31 October 1920 - Germany's Golden Player

On 31 October 1920, Kaiserslautern and West Germany legend Fritz Walter was born.

Gifted with a remarkable combination of ball control, vision, and agility, Walter, who was born in Kaiserslautern, spent his entire career with his hometown club. He made his first-team debut for them at the age of 17, but World War II interrupted his career for several years. Play resumed in 1945 and Walter soon guided the team to their first major silverware, winning league titles in 1951 and 1953. He retired in 1959 with a record of 380 goals in 411 league appearances. In 1985, the club renamed their stadium after him.

His greatest achievement, however, came with the West German national team in 1954, when he captained them to their first World Cup trophy, beating Hungary 3-2 in a final known as "the Miracle of Bern" (Hungary were up 0-2 after only 8 minutes before West Germany rallied for the win).

Despite the wartime hiatus, Walter earned 61 caps between 1940 and 1958, scoring 33 goals. When UEFA, in preparation for their fiftieth anniversary in 2004, asked each member nation to name their one greatest player--the Golden Players--of the previous fifty years, Germany selected Walter.

He passed away in June 2002 at the age of 81.

23 May 1954 - It Had To Be The Shoes

On 23 May 1954, Hannover won their second German championship, beating Kaiserslautern 5-1. And they did it with a little tactical advantage in footwear.

Six teams--the five regional Oberliga champions and one runner-up--qualified for the German championship tournament and were split into two groups. The two group winners then contested the final, which was played at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.

Before the match, eight of Hannover's eleven starters were given new Puma boots with a special feature--screw-in studs. Puma had been developing the technology for several years, first releasing the "Super Atom" model in 1951. When Kaiserslautern won the German championship in 1953, seven of their players wore the Super Atom. By 1954, however, Puma had developed an improved style dubbed the "Brasil" and Hannover quickly adopted the new boots.

They must have been quite an improvement. Even though Kaiserslautern took a 13th minute lead, Hannover reeled off five straight goals to take the title with an overwhelming 5-1 victory (including one Kaiserslautern own goal from defender Werner Kohlmeyer in the 48th minute). It was their second title, with the first having come in 1938.

After seeing the success of the Brasil, West Germany used the boot for their 1954 World Cup team which won the tournament over Hungary. Coincidentally, the German team included five members from Kaiserslautern side (including Kohlmeyer), but no player from Hannover.

2 October 2010 - Mainz Roll To Seven

On 2 October 2010, Mainz joined an exclusive group by opening their season with a record-matching seven straight league wins. Like the others before them, however, the streak ended at seven.

Bayern Munich were the first team to win their first seven Bundesliga matches back in 1995 and Kaiserslautern matched the feat in 2001. In the 2010-11 season, Mainz beat both of them en route to their own streak. It started in August with Stuttgart and included wins over Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, and Cologne to extend the run to six.

Their seventh match came against Hoffenheim, who had beaten Mainz twice the previous season. But the hosts, who were sitting at the top of the table, wasted no time in taking the lead--striker Sami Allagui put them ahead in just the second minute. Hoffenheim striker Demba Ba equalized in the 41st minute, Ádám Szalai (pictured at right) restored the lead six minutes later. Hoffenheim midfielder Luiz Gustavo inadvertently extended the lead with a 59th-minute own goal and the two teams traded late strikes to end the match as a 4-2 Mainz victory.

Unfortunately for Mainz, they fell short of taking sole possession of a new record, falling to Hamburg 0-1 in their next match two weeks later. 

Since then, Bayern Munich broke the record by opening with eight straight league wins in 2012, then pushed the record to ten in 2015. 

21 June 1953 - Stuttgart Gets Kaiserslaughtered

On 21 June 1953, Kaiserslautern won their second league title, beating Stuttgart 4-1. The win was the last of a four-year series in which the two teams alternated as German champions.

Founded in 1900, Kaiserslautern finished as league runners-up in 1910 and 1912, but declined in subsequent years, finishing at the bottom of their division in 1944. Their fortunes improved when German football resumed in 1948, as they reached the league final, only to lose to Nuremburg. In 1950, they advanced to the quarterfinals of the German championship, the Meisterschaft, but lost to that year's champions, Stuttgart.

Kaiserslautern won their first title in 1951, while Stuttgart reclaimed the title in 1952. Then, in 1953, the two teams met for the first time in a Meisterschaft Final. Played before a crowd of 80,000 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, that final was never in doubt. Kaiserslautern went up 2-0 with goals from Fritz Walter (pictured, playing for West Germany) (37') and Karl Wanger (57'), before Stuttgart got on the scoreboard (Leo Kronenbitter 72'), then pulled away with two more goals near the end (Erwin Scheffler 78', Wanger 83') to win the match 4-1.

They returned to the final in 1954 and 1955, but did not win another title until 1991, then added a fourth--their last one--in 1998. Stuttgart, meanwhile, have a total of five after winning the league in 1984, 1992, and 2007.

21 August 2004 - I Can Only Wonder What Happened At The Break

On 21 August 2004, Kaiserslautern striker Carsten Jancker set a German Cup record when he put six past Schönberg in the tournament's first round.

A star at Bayern Munich where he won four Bundesliga titles and a Champions League trophy between 1996 and 2002, Jancker had just returned to Germany after a two-year spell in Italy with Udinese. He quickly settled in with his performance against fourth-division Schönberg.

