From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Schwarz-Weiss Essen is a German football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The side has its origins in the gymnastics club Essener Turnerbund founded in 1881. A football department was formed in January 1900 and this became a separate entity within the club on July 1 1974.

History

In 1933, the club joined the Gauliga Niederrhein, one of sixteen top flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. They played at that level until being relegated in 1943, with their best results being a string of three consecutive second place finishes between 1937 and 1940.

SWE returned to tier I football in 1951 in the Oberliga West, and except for spending the 1958, 1959, and 1961 seasons in the second division, played in the top flight until the 1963 formation of the Bundesliga, Germany's first professional football league.

Their moment of glory came in 1959 when a non-descript side beat Rot-Weiss Essen 1:0, Hertha BSC Berlin 6:3, and Hamburger SV 2:1 on their way to thrashing Borussia Neunkirchen 5:2 to take the German Cup.

After 1963, Schwarz-Weiss played as a second tier side in the Regionalliga West and 2nd Bundesliga Nord into the late 70's. They fell a point shy of a place in the Bundesliga in 1967, finishing behind Borussia Neunkirchen in the league qualification rounds. In 1978, they descended into the third division, to the Oberliga Nordrhein (IV), where they still play today.

Team trivia

• Schwarz-Weiss's 1959 German Cup win made them the first ever second division side to take that prize.

Honours

• German Cup Winners: 1959
• German Under 17 championship runners-up: 1986

External links

• Official team website
• Abseits Guide to German Soccer