This is an historic moment for German football. For 45 years ago, on 24 August ,1963, the Bundesliga was inaugurated.
Few German fans now recall that matches did not all start at 15:30, but mostly at 17:00. Which means that the radio and TV programmes that are now part of football fans Saturday afternoon didn't then exist.
1. FC Köln were the first club to lead the table
Those first eight games drew 280,000. The only match to be sold out - Preussen Münster against Hamburger SV - was watched by 32,000 people. 1. FC Köln were the first team to lead the table. At the time, their 2:0 away win at 1. FC Saarbrücken counted for more than the 4:1 victory by MSV Duisburg (then called Meidericher SV) at Karlsruhe.
Friedhelm Konietzka of Borussia Dortmund scored the first Bundesliga goal after just 50 seconds. He remembers it well: “From the kick-off, the ball was played according to tradition, to Franz Brungs as the oldest player. He passed to Lothar Emmerich down the left wing, who sent in a low cross. I was between the six-yard box and the penalty spot and fired home with my right foot.
Gold rush
No pictures remain of that goal. The only few photographers present were from Bremen and were behind the Dortmund goal. Years later, not recognising its historic significance, Radio Bremen wiped the TV tape.
For the players, says Wolfgang Weber of 1. FC Köln, there was a sense of a new start, almost a gold rush fever. “Don t underestimate the financial side of things. We were all extra keen because we were able to earn 1,200 instead of 400 deutschmarks a month. “
Unforgettable
Memories of that first day have faded for many of the players. Karl Schmidt, who played nine games for Germany recalls: “I just know how I regretted things. At 31, I was too old to experience the great adventure with my club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Wolfgang Niersbach, now DFB General Secretary, says it was an unforgettable childhood experience for him: ” The first live game I watched was on the fourth matchday of the season. Cologne vs. Schalke a 2:2 draw. And Heinz Hornig scored a marvellous goal. After that, the Fortuna Düsseldorf fan often took the tram to Duisburg to watch players like Uwe Seeler oder Petar Radenkovic.
The results on that historic day
1860 München - Eintracht Braunschweig 1:1
Preußen Münster - Hamburger SV 1:1
Eintracht Frankfurt - 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1:1
Hertha BSC Berlin - 1. FC Nürnberg 1:1
1. FC Saarbrücken - 1. FC Köln 0:2
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund 3:2
Schalke 04 - VfB Stuttgart 2:0
Karlsruher SC - Meidericher SV 1:4
The first German champions: 1. FC Köln.
The first clubs to be relegated: Preußen Münster, 1. FC Saarbrücken
Double transfer coup for KSC
Surprises in the German squad
Three players fall at final hurdle