The Bezirksliga Main-Hessen was the highest association football league in the German state of Hesse and the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1927 to 1933. The league was disbanded with the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933.
Overview
The league was formed in 1927, from the clubs of the Bezirksliga Main and the clubs of the north-eastern part of the Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar. The clubs from the Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar which did not become part of the new league were added to the new Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar instead. With the Viktoria Aschaffenburg, the league also included one club from Bavaria.
The league operated from the start in two regional divisions, the Main-division, named after the river Main and the Hessen-division, named after the region of Hesse. The first played with twelve, the second with ten clubs in its first season 1927-28. The clubs in each division played each other in a home-and-away round with the division winners advancing to the Southern German championship, which in turn was a qualification tournament for the German championship. A Bezirksliga final was not played.
The second and third placed team in each division qualified for another round, the Bezirksliga runners-up round, to determine one more team which would gain entry to the German finals.
The leagues were reduced to ten teams in the Main division and nine in the Hessen division in the following season but remained unchanged in modus otherwise. For the 1929-30 season, both divisions then operated on a strength of eight teams, a system that also applied in the following season.
In the 1931-32 season, both divisions expanded in strength, Main to eleven and Hessen to ten teams. The Southern German finals were also reorganised with the top two teams from each division advancing to the Northwest finals group.
In its last season, 1932–33, both divisions operated on a strength of ten clubs.
With the rise of the Nazis to power, the Gauligas were introduced as the highest football leagues in Germany. In the region, the Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen replaced the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen as the highest level of play. The clubs from the Hanau and Friedberg region however were added to the new Gauliga Hessen.
National success
Southern German championship
Qualified teams and their success:
1928:
VfL Neu-Isenburg, 6th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
Rot-Weiß Frankfurt, 5th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
FSV Mainz 05, 2nd place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
FSV Frankfurt, Winner of the Bezirksliga-runners-up round, loser division final
Wormatia Worms, 6th place
Eintracht Frankfurt, Runners-up
1929:
VfL Neu-Isenburg, 8th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
Union Niederrad, 5th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
FSV Mainz 05, 4th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
FSV Frankfurt, Winner of the Bezirksliga-runners-up round, loser division final
Wormatia Worms, 7th place
Eintracht Frankfurt, 4th place
1930:
Rot-Weiß Frankfurt, 6th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
VfL Neu-Isenburg, 5th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
SV Wiesbaden, 3rd place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
FSV Frankfurt, Winner of the Bezirksliga-runners-up round, loser division final
Wormatia Worms, 7th place
Eintracht Frankfurt, Southern German champions
1931:
SV Wiesbaden, 8th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
Union Niederrad, 5th place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
Rot-Weiß Frankfurt, 3rd place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
VfL Neu-Isenburg, 2nd place in the Bezirksliga-runners-up round
Wormatia Worms, 7th place
Eintracht Frankfurt, Runners-up
1932:
FSV Mainz 05, 8th place northwest division
Wormatia Worms, 3rd place northwest division
FSV Frankfurt, 2nd place northwest division, 4th place in Southern German championship
Eintracht Frankfurt, Southern German champions
1933:
FSV Mainz 05, 7th place northsouth division
Wormatia Worms, 3rd place northsouth division
Eintracht Frankfurt, 2nd place northsouth division, 3rd place in Southern German championship
FSV Frankfurt, Southern German champions
German championship
Qualified teams and their success:
1928:
Eintracht Frankfurt, First round
1929:
none qualified
1930:
Eintracht Frankfurt, Quarter-finals
1931:
Eintracht Frankfurt, Quarter-finals
1932:
Eintracht Frankfurt, Final
1933:
FSV Frankfurt, Quarter-finals
Eintracht Frankfurt, Semi-finals
Founding members of the league
The 22 founding members of the league and their positions in the 1926-27 season were:
