4 November 1945 - Willkommen Zu Hause

On 4 November 1945, after a short break, league football returned to Germany. Part of Germany, anyway.

While some countries suspended their football leagues for the duration of World War II, the sport continued to be played in Germany, with the last recorded match under the Third Reich being a 3-2 Bayern Munich win over 1860 Munich in April 1945. When the German government surrendered three weeks later, the Allied powers occupied Germany and banned all organizations, including sports clubs.

But in September 1945, the Americans, in charge of southeastern Germany including the states of Bavaria and Hesse, allowed matches in their zone and then, at the end of October, sanctioned the formation of a new  league. Called the Oberliga Süd, it consisted of 16 teams, with league play starting on 4 November. Each team played thirty games, with Stuttgart (pictured) winning the inaugural title.

Four other leagues soon followed in the other occupied zones, with each being the top flight in their regions: the Oberliga Berlin and Oberliga Südwest in 1945, the Oberliga Nord and Oberliga West in 1947.

The Oberliga system lasted until 1963, when it was replaced by the nationwide Bundesliga.

3 January 2003 - Nowak Calls Time On His Playing Career

On 3 January 2003, the Chicago Fire traded team captain Piotr Nowak to New England, but he retired about a month later before suiting up for his new club.

The Polish international midfielder joined Chicago in 1998 after a four-year tenure with 1860 Munich that saw him named Poland's Player of the Year (1996) and the Bundesliga's best playmaker (1995-96). He made an immediate impact with the fledgling MLS side, who named him the team MVP in his first season as they won the MLS Cup and the US Open Cup.

More successes followed, including another US Open Cup in 2000, as Nowak collected two more MVP awards in 2000 and 2001. By the end of the 2002 season, he set the club's current all-time assist record at 48. But salary cap considerations led Chicago to trade their then-38-year old captain to New England for the 2003 season. Later that year, Chicago made him the first inductee in their "Ring of Fire," honoring past players.

Just over one month after the trade announcement, Nowak chose to retire rather than continue his playing career in New England. He wasn't done with football altogether, however, as he took over as manager of DC United in 2004, winning that season's MLS Cup. He left DC in 2006 to work with the US national team and, in 2009, became the first head coach for the Philadelphia Union. He later took charge of Antigua and Barbuda and is currently the manager of Polish club Lechia Gdańsk.

19 May 1965 - Sealey Seals The Win

On 19 May 1965, West Ham became the second British team to claim a European trophy, defeating 1860 Munich in the Cup Winners' Cup Final.

Played before a crowd of 98,000 at Wembley, the match was widely regarded at the time as one of the greatest European cup finals in history. With both teams adopting a fast-paced attacking style, only brilliant play from the two goalkeepers--West Ham's Jim Standen and 1860 Munich's Petar Radenković--kept the two sides scoreless in the first half.

Hammers midfielder Ron Boyce sparked the opening goal in the 70th minute when he intercepted a German pass on the edge of the center circle, dribbled up the pitch and played a through ball to midfielder Alan Sealey. Sealey beat Radenković at the near post by slamming the ball over his head into the top of the net. Two minutes later, Sealey scored again as Radenković failed to collect a cross from Bobby Moore, allowing Sealey to knock it over the line.

The match ended as a 2-0 win for West Ham, two years after Tottenham won the same competition. They returned to the Final in 1978, but lost to Anderlecht.

24 February 1993 - Bobby Moore No More

On 24 February 1993, 51-year old England and West Ham United legend Bobby Moore died from bowel cancer.

Moore began his professional career in 1958 with West Ham, where he would stay for just over 15 seasons. Despite having fairly average physical talents, he was gifted with an uncanny ability to read the game and anticipate where the ball was going. That, combined with his impeccable timing, made him one of England's top defenders. He earned his first cap for England at 21, and at 22, became the youngest person to captain the English senior side.

