The late 1970s were the golden age of Rot-Weiß Lüdenscheid. Rot-Weiß competed in the 2nd Bundesliga for four years. Today, the club plays a few divisions lower.
There was a lot to celebrate at Lüdenscheid’s Nattenberg in the 1970s. At the beginning of the decade, the two clubs Sportfreunde Lüdenscheid and RSV Höh merged to form Rot-Weiß Lüdenscheid. Then things took off.
Jürgen Schütz, who played for Borussia Dortmund and AS Roma among others, strengthened the team. Two years later, Rot-Weiß was promoted to the Regionalliga, the second-highest level in Germany at the time. Shortly afterwards, the northern and southern seasons of the Bundesliga 2 were formed in Germany. Lüdenscheid initially failed to qualify, but was promoted to the North League in 1977.
Rot-Weiß had little to do with relegation in its debut season – in stark contrast to the following season. Although it started with a highlight – 1. FC Köln made a guest appearance in the DFB Cup at the Nattenberg Stadium and won 4:1 – it ended in a fiasco. The club conceded a whopping 106 goals in the league and suffered a 2:9 defeat against Viktoria Köln. As a result, RWL finished second last and planned for the Oberliga.
The new season was already underway when second division team Westfalia Herne had its license revoked. Club sponsor Goldin had filed for bankruptcy, meaning that SCW was out of the league after just one match day of the 1979/80 season. They were allowed to move up to the Bundesliga lower division: Rot-Weiß Lüdenscheid. RWL finished the season in 16th place. And thus relegation.
Today, RW Lüdenscheid oscillates between the Landesliga and Bezirksliga
One season later, however, the club left the Bundesliga 2 for good – and has still not made it back. The northern and southern leagues were merged. Lüdenscheid did not qualify and now found its home in the Oberliga. The club played in this division from 1981 to 1994, with brief interruptions.
After Rot-Weiß was relegated from the Landesliga to the Bezirksliga in the 2008/09 season, the traditional club remained in this division for over a decade. Until the 2019/20 season, when Lüdenscheid was promoted to the Landesliga once again. However, this stay was short-lived and relegation followed after three years in this league. Since this season, the club has once again been part of the Westfalen-Bezirksliga season 6.
League, successes and famous players
Current league: Bezirksliga Westfalen 6
Greatest successes: Second division from 1977 to 1981, Westphalia champions in 1977, ten appearances in the DFB Cup, Westphalia Cup winners in 1982 and 1883
Famous players/coaches: Peter Vollmann, Klaus Hilpert, Josef “Jupp” Koitka, Dimitrios Pappas, Roger Schmidt