60 years of Bundesliga
Club-by-club historical guide: Preußen Münster
A total of 58 clubs have had the honour of competing in the Bundesliga since its inception in 1963 - Preußen Münster are the Bundesliga's original one-season wonders, having played in the league's inaugural edition but no year since, and are the only team to feature in the Bundesliga without facing Bayern Munich.
bundesliga.com is taking you through all the teams to have graced Germany’s first division over the last 60+ years.
Preußen Münster
Years in Bundesliga: 1 (1963/64)
Most appearances: Dagmar-Ernst Drewes and Klaus Bockisch (both 30)
Most goals: Hermann Lulka (nine)
Youngest player: Heinz-Rüdiger Voß (20 years, nine months, 27 days)
Münster are the Bundesliga’s original one-season wonders. They earned the right to compete in the inaugural season as one of five teams from the Oberliga West. Preußen had gone on tours of South America in 1962 and the USA in 1963 and were the first Bundesliga team to host a sell-out crowd, drawing 1-1 with Hamburg in front of 38,000 at the Preußenstadion.
They won seven of their 30 games but finished second-bottom, just a point shy of safety. As a result of playing in the 16-team season, they will continue to hold the record for fewest Bundesliga games played (30), unless the league were to be reduced from 18 again or they were to come back up. As a consolation, they hold the record for fewest overall defeats (14) and fewest goals conceded (52) of all clubs to have played a full season in the Bundesliga. They also hold a unique place as the only one of the 57 clubs as of 2024/25 to have been in the Bundesliga but never faced Bayern.
They did take on the Munich (not necessarily at the time) giants in 1966 in a friendly match to mark Preußen’s 60th anniversary, winning 2-1. Things have been steady but with some ups and downs since the one-year Bundesliga cameo. A reordering of divisions took them to the third tier for the first time in 1981. It wasn’t until 2006 that they dropped to the fourth but are now back into Bundesliga 2 for 2024/25 following back-to-back promotions.