54 years, 261 days, zero hours and 15 minutes. That was how long the German soccer team Hamburg SV lasted in the German Soccer League in the Top Tier. The team was one of the 16 founding fathers that created the Bundesliga in 1963. Its last Bundesliga title came in 1983. Now, the clock that had been keeping track of the time in the Bundesliga has stopped. Despite a 2-1 victory in the last game of the 2017/18 season against Mönchengladbach, Wolfsburg sealed HSV's fate by running over FC Cologne 4-1. Wolfsburg needed to lose in order for HSV to play in the relegation playoffs with third place finisher in the second league Holstein Kiel. As it stands, HSV finished in second to last place in the standings and will play in the second league of the Bundesliga for the first time ever this fall. It will be accompanied by another founding Bundesliga team, last-place Cologne and if Kiel wins playoff series and enters the top league, Wolfsburg.
And while the last dinosaur officially became extinct after many years of being beset by misfortunes in management and sports and barely escaping the relegation series at least twice, it makes a person wonder how many times did the founding fathers have success in winning titles in comparison to being demoted down one league- that is until Bayern Munich's current run of winning its fifth Bundesliga title in a row, and in cakewalk fashion. But before presenting the facts, why not try out a Guessing Quiz that looks at the founding fathers of the Bundesliga?
There were 18 teams that started play in the 1963/64 season. Since HSV's official demotion into the second league, there are no more dinosaurs left, who played every season in the top league.
Guessing Quiz:
1. Who were the founding fathers of the Bundesliga in 1963? There were 18 of them.
2. Bayern Munich entered the top league later on and has been in the Bundesliga ever since. It now holds the title for being in the top league the longest without ever being demoted.
When did the team enter? _____________ When did the team win its first title?
3. Another team entered the Bundesliga and has yet to also play in the second league after being demoted. It holds the second longest record of its kind. Which team was it and when did it enter the first league for the first time ever?
4. One of the founding fathers actually had to play in the second league only once. After four years it returned to the top league and has been there ever since. It currently holds the title as the second longest tenured team even after it had been demoted before. Which team was that and how many years has it been in the league since its last demotion?
5. Prior to HSV's demotion to the second league, there were two other founding teams that had been in the top league for at least three decades before being demoted for the first time. Which teams were they and when did they get demoted for the first time?
6. Which (current) founding team in the Bundesliga has never won any titles since the league's creation?
7. Which two founding members of the Bundesliga has been in the top league the shortest time (and has still yet to return)?
8. Which German cities used to host two Bundesliga teams, one of which was a founding member of the team? Which teams are they?
9. Which German cities used to have two professional teams in the second league competing with each other before one of the two was promoted to the top league?
10. Which team would have competed with HSV as the longest tenured Bundesliga team had it not been for the one-year exile in the second league? Hint: This team has been in the second and third tiers since 2006.
11. Which seven teams have won doubles at least once (meaning the national cup and the Bundesliga title)? Hint: Four were from the former western half and three from the eastern half of Germany.
12. Of the three in the former East German Bundesliga (which dissolved after German reunification in 1990), which of them was the longest tenured team in the Bundesliga?
13. Of the three above-mentioned teams, which ones defeated FC Bayern Munich once before 1990 and at least once since then?
14. Since when has FC Bayern Munich finished no worse than third place? Fifth place?
15. The following teams had mascots. What were they?
Eintract Brunswick
MSV Duisburg
FC Kaiserslautern
Hertha BSC Berlin
Eintract Frankfurt
Hamburg SV
FC Cologne
Bonus: Holstein Kiel, whose mascot is a ___________ has not been in the Bundesliga since _________.
