Lower Level Football Leagues in Interwar Poland
In the Second Polish Republic, there was not a national, Second Division, as we know it today, although the creation of the second division was proposed on several occasions. On Sunday, September 26, 1937 in Częstochowa, a conference of regional teams from across the nation took place, to discuss the creation of the league. Officials of several clubs arrived, such as Brygada Częstochowa, , Śmigły Wilno, Rewera Stanisławów, Dąb Katowice, Unia Sosnowiec, , and WKS Grodno. Also, invited were officials of HCP Poznań, , Naprzód Lipiny and Union Touring Łódź, but for unknown reasons they did not show up. The officials talked about creation of a National B-League, but nothing came out of this project. Instead, in the years 1921-1939, several Voivodeships held their own games and those leagues were known as A-Classes. In 1927, the elite Polish Football League was created, which by the late 1930s consisted of 10 teams. The teams that did not make it to the Ekstraklasa, played in the A-Classes.
A-Classes[]
In the year of the 1921 Polish Football Championship only five A-Classes managed to conclude the full seasons, namely: Poznań, Lwów, Kraków, Warsaw and Łódź. The next year they were joined by Wilno, Lublin (Volhynia) and Silesia.
Between 1927 and 1939 there were several A-Classes, such as:
- Kielce A-Class, from which in mid-1930s the separate, Zagłębie Dąbrowskie A-Class emerged, with teams from such cities as Sosnowiec, Będzin, Zawiercie or Częstochowa. After this, Kielce A-Class ceased to exist, and some of its teams, such as , moved to Warsaw A-Class,
- Białystok - Grodno A-Class
- Kraków A-Class, also called Kraków League
- Łódź A-Class
- Lwów A-Class, also called Lwów League
- Polesie A-Class
- Pomerania A-Class
- Poznań A-Class
- Silesian A-Class, also called Silesia League (it was regarded as the strongest of all, with several top-quality teams and players)
- Stanisławów A-Class
- Volhynia A-Class
- Warsaw A-Class
- Wilno A-Class
- Zagłębie Dąbrowskie A-Class (since mid-1930s)
It must be mentioned that not all Voivodeships had their own A-Classes. Football system in some areas located mainly in the Eastern Provinces (Kresy Wschodnie) was not developed enough (or did not have enough teams) to keep their own A-Class Leagues. So, there was no Nowogródek Voivodeship A-Class, or Tarnopol Voivodeship A-Class. Instead, the existing teams from those regions played each other in knock-out stage games, thus establishing a regional Champion.
Interesting is the fact that in several cases, teams from one Voivodeship played in the A-Class of another region - e.g. Koszarawa Żywiec from Kraków Voivodeship, played in mid-1930s in the Silesian A-Class, SKS (Star) Starachowice, played in late-1930s in Warsaw A-Class, even though the city of Starachowice was located in Kielce Voivodeship, or Pogon Stryj, which played in Lwów A-Class, but the town of Stryj was located in the Stanisławów Voivodeship.
B and C Classes[]
Also, there were third and fourth tier Leagues in Poland - B-Classes (usually covering the areas of 4-5 counties) and C-Classes. Champions of these divisions were automatically promoted to upper levels.
The promotion to the Ekstraklasa[]
To get promoted to the elite, 10-team Ekstraklasa, it was not enough to win the A-Class games. The promotion was a long and arduous process, which can be best described by recollecting the games of Śląsk Świętochłowice, which was the winner of the 1938-1939 Silesian A-Class. In the early summer 1939, Śląsk started its way to the Ekstraklasa. In the first stage, it competed against champions of the neighboring A-Classes - Fablok Chrzanów (Kraków A-Class) and Unia Sosnowiec (Zagłębie Dąbrowskie A-Class). Śląsk, with such renowned players as Hubert Gad and Ewald Cebula, at home beat both Fablok and Unia 4-0. Away, it tied 1-1 with Fablok and won 3-2 with Unia, becoming the Champion of southwest Poland A-Classes. In August 1939, the second, national stage started. In it, Śląsk played champions of northwest Poland A-Classes (Legia Poznań), northeast Poland A-Classes (Śmigły Wilno) and southeast Poland A-Classes (Junak Drohobycz). Out of the four teams, three were going to be promoted. Śląsk managed to play only two games - 0-0 in Drohobycz and 2-1 at home with Śmigły Wilno. Then, on September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland and all matches were suspended.
