BFC Germania 1888
BFC Germania 1888 was founded by 17-year-old Paul Jestram, his three brothers, and a number of their schoolmates from Askanischen Gymnasium at a time when football was not yet common in Germany, the first football games having been played in Berlin and Hamburg in the winter of 1881–82 by expatriate Englishmen. No football pitches had yet been built so "BFC" played on the Tempelhofer field where an airport would later be constructed.
SC Germania Hamburg
The northern German associations joined to form the Northern German Football Association, the "Norddeutscher Fußball-Verband" in 1905. In that period many players left Germania, which forthwith was in decline and eventually was relegated in 1912. After the outbreak of World War I Germania, like all other clubs, had a shortage of players and in order to be able to field teams entered into temporary associations with "SV Uhlenhorst-Hertha" and SC Concordia.
After the end of the war the club could not revive its fortunes and merged on 2 June 1919 with "Hamburger SV von 1888", Northern German champions of that year, to form today's Hamburger SV, seven times German champions and European Cup of Champions' winner of 1982. Hamburger SV carries 1887 as its official year of foundation. The club colours were the Hanseatic red and white in honour of the City of Hamburg, with the blue and black of the oldest of the founding clubs, Germania, being used on the team badge. It is through Germania that HSV can lay a claim to being the German football club tracing back the furthest.