Foundation and early years (1906–1945) RC Strasbourg Alsace

oscar heisserer

the club founded in 1906 group of youngsters in neudorf neighbourhood of straßburg, elsaß-lothringen, in german empire, today strasbourg, alsace, in france. of primary-school teacher, formed team called erster fußball club neudorf , commonly named fc neudorf . @ time, new 1. fcn minor club in then-remote southern part of strasbourg area. local football had been dominated since 1890s more central , elitist straßburger fußball verein. according club historian pierre perny, official establishment of fc neudorf in 1907 may have been accelerated planned move of fc frankonia haemmerle garten, large park in southern strasbourg close neudorf. name told, fc frankonia composed of german-born immigrants franconia region of southwest germany – of them soldiers – living in central , northern strasbourg, while fc neudorf had alsatian, popular roots. fc neudorf joined southern german league in 1909, starting @ lowest level, division c. captured division c championship 3 years later, earning promotion division b. in 1914, fc neudorf able evict rivals frankonia haemmerle garten rent of 300 marks year. location later become site of stade de la meinau, club still plays today. in aftermath of world war i, territory of alsace-lorraine came france and, on 11 january 1919, club adopted name racing-club strasbourg-neudorf until becoming racing club de strasbourg later in year. use of word racing not denote association horse- or car-racing; instead, anglicism common in france @ time, exemplified case of then-famous racing club de france, symbolical inspiration strasbourg s racing alsace reintegrated within france . word pronounced in french ( le racing ) or in alsatian ( d racing ) without english accentuation. racing joined french competitions , won alsace championship in 1923, 1924 , 1927. took part in coupe de france, national competition @ time. in 1925, reached last sixteen, fell lille after eliminating then-dominant red star paris.

on 10 june 1933, @ restaurant de la bourse , club made jump professional ranks and, thus, joined national championship established year before. rcs started competition in ligue 2 earned promotion top flight @ end of 1933–34 season, going through pair of two-legged playoff matches, first against mulhouse (0–0 , 3–1), , against saint-Étienne (2–0 , 4–4). in mid-1930s, racing managed second-place finish in 1934–35 , third-place finish next season. in 1937, club reached first time final of coupe de france, losing rivals sochaux (1–2). successful rcs team of 1930s included 2 french internationals – fritz keller , oscar heisserer – german striker oskar rohr who, still holds club s goalscoring record.

with outbreak of world war ii, professional sport suspended , alsatians evacuated south-west france, in dordogne. during phoney war, group of youngsters kept club existing in périgueux, won dordogne championship in 1940. after french defeat, alsace de facto annexed third reich and, in august 1940, team took play rasensportclub straßburg in gauliga elsaß, top-flight amateur division in german football. rcs captured group in 1941 , participated in regional finals, put out fc mülhausen. team earned second-place results in each of following 2 seasons , made appearance in opening round of dfb-pokal in 1942. starting in 1942, alsatians forcibly conscripted in wehrmacht , waffen-ss , several club players – including oscar heisserer – fled or had teammates deliberately wound them avoid incorporation. oskar rohr had been imprisoned since 1940 after serving in légion etrangère @ outbreak of war. during game against ss side sg ss straßburg , rasensportclub players wore uniform consisting of blue jersey, white shorts , red socks clear display of french patriotism.