1. FC Pforzheim

1. FC Pforzheim was a German association football club playing in Pforzheim, Baden-Württemberg. The club was established on 5 May 1896 and was a founding member of the German Football Association in Leipzig in 1900. In 2010 it merged with VfR Pforzheim to form 1. CfR Pforzheim. History Early success The club enjoyed most of its success in its early years. In 1906 they captured the championship of the Süddeutschland Verband (South German League) by beating Karlsruher FV, one of the era's most prominent sides. This put Pforzheim into the national playoff rounds where they defeated favoured side Cologne FC 99 4–2 in a quarter final match, before eliminating defending champions Berlin TuFC Union 4–0 in the semi-finals. With the win the club advanced to the final in Nuremberg where they lost a 1–2 decision to VfB Leipzig. Interwar years Pforzheim slipped to become a mid-table side until narrowly missing a chance to play in the playoff rounds of the Süddeutschland Verband in both 1913 and 1914: tied for first place, they finished second in both seasons on goal differential. World War I disrupted play in the country for several years and Pforzheim fell out of top-flight competition. They returned to, at first, the Kreisliga Südwest and then the Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden in the early 20s before being relegated in 1926, and then earning their re-promotion in 1929.