# 1948–49 Oberliga

The 1948–49 Oberliga was the fourth season of the Oberliga, the first tier of the football league system in the three western zones of Allied-occupied Germany. The league operated in six regional divisions, Berlin, North, South, Southwest (north and south) and West. The five league champions, the runners-up from the North, South, Southwest and West and the third-placed team from the South entered the 1949 German football championship which was won by VfR Mannheim. It was VfR Mannheim's only national championship.
The Oberliga Südwest, covering the French occupation zone in Germany, operated in two regional divisions, north and south, with a championship final at the end of season.
In East Germany the DDR-Oberliga was established after the 1948–49 season in the Soviet occupation zone, set at the first tier of the league system. In 1949 an Eastern zone championship, the 1949 Ostzonenmeisterschaft, was held and won by ZSG Union Halle, but its winner did not advance to the German championship.
In post-Second World War Germany many clubs were forced to change their names or merge. This policy was particularly strongly enforced in the Soviet and French occupation zones but much more relaxed in the British and US one. In most cases clubs eventually reverted to their original names, especially after the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.
During the course of the 1948–49 league season the political landscape in Germany changed with the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly referred to as West Germany, established on 23 May 1949, followed by the German Democratic Republic, commonly referred to as East Germany, on 7 October 1949. I t was the first tier of the football league system in the three western zones of Allied-occupied Germany.

## Oberliga Nord

The 1948–49 season saw three new clubs promoted to the league, TuS Bremerhaven 93, Eimsbütteler TV and SC Göttingen 05. No team was relegated from the league at the end of season as the league was expanded to 16 teams in 1949–50.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hamburger SV | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 61 | 31 | +30 | 32 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | FC St. Pauli | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 47 | 22 | +25 | 32 | Qualification to German championship |
| 3 | VfL Osnabrück | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 61 | 23 | +38 | 31 | |
| 4 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 25 | |
| 5 | Bremer SV | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 22 | |
| 6 | Eimsbütteler TV | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 21 | |
| 7 | VfB Lübeck | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 20 | |
| 8 | Werder Bremen | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 19 | |
| 9 | Concordia Hamburg | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 18 | |
| 10 | Arminia Hannover | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 33 | 50 | −17 | 16 | |
| 11 | Göttingen 05 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 35 | 57 | −22 | 14 | |
| 12 | TuS Bremerhaven 93 | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 28 | 54 | −26 | 14 | |
| 13 | Holstein Kiel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
* ↑ Like in the previous season Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli, on equal points, had to play a championship decider which Hamburger SV won 2–1.
* ↑ Holstein Kiel removed from league for irregularities in the 1947–48 season and initially relegated but then pardoned.

## Oberliga Berlin

The 1948–49 season saw three new clubs promoted to the league, Viktoria 89 Berlin, SV Lichtenberg 47 and Minerva 93 Berlin.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Berliner SV 92 | 22 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 54 | 23 | +31 | 37 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 52 | 17 | +35 | 33 | |
| 3 | Union Oberschöneweide | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 52 | 38 | +14 | 32 | |
| 4 | Alemannia 90 Berlin | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 29 | |
| 5 | Viktoria 89 Berlin | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 27 | |
| 6 | Wacker 04 Berlin | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 20 | |
| 7 | VfB Pankow | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 34 | 47 | −13 | 18 | |
| 8 | BFC Südring | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 18 | |
| 9 | Minerva 93 Berlin (R) | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 25 | 43 | −18 | 17 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 10 | SC Köpenick (R) | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 15 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 11 | Spandauer SV (R) | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 28 | 46 | −18 | 9 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 12 | SV Lichtenberg 47 (R) | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 17 | 55 | −38 | 9 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

## Oberliga West

The 1948–49 season saw three new clubs promoted to the league, Rot-Weiß Essen, Rhenania Würselen and Preußen Münster.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 24 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 79 | 30 | +49 | 38 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | Rot-Weiß Essen | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 30 | Qualification to German championship |
| 3 | STV Horst-Emscher | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 27 | |
| 4 | Preußen Münster | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 35 | −2 | 25 | |
| 5 | Rot-Weiß Oberhausen | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 24 | |
| 6 | Sportfreunde Hamborn | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 40 | 44 | −4 | 24 | |
| 7 | TSG Vohwinkel | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 23 | |
| 8 | Alemannia Aachen | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 23 | |
| 9 | SpVgg Erkenschwick | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 21 | |
| 10 | Rhenania Würselen | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 33 | 48 | −15 | 21 | |
| 11 | Fortuna Düsseldorf (R) | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 20 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 12 | FC Schalke 04 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 43 | −10 | 18 | |
| 13 | Sportfreunde Katernberg (R) | 24 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 29 | 51 | −22 | 18 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