He got his first silverware in 1964, when he led the Hammers to the FA Cup trophy, also earning personal accolades as the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. He followed by helping West Ham to the 1965 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with a 2-0 win over 1860 Munich. But he is best remembered for captaining England to the World Cup title in 1966, where Moore set up two of England's goals in the 4-2 win over West Germany in the Final. He would go on to make 108 appearances for England, making him England's most-capped player at the time, though Peter Shilton (125) and David Beckham (currently at 115) would later go on to surpass Moore's total.

Moore left West Ham in 1974 for London rivals Fulham, then in the Second Division. In his first season with Fulham, they met West Ham twice, beating them in the League Cup, but losing to the Hammers in the 1975 FA Cup Final. He also spent some time in the US during the English off-season, playing for the San Antonio Thunder and Seattle Sounders before retiring in 1978.

Afterward, Moore spent a brief period in management before moving on to work as a commentator. He made his last public appearance in the commentators' booth for England's match against San Marino on 17 February 1993, one week before his death.

23 April 1945 - Goodbye And Good Riddance

On 23 April 1945, Bayern Munich defeated 1860 Munich 3-2 in what turned out to be the last recorded match in the Third Reich.

When Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party came to power in 1933, the new regime quickly expanded its control into all areas of German society, including football. The Nazis appointed party member Hans von Tschammer und Osten as the country's Reichssportsführer, placing him in charge of all German sports, including the nation's football teams.

As part of the new Third Reich, the football clubs were required to purge all Jews from their ranks. Thus, in 1933, Bayern's Jewish president, Kurt Landauer (pictured), was forced to resign. He later spent two months in a concentration camp, but escaped Germany in 1939 and fled to Switzerland. In 1940, Bayern visited Landauer in Switzerland as a show of support. He returned to Bayern in 1947. Between 1913 and 1951, he spent approximately 18 years as Bayern's president, giving him the club's longest tenure in that office. There is a street named after him in the Munich suburb of Friemann.

On 2 May 1945, nine days after Bayern's victory over 1860 Munich, Germany unconditionally surrendered, officially ending the Third Reich.

4 November 1945 - Willkommen Zu Hause

On  4 November 1945, after a short break, league football returned to Germany. Part of Germany, anyway.

While some countries suspended their football leagues for the duration of World War II, the sport continued to be played in Germany, with the last recorded match under the Third Reich being a 3-2 Bayern Munich win over 1860 Munich in April 1945. When the German government surrendered three weeks later, the Allied powers occupied Germany and banned all organizations, including sports clubs.

But in September 1945, the Americans, in charge of southeastern Germany including the states of Bavaria and Hesse, allowed matches in their zone and then, at the end of October, sanctioned the formation of a new  league. Called the Oberliga Süd, it consisted of 16 teams, with league play starting on 4 November. Each team played thirty games, with Stuttgart (pictured) winning the inaugural title.

Four other leagues soon followed in the other occupied zones, with each being the top flight in their regions: the Oberliga Berlin and Oberliga Südwest in 1945, the Oberliga Nord and Oberliga West in 1947.

The Oberliga system lasted until 1963, when it was replaced by the nationwide Bundesliga.

3 January 2003 - Nowak Calls Time On His Playing Career

On 3 January 2003, the Chicago Fire traded team captain Piotr Nowak to New England, but he retired about a month later before suiting up for his new club.

The Polish international midfielder joined Chicago in 1998 after a four-year tenure with 1860 Munich that saw him named Poland's Player of the Year (1996) and the Bundesliga's best playmaker (1995-96). He made an immediate impact with the fledgling MLS side, who named him the team MVP in his first season as they won the MLS Cup and the US Open Cup.

More successes followed, including another US Open Cup in 2000, as Nowak collected two more MVP awards in 2000 and 2001. By the end of the 2002 season, he set the club's current all-time assist record at 48. But salary cap considerations led Chicago to trade their then-38-year old captain to New England for the 2003 season. Later that year, Chicago made him the first inductee in their "Ring of Fire," honoring past players.

