Highlights from the history of the Wuppertaler sports club.

Posted by Amir Mack on January 3rd, 2023

TSG was active in gymnastics in 1880. But the beginnings of SSV can be traced back to 1904 , when the winter sports club Bergischer Wintersport-und SV 04 Elberfeld was established. The club was then named SSV Elberfeld until 1905. The club played in the opening rounds of the national finals in 1930-31 and went on to play in Gauliga Niederrhein for two seasons, 1936-37 and 1937-1938. It was one of the 16 top-flight divisions created in the 1933 restructuring of German football. The club was changed to SSV 04 Wuppertal in 1937 and remained in the Gauliga for the next two seasons, until being relegated in 1940. They returned to first tier football in 1941 and earned a strong third-place finish, but left the division part way through the 1942-43 season as they were unable maintain a full side due to wartime manpower shortages.
TSG Vohwinkel, the dominant side after World War II emerged and they enrolled in the Oberliga West's first division in 1947. They would compete until their defeat in 1950.
Both clubs were members of the 2. Oberliga West (II) through the early 1950s, SSV under the guidance of coach Fritz Szepan, one-time star of Schalke 04 which had dominated German football from the mid-1930s to the mid-1940s. The union of the two associations that created "Wuppertaler SV" in 1954 paid almost immediate dividends as the combined side vaulted into the top of the pile and claimed the division title in 1954 and 1955. Wuppertal's return to the Oberliga was not as successful despite the presence in the team of players such as rising star Horst Szymaniak as well as Austria's international Erich Probst. The club could not escape the bottom half of the table, and was ultimately relegated following a next-to-last place finish in the year 1958.
WSV returned to the top division in the 1962-63 season which was the last Oberliga season prior to the introduction of the new first division Bundesliga. Although they had a poor regular season, they enjoyed a strong run in the DFB-Pokal, advancing to the semi-finals, where they lost a close-fought game (0-1) to first division team and the eventual winners of the cup Hamburger SV before a record crowd of 40,000 fans in their home town.
The next year, the club joined the Regionalliga West, one of five divisions on the new second tier circuit. Wuppertal delivered a solid performance and finished 2nd in their division to Alemannia Aachen. They were competitive through the rest of the 60s, and even into the 70s. They broke through to the top flight due to a Regionalliga West title and victory in the subsequent Bundesliga playoffs for promotion in 1972. WSV swept its opposition, winning all eight of its match in the promotion round, a feat unique in the 11 seasons played in this tournament format.

Die Lowen occupied the top flight for three seasons, with their 1972-73 debut being the most successful. Although they didn't really challenge eventual champions Bayern Munich for the title and were promoted to the Bundesliga, WSV spent five weeks in the second spot before ending up finishing fourth which has been surpassed only twice by teams newly elevated to the Bundesliga.
Fourth place earned the club a place in the 1973-74 UEFA Cup tournament the season following. They lost in the first round 6:8 overall (1-4, 5-4) to Polish team Ruch Chorzow. In the league that year, they only escaped relegation due to goal difference, following an 82nd minute away goal during the final match of their season in Stuttgart.
The club was widely thought of as having an insufficiently young squad to compete. The third season of top-tier football the club came in last, scoring just 12 points. This was the second worst Bundesliga result ever recorded and was four points less than the 1965-66 Tasmania Berlin side. The only bright point in this poor season was a 3-1 victory over the Bayern Munich side built around Franz Beckenbauer that dominated European football in the era of Beckenbauer.
Wuppertal was exiled from the Bundesliga in 1975. Wuppertal then played five seasons at the second tier. Bundesliga until 1980. In the 1980s, the club had a dozen seasons with the Amateur Oberliga Nordrhein (III). A string of good results in the late 80s eventually led to a return to the 2. Bundesliga for the 1993-94 and 1992-93 seasons prior to the club was relegated again to third tier football in the Regionalliga West/Sudwest.
The club experienced a near run-in with financial ruin in 1998. The club the next season was transferred to the Oberliga Nordrhein (IV) for not paying their dues. By the end of 2003, they had earned an invitation to join the Regionalliga Nord (III).
The club was merged in 2004 with Borussia Wuppertal and became Wuppertaler SV Borussia. It adopted the blue and red logo and colors of the older WSV. Borussia was founded in 1976 as a result of the union of SV Germania 1907 Wuppertal and VfL 1912 Wuppertal. Germania was, just like SSV was the successor to Germania Elberfeld, which participated in the first round of the national finals during the early 30s. Although "Borussia" quickly grew into a team that was competitive but they were financially strong enough to support their goals and joined forces with WSV to try and bring the city to football prominence. The decision to add Borussia to the name of the club was repeatedly rejected by fans due to its history and identity issues. The controversy surrounding the club and its recent merger was frequently discussed at annual meetings for almost nine years before the era of chairman Runge ended in 2013.
In 2007-08's DFB-Pokal (German Cup) tournament, Wuppertaler SV reached the Round of 16 after defeating Erzgebirge Aue (4-3 on penalties) and Hertha BSC Berlin (2-0). They were eliminated by the eventual cup winners Bayern Munich (2-5). Due to the limited capacity of Stadion am Zoo, the game was played at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen.
In the annual meeting held on May 24, 2013, the club's name returned to Wuppertaler SV. A new board of administration was created by the 13 members of Initiative WSV 2.0 of which Alexander Eichner was a member of. The president Klaus Mathies resigned from this post to facilitate a smooth transition and for Eichner to take over. In a press conference held on June 4, 2013 it was announced that the club was bankrupt and was subsequently enforced demotion. Wuppertaler SV played in the fifth division, known as the Oberliga Niederrhein, from 2015-16 when a league championship took the club back up to the Regionalliga.
For details about Hohepunkte in der Geschichte des Wuppertaler Sportvereins go to our site