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.
History of rugby union
By the end of the 19th century, rugby football and rugby union had spread far and wide. This spread was by no means confined to the British Empire.
Rugby football was an early arrival in Germany. The first German rugby team existed at Neuenheim College – now called Heidelberg College – in Heidelberg. Around 1850, the game started to attract the attention of the students. Students under the guidance of the teacher Edward Hill Ullrich were the ones who then founded the rugby department of the Heidelberger Ruderklub von 1872/Heidelberger Flaggenklub was established. (HRK 1872) in 1891, which today claims to be the oldest German rugby club. The oldest still existing rugby department within a club is that of DSV 78 Hannover, formed in 1878 by Ferdinand-Wilhelm Fricke. German rugby has traditionally been centred on Heidelberg and Hanover, but has spread over the entire country in recent decades.