List of A-Class Teams in Poland, Spring 1939[]
Białystok - Grodno A-Class Teams[]
In the fall of 1938 in this League played the following teams:
- WKS Grodno
- Makabi Białystok
- Strzelec Białystok
- Cresovia Grodno
- Makabi Grodno
- Ognisko Białystok
- Makabi Łomża
Kraków A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 in this League played the following teams:
- KS Chełmek
- Cracovia II Kraków
- Fablok Chrzanów
- Garbarnia II Kraków
- Grzegorzecki Kraków
- Korona Kraków
- Krowodrza Kraków
- Makabi Kraków
- KS Tarnów-Moscice
- Olsza Kraków
- Podgorze Kraków
- Tarnovia Tarnów
- Wisla II Kraków
- Zwierzyniecki Kraków
Łódź A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 in this League played the following teams:
- Burza Pabianice
- ŁKS Łódź
- ŁTSG Łódź
- PTC Pabianice
- SKS Łódź
- Sokol Pabianice
- Sokol Zgierz
- Strzelecki KS Łódź
- WIMA Łódź
- WKS Łódź
- Zjednoczeni Łódź
Lublin A-Class Teams[]
Lwów A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 there were following teams in the Lwów A-Class:
- Czarni Lwów
- Hasmonea Lwów
- Junak Drohobycz
- Lechia Lwów
- Pogon II Lwów
- Polonia Przemyśl
- Resovia Rzeszów
- Sian Przemyśl
- Ukraina Lwów
Pomerania A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 in this League played the following teams:
- Bałtyk Gdynia
- Ciszewski Bydgoszcz
- AKS Grudziądz
- Gryf Toruń
- Kotwica Gdynia
- Polonia Bydgoszcz
- Unia Tczew
Poznań A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 there were following teams in the Poznań A-Class:
- HCP Poznań
- KPW Poznań
- Legia Poznań
- Pentatlon Poznań
- Polonia Poznań
- Stella Gniezno
- Warta II Poznań
Silesian A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939, Silesian A-Class consisted of 12 teams. These were:
- BBTS Bielsko
- Concordia Knurów
- KS Chorzów Stary
- Czarni
- Dąb Katowice
- Ligocianka Ligota
- Naprzód Lipiny
- KKS Pogon Katowice
- Policyjny KS Katowice
- Polonia Karwina (this team was added in March 1939, after the annexation of Zaolzie into Poland)
- Śląsk Świętochłowice
Stanisławów Liga okręgowa (1933-1939)[]
- All time table
In italic are names of the clubs that did not participate in the last season.[1]
#
|
Club
|
Seasons
|
Games
|
Points
|
Goals
|
St.Br.
|
Title(s)
|
| 1 | WCKS (SKS) Rewera Stanisławów | 6 | 65 | 96 | 214-83 | 2.578 | 4 |
| 2 | KS Strzelec "Gorka" Stanisławów | 6 | 66 | 91 | 133-81 | 1.642 | 1 |
| 3 | KSZN , | 4 | 52 | 65 | 138-73 | 1.890 | |
| 4 | KS Strzelec "Raz, Dwa, Trzy" Stanisławów | 5 | 60 | 49 | 91-138 | 0.659 | |
| 5 | KS (WKS 49 pp) | 5 | 60 | 37 | 73-168 | 0.435 | |
| 6 | KS Strzelec Broszniow, | 3 | 40 | 31 | 61-102 | 0.598 | |
| 7 | WCKS (SKS) Pogon Stryj | 1 | 13 | 21 | 38-8 | 4.750 | 1 |
| 8 | KS Bystrzyca Nadworna | 2 | 28 | 19 | 33-61 | 0.541 | |
| 9 | TESP Kalusz | 1 | 14 | 14 | 25-20 | 1.250 | |
| 10 | KS Stanislawowia Stanislawow | 3 | 24 | 13 | 30-61 | 0.492 | |
| 11 | ST Prolom Stanislawow | 2 | 26 | 12 | 26-67 | 0.388 |
Notes:
- Pogon Stryj played here only for a single season and returned to the Lviv Liga okręgowa.
- Game Rypne - Pokucie Kolomyja 1:18 was canceled, due to suspected fraud.
