The Kreisliga Südmain (English: District league South Main) was the highest association football league in parts of the German state of Hesse from 1919 to 1923. The league was disbanded with the introduction of the Bezirksliga Main in 1923.
The league is named after the river Main, which flows through Frankfurt am Main and reaches the Rhine near Mainz. The league was formed from clubs from the southern side of the river, around the Offenbach am Main area. With two clubs from Aschaffenburg, it also included teams from the Bavaria.
Overview
Predecessor From 1907, four regional leagues were formed within the structure of the Southern German football championship, in a move to improve the organisation of football in Southern Germany, these being: Ostkreis-Liga, covering Bavaria Nordkreis-Liga, covering Hesse Südkreis-Liga, covering Württemberg, Baden and Alsace Westkreis-Liga, covering the Palatinate, Lorraine and the southern Rhine Province
In 1908, a first Nordkreis-Liga (English: Northern District League) was established, consisting of ten clubs and playing a home-and-away season.Verband Süddeutscher Fussball Vereine 1909 , accessed: 22 March 2009 With the outbreak of the First World War, league football came to a halt and, during the war, games were only played on a limited level.
Post-First World War With the collapse of the German Empire in 1918, no Nordkreis championship was played in 1918-19 but football returned to a more organised system in 1919.
Southern Germany, now without the Alsace region, which had to be returned to France, was sub-divided into ten Kreisligas, these being: Kreisliga Hessen Kreisliga Nordbayern Kreisliga Nordmain Kreisliga Odenwald Kreisliga Pfalz Kreisliga Saar Kreisliga Südbayern Kreisliga Südmain Kreisliga Südwest Kreisliga Württemberg
The clubs of the former Nordkreis-Liga were split into three regional competitions, Nordmain, Südmain and Hessen, each with ten clubs.Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 62, accessed: 22 March 2009 The three league winners advanced to the Southern championship. This system applied for the 1919-20 and 1920-21 season.Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 65, accessed: 22 March 2009
In 1921-22, the Kreisliga Südmain was split into two groups of eight, increasing the number of tier-one clubs in the region to 16. The two league winners then played a final to determine the Südmain champion, which in turn advanced to a Main championship final against the Nordmain champion. The Hessen champion was not part of this series but rather played a Rhinehesse/Saar championship.Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 70, accessed: 22 March 2009 This "watering down" of football in the region lasted for only one season, in 1922-23, the number of top clubs was reduced to eight clubs in a single division, with a Main final against the Nordmain champion once more.Süddeutschlands Fussball in Tabellenform 1897 - 1988, author: Ludolf Hyll, page: 73, accessed: 22 March 2009
In 1923, a league reform which was decided upon in Darmstadt, Hesse, established the Southern German Bezirksligas which were to replace the Kreisligas.History of the Offenburger Fußballverein Page 5, accessed: 14 December 2008 The best four teams each from the Südmain and Nordmain were admitted to the new Bezirksliga Main. The four clubs from Südmain were: Kickers Offenbach SC Bürgel Viktoria Aschaffenburg SpVgg Offenbach
National success The clubs from the Kreisliga Südmain were not particularly successful in this era and none managed to qualify for the German championship.
Main championship Played in 1922 and 1923, these were the finals: 1922: Südmain final: VfL Neu-Isenburg - Union Niederrad 3-0 / 4-1 Main final: Germania 94 Frankfurt - VfL Neu-Isenburg 1-0 / 0-3 / 4-2 1923: Main final: FSV Frankfurt - Kickers Offenbach 0-1 / 7-2 / 2-1
Southern German championship Qualified teams and their success: 1920: Kickers Offenbach, Group stage 1921: Kickers Offenbach, Group stage 1922: VfL Neu-Isenburg, not qualified 1923: Kickers Offenbach, not qualified
Winners and runners-up of the Kreisliga Südmain SeasonChampionsRunner-Up 1919–20 Kickers Offenbach SC Bürgel 1920–21 Kickers Offenbach SC Bürgel 1921–22 VfL Neu-Isenburg Union Niederrad 1922–23 Kickers Offenbach SC Bürgel
Placings in the Kreisliga Südmain 1919-23 Club 1920 1921 1922 1923 Kickers Offenbach 1 1 2 1 SC Bürgel 2 2 2 Viktoria Neu-Isenburg 2 3 4 FV Offenbach 4 6 4 FV Neu-Isenburg 2 5 7 Germania Bieber 6 5 5 VfR Offenbach 1 7 8 8 Union Niederrad 8 3 1 5 BSC 99 Offenbach 9 7 Kickers Viktoria Mühlheim 10 3 8 FV Sprendlingen 9 4 7 TV Heusenstamm 10 6 VfL Neu-Isenburg 2 1 6 TV Aschaffenburg-Damm 5 FC Egelsbach 7 Viktoria Aschaffenburg 3 3 3 Union Wixhausen 6 Sachsenhausen 03 8 SpVgg Offenbach 4 1 Withdrew before or during the season. 2 FV and Viktoria merged in 1921 to form VfL Neu-Isenburg. 3 Viktoria moved from the Kreisliga Odenwald to the Kreisliga Nordmain in 1920 and then to the Kreisliga Südmain in 1921.
References
Sources Fussball-Jahrbuch Deutschland (8 vol.), Tables and results of the German tier-one leagues 1919-33, publisher: DSFS Kicker Almanach, The yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine Süddeutschlands Fussballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897-1988 History of Southern German football in tables, publisher & author: Ludolf Hyll
External links The Gauligas Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv German league tables 1892-1933 Hirschi's Fussball seiten Germany - Championships 1902-1945 at RSSSF.com