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| Founded | 1949 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1963 (14 seasons) |
| Replaced by | Regionalliga West |
| Country |  Germany |
| State |  North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Level on pyramid | Level 2 |
| Promotion to | Oberliga West |
| Relegation to | |
| Last champions | VfB Bottrop (1962–63) |
The2. Oberliga West (English: 2nd Premier League West) was the second-highest level of theGerman football league system in the west ofGermany from 1949 until theformation of theBundesliga in 1963. It covered the state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany.
The 2. Oberliga West was formed in 1949 with two groups of sixteen teams each, as a feeder league toOberliga West. It was the first of the three 2nd Oberligas, the other two being2. Oberliga Süd (formed in 1950) and2. Oberliga Südwest (in 1951). The league adopted a single group format starting from 1952: The top two teams of the 2. Oberliga gained promotion to theOberliga while the bottom two teams were relegated to theVerbandsliga's. Some years, however, exceptions applied and the number of promoted and relegated teams altered.
In July 1955 theWestdeutscher Fußballverband decided to disband the league from 1956, but the German federationDFB outlawed this decision and the league continued its existence.[1]
Below the 2. Oberliga West ranked theAmateurliga's, varying in numbers (and names) but split into three zones,Niederrhein,Mittelrhein, andWestfalen :
The 2. Oberliga West existed until 1963, when it was replaced by theRegionalliga West as the second division for North Rhine-Westphalia.
SpVgg Herten is the only team to have played in the league for all 14 seasons.
Schwarz-Weiß Essen became the first second-division side to win theGerman Cup when they did so in 1959, an achievement later repeated byKickers Offenbach andHannover 96 in the history of German football.
In 1963, the league was disbanded in favor of the new Regionalliga. The first eight teams from this season went to the Regionalliga West. The clubs placed from ninth to sixteenth were relegated to the Verbandsligas.
The following teams were relegated to the Amateurligas:
| Season | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|
| 1949–50 | Rheydter SV Sportfreunde Katernberg | Fortuna Düsseldorf Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 1950–51 | MSV Duisburg Bayer Leverkusen | Schwarz-Weiß Essen SSV 04 Wuppertal |
| 1951–52 | SV Sodingen Borussia Mönchengladbach | VfB Bottrop TSG Vohwinkel |
| 1952–53 | VfL Bochum | Rheydter SV |
| 1953–54 | Duisburger SV | Westfalia Herne |
| 1954–55 | Wuppertaler SV | SV Hamborn 07 |
| 1955–56 | VfL Bochum | MSV Duisburg |
| 1956–57 | SV Hamborn 07 | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen |
| 1957–58 | STV Horst-Emscher | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 1958–59 | SV Hamborn 07 | Schwarz-Weiß Essen |
| 1959–60 | SV Sodingen | TSV Marl-Hüls |
| 1960–61 | Schwarz–Weiß Essen | Fortuna Düsseldorf |
| 1961–62 | Bayer Leverkusen | Wuppertaler SV |
| 1962–63 | VfB Bottrop | Duisburg 48/99 |
The league placings from 1949 to 1963:[2]
Source:"2nd Oberliga West". Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv.Archived from the original on 5 January 2008. Retrieved2008-01-10.
| Symbol | Key |
|---|---|
| W | Oberliga West |
| 1 | League champions |
| Place | League |
| Blank | Played at a league level below this league |