BSG Chemie Leipzig (1950)
East German football club from Leipzig, two-time Oberliga champion.
BSG Chemie Leipzig was a football club based in the Leutzsch district of Leipzig, Saxony. Its roots stretch back to 1899 with the founding of Britannia Leipzig, which later became TuRa Leipzig. During the socialist era in East Germany, the club’s traditions were carried on by both BSG Chemie Leipzig and SC Lokomotive Leipzig, and after German reunification, by FC Sachsen Leipzig.
The club’s earliest predecessor, Britannia Leipzig, played in top-level city competitions from 1908 to 1910. After World War I, a 1919 merger with FC Hertha 05 Leipzig (originally FC Hohenzollern 1905 Leipzig) created Leipziger Sportverein 1899. This club reappeared in 1922 as SV 1899 but finished last the following season. In 1932, Sportverein für Turnen- und Rasensport Leipzig was formed, and in 1938 it merged with SV 1899 to create Turn und Rasensportverein 1899 Leipzig.
Under Nazi reorganization in 1933, German football was split into 16 top divisions. SV TuRa 32 joined the Gauliga Sachsen in 1936, and after merging with SV 1899 in November 1938, continued as SV TuRa 1899. The team avoided relegation in 1939 only because the Gauliga Sachsen was split into two divisions. In 1940, the club made its only appearance in the Tschammerpokal (the forerunner of the DFB-Pokal), losing in the second qualifying round. By 1942, poor results led to relegation. The club returned in 1943, but World War II disrupted play, and the Gauliga broke into local leagues. TuRa then merged with Sportvereinigung Leipzig to form the wartime side Kriegspielgemeinschaft TuRa/SpVgg Leipzig.
After the war, Germany was divided, and a separate East German football system emerged. The closest descendant of TuRa was SG Leipzig-Leutzsch. In March 1949, Leutzsch joined with SG Lindenau-Hafen, SG Lindenau-Aue, SG Leipzig-Mitte, and SG Böhlitz-Ehrenberg to form ZSG Industrie Leipzig. In August 1950, this club was renamed BSG Chemie Leipzig. The new side immediately won the DDR-Oberliga title and performed well over the next few seasons. Chemie was dissolved in September 1954, with its players transferred to SC Lokomotive Leipzig (not to be confused with 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig). SC Lok then became a mid-table Oberliga side, with third-place finishes in 1956 and 1960 as its best results.
In 1963, East German football was reorganized to develop national team talent.
Quick Facts
- Clubname
- BSG Chemie Leipzig
- Fullname
- Betriebssportgemeinschaft Chemie Leipzig e.V.
- Founded
- 1950
- Dissolved
- 1990 (became FC Sachsen Leipzig)
- Ground
- Georg-Schwarz-Sportpark
- Capacity
- 10,889
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
BSG Chemie Leipzig was created in August 1950 when ZSG Industrie Leipzig was renamed. The club had been formed in March 1949 through the merger of several local sports communities, including SG Leipzig-Leutzsch, the closest descendant of the pre-war club TuRa Leipzig. Chemie promptly finished atop the Oberliga der DDR in its first season and continued to deliver good results over the next few seasons.
In September 1954, Chemie was dissolved when its players were assigned to SC Lokomotive Leipzig. Over the next decade, SC Lok was a middling Oberliga side with best results being third-place finishes in 1956 and 1960. In 1963, East German football was reorganized, and SC Lok was disassembled to help re-create BSG Chemie Leipzig. The remade side again captured the Oberliga title before following with uneven results that saw the club moving between first and second division play into the early 1980s.
After a two-year stint in the Oberliga in 1983–85, Chemie settled into the tier II DDR-Liga. Following German reunification, the club was renamed FC Grün-Weiß Leipzig at the end of May 1990 and quickly merged with SV Chemie Böhlen to create FC Sachsen Leipzig in August 1990.
Reader's Guide
BSG Chemie Leipzig holds a notable place in East German football history as a club that won the DDR-Oberliga championship twice, in 1950–51 and 1963–64, and the FDGB-Pokal twice, in 1957 and 1965–66. Its significance lies in its role as a representative of the industrial sports community (Betriebssportgemeinschaft) system, where clubs were tied to state-owned enterprises—in this case, the chemical industry. The club's dissolution in 1954 and re-creation in 1963 illustrate the East German football authorities' attempts to centralize talent, first by moving players to SC Lokomotive Leipzig and later by reversing that decision. Chemie's legacy continued after reunification through FC Sachsen Leipzig, which absorbed the club's traditions. The team produced several East German internationals, including Manfred Walter with 16 caps, and contributed to the competitive landscape of the DDR-Oberliga for over three decades.
Did You Know?
- BSG Chemie Leipzig was formed in August 1950 from the renaming of ZSG Industrie Leipzig.
- The club won the DDR-Oberliga championship in its first season, 1950–51.
- The club was re-created in 1963 after SC Lok was disassembled, and promptly won another Oberliga title.
More in Club History & Eras
Elsewhere in RB Leipzig
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced