Trabzonspor is one of the "4 big clubs" in Turkish football. Formed in 1967 through a merger, Trabzonspor's history dates back to two of the clubs, the foundation year of İdmanocağı and İdmangücü. This article tells the story from the foundation of the first clubs in the port city of Trabzon. History In the Beginning (1923–1962) There were four clubs in Trabzon in Early years : İdmanocağı(1921), İdmangücü(1913), Necmiati(1923) and Trabzon Lisesi. All four clubs competed against each other in the Trabzon Amateur Regional League. in 1923, two of the clubs, İdmanocağı and İdmangücü, held a fierce rivalry that was equal to the Fenerbahçe S.K. and Galatasaray S.K. rivalry. The rivalry reached its peak from 1930 on. İdmanocağı won five titles in a row from 1929 to 1933, with İdmangücü besting the record with seven titles in a row from 1934 to 1940. The league was dominated by Lise for six years, before İdmangücü took back the title in 1947–48. More clubs were being founded in Trabzon at the time, including Doğan Gençlik, Akçaabat Sebatspor, Sürmene Gençlik, Zafer Gençlik, Yolspor, and Yalıspor. The rivalry between Trabzon İdmanocağı and İdmangücü split Trabzon into two, with one side taking the red and yellows (İdmanocağı), and the other taking the green and whites (İdmangücü). The split frustrated the fans as well as the players, which led to some of Trabzon's biggest talents moving to Ankara and Istanbul to play football. These included Hasan Polat and Ali Polat (Gençlerbirliği), Selim Satıroğlu and Ahmet Karlıklı (Galatasaray), Zekeriya Bali (Fenerbahçe), and Nazmi Bilge (Beşiktaş). The Merger (1962–1973) At the start of the 1962–63 season, then president of the TFF, Orhan Şeref Apak, asked cities to combine their football clubs into one representative team, and have them compete in the Milli Lig (Süper Lig). However, due to the rivalry between İdmanocağı and İdmangücü, the city of Trabzon weren't able to merge. City and club officials would meet every morning and night to iron out an agreement, but it never materialized. Instead, only İdmanocağı, Martıspor, and Yıldızspor merged on 21 June 1966. They began wearing yellow and red kits and competed in the 2.Lig (Second Division). They finished eighth place in their first season, as well as runners-up for the Başbakanlık Kupası. A month later, İdmangücü, Karadenizgücü, Martıspor, and Yolspor merged to form Trabzonspor. Their club colours were red and white. İdmanocağı opposed the merger and took up