Just over one month after the trade announcement, Nowak chose to retire rather than continue his playing career in New England. He wasn't done with football altogether, however, as he took over as manager of DC United in 2004, winning that season's MLS Cup. He left DC in 2006 to work with the US national team and, in 2009, became the first head coach for the Philadelphia Union.

19 May 1965 - Sealey Seals The Win

On 19 May 1965, West Ham became the second British team to claim a European trophy, defeating 1860 Munich in the Cup Winners' Cup Final.

Played before a crowd of 98,000 at Wembley, the match was widely regarded at the time as one of the greatest European cup finals in history. With both teams adopting a fast-paced attacking style, only brilliant play from the two goalkeepers--West Ham's Jim Standen and 1860 Munich's Petar Radenković--kept the two sides scoreless in the first half.

Hammers midfielder Ron Boyce sparked the opening goal in the 70th minute when he intercepted a German pass on the edge of the center circle, dribbled up the pitch and played a through ball to midfielder Alan Sealey. Sealey beat Radenković at the near post by slamming the ball over his head into the top of the net. Two minutes later, Sealey scored again as Radenković failed to collect a cross from Bobby Moore, allowing Sealey to knock it over the line.

The match ended as a 2-0 win for West Ham, two years after Tottenham won the same competition. They returned to the Final in 1978, but lost to Anderlecht.

24 February 1993 - Bobby Moore No More

On 24 February 1993, 51-year old England and West Ham United legend Bobby Moore died from bowel cancer.

Moore began his professional career in 1958 with West Ham, where he would stay for just over 15 seasons. Despite having fairly average physical talents, he was gifted with an uncanny ability to read the game and anticipate where the ball was going. That, combined with his impeccable timing, made him one of England's top defenders. He earned his first cap for England at 21, and at 22, became the youngest person to captain the English senior side.

He got his first silverware in 1964, when he led the Hammers to the FA Cup trophy, also earning personal accolades as the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year. He followed by helping West Ham to the 1965 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with a 2-0 win over 1860 Munich. But he is best remembered for captaining England to the World Cup title in 1966, where Moore set up two of England's goals in the 4-2 win over West Germany in the Final. He would go on to make 108 appearances for England, making him England's most-capped player at the time, though Peter Shilton (125) and David Beckham (currently at 115) would later go on to surpass Moore's total.

Moore left West Ham in 1974 for London rivals Fulham, then in the Second Division. In his first season with Fulham, they met West Ham twice, beating them in the League Cup, but losing to the Hammers in the 1975 FA Cup Final. He also spent some time in the US during the English off-season, playing for the San Antonio Thunder and Seattle Sounders before retiring in 1978.

Afterward, Moore spent a brief period in management before moving on to work as a commentator. He made his last public appearance in the commentators' booth for England's match against San Marino on 17 February 1993, one week before his death.

23 April 1945 - Goodbye And Good Riddance

On 23 April 1945, Bayern Munich defeated 1860 Munich 3-2 in what turned out to be the last recorded match in the Third Reich.

When Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party came to power in 1933, the new regime quickly expanded its control into all areas of German society, including football. The Nazis appointed party member Hans von Tschammer und Osten as the country's Reichssportsführer, placing him in charge of all German sports, including the nation's football teams.

As part of the new Third Reich, the football clubs were required to purge all Jews from their ranks. Thus, in 1933, Bayern's Jewish president, Kurt Landauer (pictured), was forced to resign. He later spent two months in a concentration camp, but escaped Germany in 1939 and fled to Switzerland. In 1940, Bayern visited Landauer in Switzerland as a show of support. He returned to Bayern in 1947. Between 1913 and 1951, he spent approximately 18 years as Bayern's president, giving him the club's longest tenure in that office. There is a street named after him in the Munich suburb of Friemann.

On 2 May 1945, nine days after Bayern's victory over 1860 Munich, Germany unconditionally surrendered, officially ending the Third Reich.