page_title: Beşiktaş J.K.
section_title: Initial years of football
hierarchical_section_title: Beşiktaş J.K. / History / Initial years of football
caption_attribution_description: English: Players of Beşiktaş before the match against Galatasaray, 19 March 1939.Türkçe: Galatasaray ile oynayacakları maç öncesinde Beşiktaşlı futbolcular, 19 Mart 1939.
context_page_description: Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü, also known simply as Beşiktaş, is a Turkish sports club founded in 1903, and based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey. The club's football team is one of the most successful teams in Turkey, having never been relegated to a lower division. The team last won the Turkish Süper Lig championship during the 2016–17 season. The home ground of Beşiktaş is Vodafone Park, a 41,903 capacity all-seater stadium located next to Dolmabahçe Palace.
  The club also competes in other branches including basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, boxing, wrestling, chess, bridge, gymnastics, rowing, table tennis, parasports, esports, and beach football.
context_section_description: With football becoming the main sport of the Ottoman Empire around 1910, Beşiktaş members slowly started to give more attention to football. In August 1911, Ahmed Şerafettin started the football team. With the outbreak of World War I following the Balkan Wars, sporting activities at the club effectively came to a halt as many athletes left to serve on the front lines. While the end of the war allowed surviving athletes to return, the team faced a difficult period during the Occupation of Istanbul, but was able to recover with the hard work of Şeref Bey. Beşiktaş did not enter the Istanbul Friday and Sunday leagues, and did not have any championships until 1918, when they won the Istanbul Turkish 1st Sports League. In 1921, that particular league's final season, they won it again. In 1924, Beşiktaş entered the Istanbul Football League along with Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and other Istanbul teams. Beşiktaş became the league's first champion in 1924, but was not able to have more success in the league. Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were the two dominant teams through the middle of the 1930s.
  Beşiktaş won their second Istanbul League championship in 1934, as well as their first Turkish Football Championship in the same year. In 1937, the Turkish National League was formed. In the Istanbul League season prior to the National League's inaugural season, Beşiktaş finished in fourth place, which earned them a berth in the National League. Beşiktaş finished third place in the National League, behind Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. In 1938, Beşiktaş finished in third place in the Istanbul League and second place in the National League, behind Güneş. Beşiktaş won a record five consecutive Istanbul League championships between 1939 and 1943. In the National League, Beşiktaş finished fourth in 1939, fifth in 1940, first in 1941 and third in 1943 (in 1942 the league was not held). The club won the Istanbul League in 1945 and 1946, as well as the national league in 1944 and 1947.
caption: Beşiktaş players before the match against Galatasaray, 19 March 1939.
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