
The1955–56 Oberliga was the eleventh season of theOberliga, the first tier of thefootball league system inWest Germany and theSaar Protectorate. The league operated in five regional divisions,Berlin,North,South,Southwest andWest. The five league champions and the runners-up from the west, south, southwest and north then entered the1956 German football championship which was won byBorussia Dortmund. It was Borussia Dortmund's first-evernational championship and second appearance in the championship final, having previously lost toVfR Mannheim in1949.[2][3]
A similar-named league, theDDR-Oberliga, existed inEast Germany, set at the first tier of theEast German football league system. The1956 DDR-Oberliga was won bySC Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt.[4]
The 1955–56 season saw two new clubs in the league,VfR Neumünster andEintracht Nordhorn, both promoted from the Amateurliga. The league's top scorer wasUwe Seeler of Hamburger SV with 32 goals, the highest total for any scorer in the five Oberligas in 1955–56.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamburger SV | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 89 | 35 | +54 | 41 | Qualification toGerman championship |
| 2 | Hannover 96 | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 38 | |
| 3 | Arminia Hannover | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 37 | |
| 4 | Holstein Kiel | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 35 | |
| 5 | VfR Neumünster | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 33 | |
| 6 | Werder Bremen | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 74 | 54 | +20 | 32 | |
| 7 | TuS Bremerhaven 93 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 32 | |
| 8 | Göttingen 05 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 58 | 59 | −1 | 31 | |
| 9 | FC Altona 93 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 29 | |
| 10 | VfL Osnabrück | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 64 | −16 | 28 | |
| 11 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 68 | 71 | −3 | 27 | |
| 12 | Eintracht Nordhorn | 30 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 46 | 60 | −14 | 27 | |
| 13 | FC St. Pauli | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 27 | |
| 14 | VfL Wolfsburg | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 55 | 62 | −7 | 25 | |
| 15 | VfB Oldenburg(R) | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 37 | 60 | −23 | 21 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 16 | Eimsbütteler TV(R) | 30 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 82 | −39 | 17 |
The 1955–56 season saw two new clubs in the league,Tasmania 1900 Berlin andHertha Zehlendorf, both promoted from theAmateurliga Berlin. The league's top scorer wasManfred Dommasch of Hertha Zehlendorf with 18 goals.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viktoria 89 Berlin | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 60 | 28 | +32 | 29 | Qualification toGerman championship |
| 2 | Minerva 93 Berlin | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 27 | |
| 3 | Berliner SV 92 | 22 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 37 | 36 | +1 | 25 | |
| 4 | Spandauer SV | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 24 | |
| 5 | Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 24 | |
| 6 | Union 06 Berlin | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 23 | |
| 7 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 22 | |
| 8 | Hertha Zehlendorf | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 21 | |
| 9 | Tasmania 1900 Berlin | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 21 | 25 | −4 | 21 | |
| 10 | Hertha BSC Berlin | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 40 | 48 | −8 | 18 | |
| 11 | Alemannia 90 Berlin(R) | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 30 | 52 | −22 | 18 | Relegation toAmateurliga Berlin |
| 12 | Wacker 04 Berlin(R) | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 27 | 50 | −23 | 12 |
The 1955–56 season saw two new clubs in the league,Sportfreunde Hamborn andWuppertaler SV, both promoted from the2. Oberliga West. The league's top scorer wasAlfred Niepieklo of Borussia Dortmund with 24 goals.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund(C) | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 78 | 36 | +42 | 45 | Qualification toGerman championship |
| 2 | FC Schalke 04 | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 67 | 38 | +29 | 41 | |
| 3 | Alemannia Aachen | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 70 | 55 | +15 | 41 | |
| 4 | Duisburger SV | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 36 | |
| 5 | Rot-Weiß Essen | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 59 | 45 | +14 | 36 | |
| 6 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 55 | 48 | +7 | 36 | |
| 7 | 1. FC Köln | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 32 | |
| 8 | Schwarz-Weiß Essen | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 27 | |
| 9 | SV Sodingen | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 27 | |
| 10 | Wuppertaler SV | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 43 | 62 | −19 | 27 | |
| 11 | Borussia München-Gladbach | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 60 | 70 | −10 | 26 | |
| 12 | Preußen Münster | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 51 | 64 | −13 | 26 | |
| 13 | Westfalia Herne | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 51 | 60 | −9 | 24 | |
| 14 | Preußen Dellbrück | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 49 | 69 | −20 | 24 | |
| 15 | Bayer Leverkusen(R) | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 37 | 65 | −28 | 17 | Relegation to2. Oberliga West |
| 16 | Sportfreunde Hamborn(R) | 30 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 45 | 70 | −25 | 15 |