### Relegation play-offs

Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Preußen Dellbrück | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | SpVgg Herten | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | FC Schalke 04 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | VfL 06 Benrath | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | Duisburger FV 08 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | VfL Witten | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | Sportfreunde Katernberg | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 |

## Oberliga Südwest
### Northern group

The 1948–49 season saw three new clubs promoted to the league, Eintracht Trier, SpVgg Weisenau and BSC Oppau.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 24 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 142 | 22 | +120 | 43 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | Wormatia Worms | 24 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 75 | 24 | +51 | 36 | Qualification to German championship |
| 3 | TuS Neuendorf | 24 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 75 | 21 | +54 | 34 | |
| 4 | FK Pirmasens | 24 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 58 | 41 | +17 | 33 | |
| 5 | VfL Neustadt | 24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 32 | |
| 6 | Phönix Ludwigshafen | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 44 | +5 | 23 | |
| 7 | Eintracht Trier | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 46 | 62 | −16 | 20 | |
| 8 | FSV Mainz 05 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 39 | 67 | −28 | 20 | |
| 9 | SpVgg Weisenau | 24 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 44 | 86 | −42 | 18 | |
| 10 | BSC Oppau | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 39 | 60 | −21 | 16 | |
| 11 | SpVgg Andernach | 24 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 38 | 61 | −23 | 16 | |
| 12 | FSV Kürenz | 24 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 23 | 55 | −32 | 15 | |
| 13 | SG Gonsenheim (R) | 24 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 19 | 106 | −87 | 6 | Relegation to Amateurliga |

### Southern group

The 1948–49 season saw two new clubs promoted to the league, SV Tübingen and FC 08 Villingen.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Fortuna Freiburg | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 49 | 28 | +21 | 31 | Qualification to French occupation zone championship |
| 2 | SV Tübigen | 22 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 48 | 25 | +23 | 31 | Qualification to runners-up play-offs |
| 3 | ASV Villingen | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 28 | +9 | 26 | |
| 4 | Eintracht Singen | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 34 | 22 | +12 | 24 | |
| 5 | Fortuna Rastatt | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 53 | 54 | −1 | 23 | |
| 6 | SSV Reutlingen | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 22 | |
| 7 | VfL Schwenningen | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 21 | |
| 8 | VfL Konstanz | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 20 | |
| 9 | VfL Freiburg | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 39 | −8 | 20 | |
| 10 | SG Friedrichshafen | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 20 | |
| 11 | SV Biberach (R) | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 32 | 52 | −20 | 16 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 12 | SpVgg Offenburg | 22 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 26 | 53 | −27 | 10 | |

### Finals

The winners of the two regional divisions of the Oberliga Südwest played a final to determine the league champion who was also directly qualified for the German championship:
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 10–3 | Fortuna Freiburg | 4–0 | 6–3 |
The runners-up of the two divisions determined the club who would face the loser of the championship final for the second place in the German championship:
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Wormatia Worms | 8–0 | SV Tübingen | 5–0 | 3–0 |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Wormatia Worms | 3–0 | Fortuna Freiburg |

## Oberliga Süd

The 1948–49 season saw two new clubs promoted to the league, BC Augsburg and 1. Rödelheimer FC 02.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kickers Offenbach | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 79 | 29 | +50 | 49 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | VfR Mannheim (C) | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 38 | Qualification to German championship |
| 3 | FC Bayern Munich | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 61 | 42 | +19 | 35 | Qualification to German championship |
| 4 | TSV 1860 München | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 61 | 41 | +20 | 34 | |
| 5 | SV Waldhof Mannheim | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 54 | 45 | +9 | 34 | |
| 6 | VfB Stuttgart | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 31 | |
| 7 | Schwaben Augsburg | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 30 | |
| 8 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 53 | 65 | −12 | 30 | |
| 9 | VfB Mühlburg | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 45 | +6 | 29 | |
| 10 | FC Schweinfurt 05 | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 29 | |
| 11 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 27 | |
| 12 | FSV Frankfurt | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 27 | |
| 13 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 26 | |
| 14 | BC Augsburg | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 46 | 66 | −20 | 22 | |
| 15 | TSG Ulm 1846 (R) | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 22 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 16 | 1. Rödelheimer FC 02 (R) | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 40 | 73 | −33 | 17 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
* ↑ BC Augsburg and TSG Ulm 1846 had to play a relegation decider which Augsburg won 1–0.

## German championship

The 1949 German football championship was contested by the eight qualified Oberliga teams and won by VfR Mannheim, defeating Borussia Dortmund in the final. It was played in a knock-out format and consisted of ten clubs.