- KS stands for Sport Club (Klub Sportowy)
- ST stands for Sport Association (Sportowe Towarzystwo)
- WCKS stands for Military-Civilian Sport Club (Wojskowe-Civilny Klub Sportowy)
- SKS stands for Sport Club Stanislawow (or Stryi)
- pp stands for Infantry Regiment
Volhynia A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 in this League played the following teams:
- Hasmonea Łuck
- Hasmonea Rowne
- Policyjny Klub Sportowy Łuck
- Pogon Rowne
- Strzelec Kowel
- Strzelec Rowne
- Wojskowy Klub Sportowy Dubno
- WKS Luck
Warsaw A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 the following teams played in Warsaw A-Class:
- CWS Warszawa
- Fort Bema Warszawa
- Granat Skarzysko
- Okecie Warszawa
- Orkan Sochaczew
- PWATT Warszawa
- PZL Warszawa
- SK Starachowice
- Skra Warszawa
- Znicz Pruszków
Zagłębie Dąbrowskie-Częstochowa A-Class Teams[]
In the spring of 1939 in this League played the following teams:
- Brygada Częstochowa
- Brynica Czeladź
- CKS Czeladź
- Sarmacja Będzin
- RKS Skra Częstochowa
- Unia Sosnowiec
- Warta Częstochowa
- Warta Zawiercie
- Zaglebianka Będzin
- Zaglebie Dąbrowa Górnicza
Schematic division of Class A in regional districts and selected sub-districts[]
| Seasons >>>> | est. year | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1925 | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Polish championship | Regional leagues | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Poznań DFA | 1921 | (5) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | X | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Lwów DFA | 1921 | (4) | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | X | 6 | 5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 9 | 8 | 6/7 | 6/7 | 10 | 11 | 5/5 | 12 | 14 | 13 |
| Kraków DFA | 1921 | (4) | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | X | 6 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 8/6 | 5/6 | 9 | 9 | 10/8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| Warszawa DFA | 1921 | (2) | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | X | 6 | 8 | 11 | 6/5 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10/{6} | 12/{9} | 12/{10}/6/4 | 6/6/{8}/5 | 8/8/{8}/5 | 12 | 10 |
| Łódz DFA | 1921 | X | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | X | 6 | [8] 5 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Śląsk DFA | 1922 | X | (14) | 6 | 6 | 8 | X | 7 | 11 | 9/9/8 | 9/9/9 | 11/8/7 | 12 | 11*** | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Wilno DFA | 1922 | X | (4) | 3 | 3 | 3 | X | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Lublin DFA | 1922 | X | X | 4 | 4 | 5 | X | 6 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4/4 | 4/3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Pomorski DFA** | 1923 | X | POZ | POZ | (4) | 3 | X | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Kielce DFA* | 1928 | X | X | X | X | ŁÓD | X | LUB | WAW | 8 | 5/6/4 | 8/5/6 | 6/5/4/7/5 | 10/7/6/5 | 5/5/7/4/6 | 10/7/4/5 | 10/6/6/5 | 10/7/5 | 10/7/3 | KRA | KRA |
| Białostock DFA | 1929 | X | X | X | X | WIL | X | WIL | WAR | WAR | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 5/4 | 3/3/3 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Polesie DFA | 1929 | X | X | LUB | LUB | LUB | X | WIL | LUB | LUB | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 | 4/4 |
| Wołyń DFA | 1930 | X | X | LUB | LUB | LUB | X | LUB | LUB | LUB | LUB | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 5/5 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Stanisławow DFA | 1934 | X | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | X | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| po.Nowogród | X | X | WIL | WIL | WIL | X | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | WIL | |
| po.Tarnopol | X | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | X | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | LWÓ | |
| po./Zagłębie DFA | 1937 | X | X | KRA | KRA | KRA | X | KRA | KAT | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | 10 | 10 |
| po.Częstochow | X | KRA | KRA | KRA | KRA | X | KRA | KAT | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | ZAG | ZAG | |
| po.Radom | X | X | WAW | WAW | WAW | X | WAW | WAW | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | KIE | WAW | WAW | WAW | WAW | |
(*) - Kielce DFA został rozwiązany w 1937, w jego miejsce powołany Zagłębie DFA. Kielce jako podokręg przeniosły się do Krakow DFA
(**) - do października 1927 as Toruń DFA
(***) - from 1932 Class A of Śląsk District was called Śląsk League
(7) - w nawiasach rozgrywki nieoficjalne
po. - sub-district (Podokręgi)
7 - ilość drużyn występujących w A klasie
7/7 - ilość grup
{7} - tzw. grupa robotnicza (skupiająca kluby fabrykanckie i robotnicze)
7 - pogrubienie oznacza Ligę Okręgową
References[]
- ^ All-time table from 90minut.pl Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Polish football in the interwar period
- Football leagues in Poland
- 1927 in Polish football
- 1928 in Polish football
- 1929 in Polish football
- 1930 in Polish football
- 1931 in Polish football
- 1932 in Polish football
- 1933 in Polish football
- 1934 in Polish football
- 1935 in Polish football
- 1936 in Polish football
- 1937 in Polish football
- 1938 in Polish football
- 1939 in Polish football