Playing at Schönberg's Jahnstadion, Kaiserslautern took the lead with a goal from Christian Nerlinger in the 20th minute, then extended it with a rapid brace from Ferydoon Zandi (41', 44'). Then, in the second half, Jancker took over, scoring his first goal in the 46th minute, followed by additional strikes (58', 61', 71', 77', 85'). His six goals remain a record for a single player in the German Cup.

In the meantime, Schönberg provided an own goal (53'), while Selim Teber (56', 82'), Kamil Kosowski (64'), Zandi (68'), and Marco Englehardt (88') scored for the visitors to set the final margin at 0-15.

Unfortunately for Kaiserslautern, the goals did not come as easily in the second round, where they fell to Schalke on penalties, 4-4 (4-3).

31 October 1920 - Germany's Golden Player

On 31 October 1920, Kaiserslautern and West Germany legend Fritz Walter was born.

Gifted with a remarkable combination of ball control, vision, and agility, Walter, who was born in Kaiserslautern, spent his entire career with his hometown club. He made his first-team debut for them at the age of 17, but World War II interrupted his career for several years. Play resumed in 1945 and Walter soon guided the team to their first major silverware, winning league titles in 1951 and 1953. He retired in 1959 with a record of 380 goals in 411 league appearances. In 1985, the club renamed their stadium after him.

His greatest achievement, however, came with the West German national team in 1954, when he captained them to their first World Cup trophy, beating Hungary 3-2 in a final known as "the Miracle of Bern" (Hungary were up 0-2 after only 8 minutes before West Germany rallied for the win).

Despite the wartime hiatus, Walter earned 61 caps between 1940 and 1958, scoring 33 goals. When UEFA, in preparation for their fiftieth anniversary in 2004, asked each member nation to name their one greatest player--the Golden Players--of the previous fifty years, Germany selected Walter.

He passed away in June 2002 at the age of 81.

23 May 1954 - It Had To Be The Shoes

On 23 May 1954, Hannover won their second German championship, beating Kaiserslautern 5-1. And they did it with a little tactical advantage in footwear.

Six teams--the five regional Oberliga champions and one runner-up--qualified for the German championship tournament and were split into two groups. The two group winners then contested the final, which was played at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.

Before the match, eight of Hannover's eleven starters were given new Puma boots with a special feature--screw-in studs. Puma had been developing the technology for several years, first releasing the "Super Atom" model in 1951. When Kaiserslautern won the German championship in 1953, seven of their players wore the Super Atom. By 1954, however, Puma had developed an improved style dubbed the "Brasil" and Hannover quickly adopted the new boots.

They must have been quite an improvement. Even though Kaiserslautern took a 13th minute lead, Hannover reeled off five straight goals to take the title with an overwhelming 5-1 victory (including one Kaiserslautern own goal from defender Werner Kohlmeyer in the 48th minute). It was their second title, with the first having come in 1938.

After seeing the success of the Brasil, West Germany used the boot for their 1954 World Cup team which won the tournament over Hungary. Coincidentally, the German team included five members from Kaiserslautern side (including Kohlmeyer), but not one player from Hannover.

2 October 2010 - Mainz Roll To Seven

On 2 October 2010, Mainz joined an exclusive group by opening their season with seven straight league wins. Like the others, however, the streak ended at seven.

Bayern Munich were the first team to win their first seven Bundesliga matches back in 1995 and Kaiserslautern matched the feat in 2001. In the 2010-11 season, Mainz beat both of them en route to their own streak. It started in August with Stuttgart and included wins over Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, and Cologne to extend the run to six.

Their seventh match came against Hoffenheim, who had beaten Mainz twice the previous season. But the hosts, who were sitting at the top of the table, wasted no time in taking the lead--striker Sami Allagui put them ahead in just the second minute. Hoffenheim striker Demba Ba equalized in the 41st minute, Ádám Szalai (pictured at right) restored the lead six minutes later. Hoffenheim midfielder Luiz Gustavo inadvertently extended the lead with a 59th-minute own goal and the two teams traded late strikes to end the match as a 4-2 Mainz victory.

Unfortunately for Mainz, they fell short of taking sole possession of a new record, falling to Hamburg 0-1 in their next match two weeks later.

21 June 1953 - Stuttgart Gets Kaiserslaughtered

On 21 June 1953, Kaiserslautern won their second league title, beating Stuttgart 4-1. The win was the last of a four-year series in which the two teams alternated as German champions.

Founded in 1900, Kaiserslautern finished as league runners-up in 1910 and 1912, but declined in subsequent years, finishing at the bottom of their division in 1944. Their fortunes improved when German football resumed in 1948, as they reached the league final, only to lose to Nuremburg. In 1950, they advanced to the quarterfinals of the German championship, the Meisterschaft, but lost to that year's champions, Stuttgart.

Kaiserslautern won their first title in 1951, while Stuttgart reclaimed the title in 1952. Then, in 1953, the two teams met for the first time in a Meisterschaft Final. Played before a crowd of 80,000 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, that final was never in doubt. Kaiserslautern went up 2-0 with goals from Fritz Walter (pictured, playing for West Germany) (37') and Karl Wanger (57'), before Stuttgart got on the scoreboard (Leo Kronenbitter 72'), then pulled away with two more goals near the end (Erwin Scheffler 78', Wanger 83') to win the match 4-1.

They returned to the final in 1954 and 1955, but did not win another title until 1991, then added a fourth--their last one--in 1998. Stuttgart, meanwhile, have a total of five after winning the league in 1984, 1992, and 2007.