through into the 2nd Bundesliga Süd. After a 17th-place finish, they returned to the Oberliga Hessen (III) where they played until 1987. The club had a brush with financial failure in the mid 1990s that included the loss of their grounds, and considered a merger with Progres Frankfurt. They were able to recover themselves and, for a while, Hanau played in Gruppenliga Frankfurt Ost (VII) with a renewed focus on its youth teams. National Championship Final (1894/2007) In 1894 the club qualified for the national championship final organised by the Deutscher Fußball- und Cricketbund (German Football and Cricket Association), a predecessor of the German Football Association. BFC Viktoria 1889 and Hanau were scheduled to contest the country's championship in Berlin, but Hanau could not afford to make the trip and so forfeited the match, leaving Viktoria national football champions. In 2007 (113 years later) the final was finally played after enthusiastic support from the President of the German Football Federation (DFB), Theo Zwanziger. The first leg was won by Viktoria 3–0 and the second leg on 28 July ended as a draw at 1–1. The final was played with the heavy leather balls used in the late 19th century. Players Honours The club's honours: League (tier) Nordkreis-Liga (I) Champions: 1916 Runners-up: 1912 Gauliga Hessen (I) Champions: 1935, 1936, 1938 Runners-up: 1939, 1941 Oberliga Hessen (III) Champions: 1953, 1961, 1978 Gruppenliga Hessen Mitte (IV) Champions: 1966 Gruppenliga Hessen Süd (IV) Champions: 1973, 1976 Landesliga Hessen-Süd (IV) Runners-up: 1984 Gruppenliga Frankfurt Ost (VII) Champions: 2017 Bezirksliga Hanau (VII) Champions: 2003 Runners-up: 2008 Kreisoberliga Hanau (VIII) Champions: 2010, 2015 Runners-up: 2014 Kreisliga A Hanau (VIII) Champions: 2000 Cup Hesse Cup Winners: 1950, 1978 Recent seasons The recent season-by-season performance of the club: With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. Also in 2008, a large number of football leagues in Hesse were renamed, with the Oberliga Hessen becoming the Hessenliga, the Landesliga becoming the Verbandsliga, the Bezirksoberliga becoming the Gruppenliga and the Bezirksliga becoming the Kreisoberliga. References External links Official website Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables Football clubs in Germany Football clubs in Hesse Association football clubs established in 1893 1893 establishments in Germany Hanau 2. Bundesliga clubs