HSV-Schreck Fürth in the Volkspark – please no repetition!

When HSV and upcoming opponents Fürth (Saturday, 8:30 p.m., live ticker on MOPO.de) met in a competitive game for the first time, the Hamburg German champions and the Franconians were on their way there. After the premiere duel on June 30, 1929, there were long faces at HSV. The confidence before the quarter-finals for the German championship was quite high.

“No southern German eleven likes to go near the Ha-Es-Vau as soon as it’s the German championship,” reported “Turnen, Spiel und Sport” in its preview: “Too often the lion from Rothenbaum has bitten disgustingly. HSV bites if you put your finger in their mouth.”

Volkspark: HSV played against Fürth in 1929 in front of 25,000 fans

When Mönchengladbach referee Fissenewerth whistled on Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Altona Volksparkstadion, HSV first had to play against the blazing sun. In front of 25,000 spectators, the team didn’t live up to their nickname “Red Pants”. The HSV kickers wear a blue silk shirt, white trousers and black stockings – the club colors in which they beat Bayern Munich 8:2 a year ago.

Small problem: The silk shirt has long sleeves, which inhibits the Hamburg game in the afternoon heat. Bigger problem: Fürth are the better team, center half Ludwig Leinberger initiates one attack after the other. HSV defender Ali Beier scratches a shot from Georg Frank off the line, goalkeeper Wilhelm Blunk saves with his knee against Georg Kießling, who rushes towards him alone.

At that time, Karl Sveistrup and Otto Harder played for HSV

Little comes together at the hamburgers. The midfield always has to look backwards, when they have possession of the ball they always look for a way through the middle instead of spreading the game. Striker Karl Sveistrup is still plagued by an ankle injury and striker Otto “Tull” Harder is mostly in good hands with Hans Hagen – although HSV had actually identified the Fürth defender as an opposing weak point. “Tull” fired three shots at the Kleeblättler during the 90 minutes.

It happens in the 25th minute: Leinberger and Kießling get the ball to Frank, who corners HSV goalkeeper Blunk and scores to make it 0-1. A season that started turbulently threatens to end prematurely and soberingly.

In July 1928, HSV won its second German championship after 1923 by beating Hertha BSC 5-2. The summer break was extremely short: just a week after winning the final against the Berliners, the Rautenklub had to play again. Barmbek-Uhlenhorst paid his respects at Rothenbaum at the start of the Hamburg round of points.

In 1928 HSV announced their withdrawal from league games

Nothing against Barmbek-Uhlenhorst, who did well in the 6-2 defeat – but HSV had had enough of playing in the local league against often uncompetitive opponents such as Sperber, Unitas 02 or Wandsbeker FC, who attracted little audience. And so it was not surprising that in August 1928 HSV was one of the driving forces behind a “brotherhood” that announced its withdrawal from league play.

In addition to the reigning German champions, eight clubs from Hamburg and Altona as well as Holstein Kiel were among the rebels, who soon played out a privately organized “round of ten”. Any resemblance to more contemporary Super League plans is of course purely coincidental.

When HSV won the North German championship

The news was a bang. A separate league of top clubs? “The real reason is the hope for better income,” suspected “gymnastics, games and sports” and castigated the “miserable special sausages” of the big clubs: “As soon as classifications are made according to economic considerations, it’s over with real sport.”

After much back and forth, the “revolution” was called off. The North German association promised a league reform (which turned out to be quite moderate), the clubs returned to the federation’s bosom for the second half of the season. A North German championship was hastily scheduled, which HSV won – just like the notorious “round of ten” and then the first-round game for the German championship at Meidericher SV (3:2).

Fürth is a different opponent on June 30, 1929 – but has to play against the sun in the second half. A chance for HSV? Not at all: Only two minutes have been played when “Fiete” Blunk lets a shot from Karl Rupprecht bounce forward, which Rupprecht dusts off himself to make it 0:2. The first spectators are already leaving the Volksparkstadion, which was inaugurated in 1925, to watch a water polo game between Ottensen and Bremen in the nearby swimming stadium. Meanwhile, Ernst-Florian Grabsch is riding on “Graf Isolani” to his first of four derby victories on the Horn racetrack.

HSV bankruptcy against Fürth as the end of the golden twenties

Driven on by midfielder Assi Halvorsen, HSV are now running desperately, taking corner after corner, but hardly endangering the Fürther Tor. Even Franz Horn, who has always scored in the past twelve competitive games, sees no trick. Then Tull Harder is suddenly through – but Hans Neger deflects his shot to the next corner, which does not bring anything. The cloverleaf keeper deflects a shot from Walter Kolzen to the crossbar, and that’s it. HSV is out of the fight for the victory trophy “Viktoria”.

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It’s the end of the golden twenties for the people of Hamburg. The next year the club even missed out on the finals for the “Viktoria”, and it was not until 1960 that HSV won its third German championship title during the Uwe Seeler era. As on June 30, 1929, the Fürth team are a little quicker and just four weeks after the 2-0 win in the Volkspark they celebrate their third (and last until today) German championship after 1914 and 1926. HSV-Schreck Rupprecht scored the decisive goal for the 3rd :2 final victory against Hertha BSC.