Fürth won their first national title in winning the 1914 German football championship under English coach William Townley with left winger Julius Hirsch, who had joined the team the prior season.[4][5] They faced VfB Leipzig – the defending champions with three titles to their credit – in the final held on 31 May in Magdeburg. A 154-minute-long thriller, the longest completed game in German football history (the 1922 Final was abandoned after 189 minutes due to darkness), ended with Fürth scoring a golden goal to secure the title.[6]