1938 German football championship

The 1938 German football championship, the 31st edition of the competition, was won by Hannover 96, the club's first-ever German championship, by defeating Schalke 04 4–3 after extra time in the final. The 1938 final had to be replayed because the first game had ended in a three-all draw after extra time. For Hannover 96 it marked the first of two national championships, the second coming in 1954, while, for Schalke, it was a short setback in the club's most successful era, having won the 1934, 1935 and 1937 final and going on to win the 1939, 1940 and 1942 ones as well.[1][2][3]

1938 German championship
Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft
Replica of the Viktoria trophy
Tournament details
CountryGermany
Dates13 March – 3 July
Teams16
Final positions
ChampionsHannover 96
1st German title
Runner-upSchalke 04
Third placeFortuna Düsseldorf
Fourth placeHamburger SV
Tournament statistics
Matches played54
Goals scored226 (4.19 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Gustav Carstens (9 goals)
← 1937
1939 →

The 1938 edition was only the second, after 1922, when a replay of the final was required.[1] FC Schalke 04 entered the final as heavy favourites, having won the national championship in the previous season.[4] In the first game Schalke twice took the lead, 2–0 and 3–1 before Erich Meng equalised in the 87th minute. No goals were scored in extra time, making a replay necessary.[5] The second game, one week later, saw Hannover take the lead before Schalke went ahead twice again only for Hannover to equalise once again in the 87th minute. In the following extra time Erich Meng scored the decisive goal in the 117th minute, giving Hannover its first national title.[6] Erich Meng, who, together with his brother Richard, played a big part in the title win for Hannover, was killed in action less than two years later in the Second World War.[4]

Hamburger SV's Gustav Carstens was the 1938 championships top scorer, with nine goals.[7]

The sixteen 1937–38 Gauliga champions competed in a group stage of four groups of four teams each, with the group winners advancing to the semi-finals. The two semi-final winners then contested the 1938 championship final.[8]

From the following season, the German championship expanded to eighteen clubs and continued to increase in numbers through a combination of territorial expansion of Nazi Germany and the sub-dividing of the Gauligas. In later years, the number of Gauligas reached a strength of thirty one in its last completed season, 1943–44.[9]

Qualified teams

edit

The teams qualified through the 1937–38 Gauliga season:[8]

Club Qualified from
VfR Mannheim Gauliga Baden
1. FC Nürnberg Gauliga Bayern
Berliner SV 92 Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg
FC Hanau 93 Gauliga Hessen
SV Dessau 05 Gauliga Mitte
Alemannia Aachen Gauliga Mittelrhein
Fortuna Düsseldorf Gauliga Niederrhein
Hannover 96 Gauliga Niedersachsen
Hamburger SV Gauliga Nordmark
Yorck Boyen Insterburg Gauliga Ostpreußen
Stettiner SC Gauliga Pommern
BC Hartha Gauliga Sachsen
Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz Gauliga Schlesien
Eintracht Frankfurt Gauliga Südwest
Schalke 04 Gauliga Westfalen
VfB Stuttgart Gauliga Württemberg
  • SV Beuel 06 was retrospectively awarded the championship in the Gauliga Mittelrhein but this decision was made too late to replace Alemannia Aachen in the German championship.

Competition

edit

Group 1

edit

Group 1 was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Nordmark, Pommern, Südwest and Ostpreußen:[8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification HSV SGE SSC YBI
1 Hamburger SV 6 5 0 1 21 5 4.200 10 Advance to semi-finals 5–0 2–0 3–1
2 Eintracht Frankfurt 6 5 0 1 24 13 1.846 10 3–2 5–0 5–0
3 Stettiner SC 6 2 0 4 12 18 0.667 4 1–3 5–6 1–0
4 Yorck Boyen Insterburg 6 0 0 6 4 25 0.160 0 0–6 1–5 2–5
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 2

edit

Group 2 was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Baden, Brandenburg, Mitte and Westfalen:[8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification S04 MAN BSV SVD
1 Schalke 04 6 3 2 1 19 6 3.167 8 Advance to semi-finals 1–2 3–0 6–1
2 VfR Mannheim 6 3 2 1 15 10 1.500 8 2–2 3–2 6–1
3 Berliner SV 6 1 2 3 8 11 0.727 4 1–1 3–1 2–3
4 SV Dessau 05 6 1 2 3 6 21 0.286 4 0–6 1–1 0–0
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 3

edit

Group 3 was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Niederrhein, Schlesien, Sachsen and Württemberg:[8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification F95 BCH VFB VRG
1 Fortuna Düsseldorf 6 4 2 0 14 4 3.500 10 Advance to semi-finals 2–2 3–0 3–1
2 BC Hartha 6 1 4 1 8 12 0.667 6 1–1 2–1 2–2
3 VfB Stuttgart 6 2 1 3 14 9 1.556 5 0–2 1–1 7–1
4 Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz 6 1 1 4 9 20 0.450 3 0–3 5–0 0–5
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Group 4

edit

Group 4 was contested by the champions of the Gauligas Bayern, Hessen, Mittelrhein and Niedersachsen:[8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification H96 FCN AAC H93
1 Hannover 96 6 6 0 0 16 5 3.200 12 Advance to semi-finals 2–1 6–1 1–0
2 1. FC Nürnberg 6 4 0 2 15 9 1.667 8 1–2 4–2 2–1
3 Alemannia Aachen 6 2 0 4 11 17 0.647 4 1–2 1–3 2–0
4 FC Hanau 93 6 0 0 6 5 16 0.313 0 1–3 1–4 2–4
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Semi-finals

edit
Team 1  Score  Team 2
29 May 1938[10]
Schalke 04 1–0 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Hannover 96 3–2 aet Hamburger SV

Third place play-off

edit
Team 1  Score  Team 2
26 June 1938
Fortuna Düsseldorf 0–0 aet Hamburger SV

Replay

edit
Team 1  Score  Team 2
3 July 1938[11]
Fortuna Düsseldorf 4–2 Hamburger SV

Final

edit
Team 1  Score  Team 2
26 June 1938[12]
Hannover 96 3–3 aet Schalke 04

Replay

edit
Team 1  Score  Team 2
3 July 1938
Hannover 96 4–3 aet Schalke 04

References

edit
  1. ^ a b (West) Germany -List of champions rsssf.org, accessed: 27 December 2015
  2. ^ FC Schalke 04 » Steckbrief (in German) Weltfussball.de – FC Schalke 04 honours, accessed: 27 December 2015
  3. ^ Hannover 96 » Steckbrief (in German) Weltfussball.de – Hannover 96 honours, accessed: 27 December 2015
  4. ^ a b Fuffzig Mark für die „Deutsche“ (in German) Hannoversche Allgemeine, published: 26 June 2013, accessed: 28 December 2015
  5. ^ Deutsche Meisterschaft 1937/1938 » Finale » Hannover 96 - FC Schalke 04 3:3 (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 28 December 2015
  6. ^ Deutsche Meisterschaft 1937/1938 » Finale » Hannover 96 - FC Schalke 04 4:3 (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 28 December 2015
  7. ^ "Deutsche Meisterschaft » Torschützenkönige" [German championship: Top goal scorer]. Weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f German championship 1938 rsssf.org, accessed: 28 December 2015
  9. ^ kicker Allmanach 1990, page: 243-245
  10. ^ German championship 1938 – Semifinals (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 28 December 2015
  11. ^ German championship 1938 – Third place (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 28 December 2015
  12. ^ German championship 1938 – Final (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 28 December 2015

Sources

edit
  • kicker Allmanach 1990, by kicker, page 164 & 177 - German championship
edit