# 1953–54 Oberliga

The 1953–54 Oberliga was the ninth season of the Oberliga, the first tier of the football league system in West Germany and the Saar Protectorate. The league operated in five regional divisions, Berlin, North, South, Southwest and West. The five league champions and the runners-up from the south then entered the 1954 German football championship which was won by Hannover 96. It was Hannover's second national championship, having previously won it in 1938 in an epic final against FC Schalke 04 that saw two extra time games before Hannover won 4–3.
Hannover 96 equaled the Oberliga start record set in 1952–53 by 1. FC Köln, winning its first eleven games, a mark later equaled by Hamburger SV in 1961–62 but never surpassed.
A similar-named league, the DDR-Oberliga, existed in East Germany, set at the first tier of the East German football league system. The 1953–54 DDR-Oberliga was won by Turbine Erfurt.

## Oberliga Nord

The 1953–54 season saw two new clubs in the league, Eintracht Braunschweig and Victoria Hamburg, both promoted from the Amateurliga. The league's top scorer was Fritz Apel (Arminia Hannover) and Werner Heitkamp (FC St. Pauli) with 21 goals each. Hannover 96 became the only team other than Hamburger SV to win the Oberliga Nord as the latter won 15 of the possible 16 league championships from 1947 to 1963 but missed out in 1953–54.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hannover 96 (C) | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 64 | 26 | +38 | 46 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | FC St. Pauli | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 65 | 37 | +28 | 39 | |
| 3 | FC Altona 93 | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 68 | 59 | +9 | 32 | |
| 4 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 58 | −1 | 32 | |
| 5 | Werder Bremen | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 31 | |
| 6 | Arminia Hannover | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 78 | 77 | +1 | 29 | |
| 7 | TuS Bremerhaven 93 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 55 | −2 | 29 | |
| 8 | Eimsbütteler TV | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 51 | 55 | −4 | 29 | |
| 9 | Holstein Kiel | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 50 | 68 | −18 | 29 | |
| 10 | Göttingen 05 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 28 | |
| 11 | Hamburger SV | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 77 | 58 | +19 | 28 | |
| 12 | VfL Osnabrück | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 48 | 46 | +2 | 27 | |
| 13 | Bremer SV | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 27 | |
| 14 | Harburger TB | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 43 | 60 | −17 | 26 | |
| 15 | VfB Lübeck (R) | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 33 | 59 | −26 | 23 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
| 16 | Victoria Hamburg (R) | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 22 | Relegation to Amateurliga |
* ↑ Hamburger SV deducted four points for illegal payments to player Willi Schröder.

## Oberliga Berlin

The 1953–54 season saw two new clubs in the league, Kickers 1900 Berlin and Hertha Zehlendorf, both promoted from the Amateurliga Berlin. The league's top scorer was Hermann Paul of Berliner SV 1892 with 19 goals.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Berliner SV 92 | 22 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 58 | 29 | +29 | 34 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | Minerva 93 Berlin | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 59 | 40 | +19 | 31 | |
| 3 | Union 06 Berlin | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 30 | |
| 4 | Spandauer SV | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 27 | |
| 5 | Alemannia 90 Berlin | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 36 | +8 | 26 | |
| 6 | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 24 | |
| 7 | Viktoria 89 Berlin | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 21 | |
| 8 | BFC Nordstern | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 19 | |
| 9 | Wacker 04 Berlin | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 29 | 36 | −7 | 17 | |
| 10 | Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 16 | |
| 11 | Hertha Zehlendorf (R) | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 23 | 50 | −27 | 14 | Relegation to Amateurliga Berlin |
| 12 | Kickers 1900 Berlin (R) | 22 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 19 | 69 | −50 | 5 | Relegation to Amateurliga Berlin |