The 1955–56 season saw two new clubs in the league,FV Speyer andSportfreunde Saarbrücken, both promoted from the2. Oberliga Südwest. The league's top scorer wasHorst Schmutzler of TuS Neuendorf with 30 goals.[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 108 | 41 | +67 | 53 | Qualification toGerman championship |
| 2 | TuS Neuendorf | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 75 | 36 | +39 | 43 | |
| 3 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 88 | 53 | +35 | 39 | |
| 4 | FK Pirmasens | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 65 | 42 | +23 | 37 | |
| 5 | VfR Frankenthal | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 47 | 37 | +10 | 34 | |
| 6 | Borussia Neunkirchen | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 57 | 47 | +10 | 34 | |
| 7 | Phönix Ludwigshafen | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 34 | |
| 8 | Eintracht Kreuznach | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 59 | 75 | −16 | 32 | |
| 9 | Saar 05 Saarbrücken | 30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 28 | |
| 10 | FSV Mainz 05 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 52 | 64 | −12 | 27 | |
| 11 | Wormatia Worms | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 65 | 66 | −1 | 26 | |
| 12 | Eintracht Trier | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 57 | −10 | 25 | |
| 13 | VfR Kaiserslautern | 30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 47 | 76 | −29 | 20 | |
| 14 | SpVgg Andernach | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 43 | 87 | −44 | 19 | |
| 15 | FV Engers(R) | 30 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 52 | 99 | −47 | 15 | Relegation to2. Oberliga Südwest |
| 16 | TuRa Ludwigshafen(R) | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 31 | 68 | −37 | 14 |
The 1955–56 season saw two new clubs in the league,TSV 1860 München andViktoria Aschaffenburg, both promoted from the2. Oberliga Süd. The league's top scorer wasErnst-Otto Meyer of VfR Mannheim with 30 goals, six less than the previous season when he also finished as the league's top scorer.[5]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karlsruher SC | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 41 | Qualification toGerman championship |
| 2 | VfB Stuttgart | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 38 | |
| 3 | VfR Mannheim | 30 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 73 | 45 | +28 | 36 | |
| 4 | Kickers Offenbach | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 36 | |
| 5 | Viktoria Aschaffenburg | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 61 | 45 | +16 | 35 | |
| 6 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 56 | 49 | +7 | 31 | |
| 7 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 42 | 41 | +1 | 31 | |
| 8 | FC Schweinfurt 05 | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 30 | |
| 9 | FSV Frankfurt | 30 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 29 | |
| 10 | Jahn Regensburg | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 41 | 51 | −10 | 28 | |
| 11 | BC Augsburg | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 48 | 53 | −5 | 26 | |
| 12 | Schwaben Augsburg | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 26 | |
| 13 | SpVgg Fürth | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 48 | 69 | −21 | 26 | |
| 14 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 30 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 24 | |
| 15 | SSV Reutlingen(R) | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 49 | 81 | −32 | 24 | Relegation to2. Oberliga Süd |
| 16 | TSV 1860 München(R) | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 43 | 74 | −31 | 19 |
The 1956 German football championship was contested by the nine qualified Oberliga teams and won byBorussia Dortmund, defeatingKarlsruher SC in the final. The runners-up of the Oberligas, except Berlin, played pre-qualifying matches to determine which three of the four would go on to the group stage. The remaining eight clubs then played a home-and-away round of matches in two groups of four. The two group winners then advanced to the final.[6]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| FC Schalke 04 | 2–1 aet | Hannover 96 |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| VfB Stuttgart | 8–0 | TuS Neuendorf |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Hannover 96 | 3–3 aet | TuS Neuendorf |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Hannover 96 | 3–2 | TuS Neuendorf |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation | KSC | S04 | FCK | H96 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karlsruher SC(Q) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 7 | Qualified to final | — | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | |
| 2 | FC Schalke 04 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 12 | +4 | 7 | 0–3 | — | 3–1 | 3–1 | ||
| 3 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 7 | 0–1 | 4–4 | — | 5–3 | ||
| 4 | Hannover 96 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 17 | −9 | 3 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–5 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation | DOR | HSV | VFB | VIC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund(Q) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 4 | +15 | 9 | Qualified to final | — | 5–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | |
| 2 | Hamburger SV | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 9 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 5–1 | ||
| 3 | VfB Stuttgart | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 14 | −5 | 4 | 0–2 | 2–4 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Viktoria 89 Berlin | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 21 | −14 | 2 | 0–6 | 1–3 | 3–3 | — |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Borussia Dortmund | 4–2 | Karlsruher SC |