Karlsruher SC

Did You Know?

• The club's best Bundesliga season was a 6th-place finish in 1996.
• KSC maintains a fierce rivalry with VfB Stuttgart.
• In 2012, the number of Regionalligas was increased from three to five.

History

The earliest successful ancestor was Karlsruher Fussball Club Phönix, formed on 6 June 1894 by dissatisfied members of Karlsruher Turngemeinde. Phönix won the national title in 1909 by defeating Viktoria 89 Berlin 4–2 in the final. In 1912, Phönix merged with KFC Alemannia to become KFC Phönix (Phönix Alemannia). Through the 1930s the side was a lower-table team, but performance improved in the following decade.

During the war, the Gauliga Baden was sub-divided into local circuits, and the team earned three second-place finishes in divisional play. The Gauliga Baden collapsed in 1944–45 after a reduced schedule. After the war, the club slipped from top-flight competition until earning promotion to the Oberliga Süd in 1947. A strong 1951 season saw a third-place result one point behind SpVgg Fürth.

On 16 October 1952, KFC Phoenix and VfB Mühlburg united to form Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V. The new team won the DFB-Pokal in 1955 against Schalke 04 and repeated in 1956 against Hamburger SV. That season they also reached the national final, losing 2–4 to Borussia Dortmund. KSC was Oberliga Süd champion in 1956, 1958 and 1960, and DFB-Pokal runner-up in 1960. Their record earned admission as a founding club of the Bundesliga in 1963.