## Oberliga West

The 1953–54 season saw two new clubs in the league, Rheydter SV and VfL Bochum, both promoted from the 2. Oberliga West. The league's top scorer was Hans Schäfer of 1. FC Köln with 26 goals.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | 1. FC Köln | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 83 | 43 | +40 | 41 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | Rot-Weiss Essen | 30 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 75 | 49 | +26 | 40 | |
| 3 | FC Schalke 04 | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 76 | 51 | +25 | 39 | |
| 4 | Preußen Münster | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 60 | 54 | +6 | 33 | |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 69 | 58 | +11 | 32 | |
| 6 | Schwarz-Weiß Essen | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 72 | 53 | +19 | 31 | |
| 7 | Bayer Leverkusen | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 31 | |
| 8 | VfL Bochum | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 31 | |
| 9 | Alemannia Aachen | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 59 | 59 | 0 | 28 | |
| 10 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 27 | |
| 11 | Meidericher SV | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 46 | 55 | −9 | 27 | |
| 12 | Borussia München-Gladbach | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 56 | 73 | −17 | 27 | |
| 13 | Preußen Dellbrück | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 41 | 55 | −14 | 27 | |
| 14 | SV Sodingen | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 26 | |
| 15 | Rheydter SV (R) | 30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 45 | 76 | −31 | 20 | Relegation to 2. Oberliga West |
| 16 | STV Horst-Emscher (R) | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 43 | 76 | −33 | 20 | Relegation to 2. Oberliga West |

## Oberliga Südwest

The 1953–54 season saw two new clubs in the league, ASV Landau and VfR Frankenthal, both promoted from the 2. Oberliga Südwest. The league's top scorer was Herbert Martin of 1. FC Saarbrücken with 35 goals, the highest total for any scorer in the five Oberligas in 1953–54.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 30 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 139 | 33 | +106 | 52 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | FK Pirmasens | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 73 | 30 | +43 | 51 | |
| 3 | TuS Neuendorf | 30 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 85 | 51 | +34 | 39 | |
| 4 | Saar 05 Saarbrücken | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 80 | 62 | +18 | 35 | |
| 5 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 80 | 53 | +27 | 34 | |
| 6 | Phönix Ludwigshafen | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 34 | |
| 7 | FSV Mainz 05 | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 61 | 50 | +11 | 31 | |
| 8 | Borussia Neunkirchen | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 58 | 54 | +4 | 28 | |
| 9 | VfR Frankenthal | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 27 | |
| 10 | Eintracht Trier | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 57 | 66 | −9 | 26 | |
| 11 | Wormatia Worms | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 53 | 68 | −15 | 26 | |
| 12 | TuRa Ludwigshafen | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 65 | −13 | 24 | |
| 13 | FV Speyer | 30 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 35 | 80 | −45 | 22 | |
| 14 | VfR Kaiserslautern | 30 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 41 | 69 | −28 | 21 | |
| 15 | ASV Landau (R) | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 27 | 93 | −66 | 17 | Relegation to 2. Oberliga Südwest |
| 16 | VfR Kirn (R) | 30 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 34 | 83 | −49 | 13 | Relegation to 2. Oberliga Südwest |

## Oberliga Süd

The 1953–54 season saw two new clubs in the league, Jahn Regensburg and KSV Hessen Kassel, both promoted from the 2. Oberliga Süd. The league's top scorer was Helmut Preisendörfer (Kickers Offenbach) and Horst Schade (1. FC Nürnberg) with 22 goals each.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | VfB Stuttgart | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 43 | Qualification to German championship |
| 2 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 70 | 31 | +39 | 42 | Qualification to German championship |
| 3 | Kickers Offenbach | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 41 | |
| 4 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 71 | 44 | +27 | 38 | |
| 5 | Karlsruher SC | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 61 | 53 | +8 | 35 | |
| 6 | Jahn Regensburg | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 33 | |
| 7 | FSV Frankfurt | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 60 | 56 | +4 | 30 | |
| 8 | FC Schweinfurt 05 | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 28 | |
| 9 | FC Bayern Munich | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 42 | 46 | −4 | 28 | |
| 10 | VfR Mannheim | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 62 | 71 | −9 | 27 | |
| 11 | SpVgg Fürth | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 26 | |
| 12 | BC Augsburg | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 25 | |
| 13 | KSV Hessen Kassel | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 54 | 74 | −20 | 23 | |
| 14 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 63 | 79 | −16 | 21 | |
| 15 | SV Waldhof Mannheim (R) | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 66 | −19 | 20 | Relegation to 2. Oberliga Süd |
| 16 | Viktoria Aschaffenburg (R) | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 44 | 82 | −38 | 20 | Relegation to 2. Oberliga Süd |

## German championship

The 1954 German football championship was contested by the six qualified Oberliga teams and won by Hannover 96, defeating 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the final. The six clubs played single round of matches at neutral grounds in two groups of three. The two group winners then advanced to the final.

### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hannover 96 (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | Qualified to final |
| 2 | VfB Stuttgart | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 2 | |
| 3 | Berliner SV 92 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 | |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | Qualified to final |
| 2 | 1. FC Köln | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | |

### Final

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Hannover 96 | 5–1 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern |