktoria was the oldest club in Germany that had both teams playing football and cricket. It was one of the founding members of the German Football Association (DFB) in 1900.

One of Berlin's earliest sides, the club was established on 6 June 1889 as Berliner Thorball- und Fußballclub Viktoria von 1889 (BTuFC Viktoria 89). They enjoyed almost immediate success, claiming the city championship in five consecutive seasons from 1893 to 1897. Viktoria then went on to become a presence on the national stage appearing in the country's championship final three years in a row from 1907 to 1909, and laying claim to the German title in 1908. The side captured a second national title in 1911 and continued to enjoy success in city league play until the end of World War I. They earned uneven results in early 1920s before settling firmly into to the Oberliga Berlin-Brandenburg.

The club went on to play as Berliner FC Viktoria 89 in the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg, one of sixteen premier level divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich in 1933. The team captured the division title that year and advanced to the national playoffs, going out 1:2 to 1. FC Nuremberg in the semi-finals. Renamed BFC Viktoria 89 Berlin in 1936, the club played in the top-flight until being relegated in 1938, making a fleeting re-appearance as part of the combined wartime side KSG Lufthansa/Viktoria 89 Berlin in the abbreviated 1944–45 season. Like most other organizations in Germany, including sports and football clubs, the club was dissolved by occupying Allied authorities at the end of World War II.

The club was re-established in late 1945 as SG Tempelhof and re-claimed the name BFC Viktoria 89 Berlin on 12 July 1947. They played from the late 40s, through the 50s, and into the early 60s in the Oberliga Berlin, affiliated with football in the western half of the now divided country. Viktoria claimed the division championship in 1955 and 1956, but were unable to advance in the national playoff rounds in either year. The Oberliga Berlin was relatively weak and generally performed poorly against top-flight teams from other divisions in western Germany. When the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional league, was formed in 1963, only a single place was held open among the sixteen teams selected to the new circuit for a side from Berlin. While the city's teams were not as competitive as others in the country, it was felt to be an important gesture in the Cold War era to represent the former capital in the newly established league: the selection went to Hertha BSC Berlin.


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