Origins as FC Preußen The original club was formed by brothers Emil and Rudolf Fonfara as
FC Preußen Kattowitz out of predecessor side
Sportverein Frisch Auf Kattowitz.
SV was the first football club in the region and was established at the initiative of local priests. One of the local organizers was Karol Walica, whose father brought the first leather football to the city from Berlin.
Preußen was one of three clubs that followed out of
SV, alongside
Germania Kattowitz and
Diana Kattowitz, that formed the short-lived Kattowitzer Ballspiel-Verband (KBV, en:Kattowitz Ballgame Association). The team claimed that league's only championship in 1905. Top-flight football in the region was dominated by the Verband Breslauer Ballspiel-Vereine (VBB, en:Association of Breslau Ballgame Clubs, 1903–06) and the Verband Niederlausitzer Ballspielvereine (VNB, en:Association of Niederlausitz Ballgame Clubs, 1904–06). These two associations merged in 1906 to form the regional Südostdeutschland Fußballverband (SOFV, en:Southeast German Football Association) and
FC Preußen became part of the league in the 1906–07 season. The team advanced to the league final in 1908 and 1909 where they were defeated in turn by
VfR Breslau (5:2) and
SC Alemannia Cottbus (3:2). They made another appearance in the final in 1913 and beat
Askania Forst 2:1, however,
Forst protested the result and beat
Kattowitz 4:0 in the re-play. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 led to the suspension of championship play in the SOFV until the 1919–20 season.
Activity in Poland during the Interwar Period After the war and the re-establishment of a
Polish republic, Upper Silesia was the subject of a territorial dispute between Germany and Poland. Following the
Silesian Uprisings in 1921 and a subsequent
League of Nations plebiscite, part of the region – including Kattowitz – was granted to Poland and the name of the city was changed to Katowice. The football club was caught up in the politically charged events of the period. In 1920–21
Preußen was still part of German football competition in the SOFV. The season ended with
Vereinigte Breslauer Sportfreunde,
Viktoria Forst, and
Kattowitz in a three-way tie for first place separated only by goal difference, which was not at the time considered decisive. A playoff was organized to determine which of the three clubs would take part in the German national playoffs.
Kattowitz was unable to participate because of passport problems and
Forst ultimately went on to represent the SOFV. A separate playoff was later held to determine which of the three clubs would be Südostdeutschland champions.
Breslau won both of their matches – including a 5:1 victory over
Preußen – to claim the title. With the transfer of the city of Kattowitz to Poland, the city's name took its Polish name of Katowice, the name of the club being Polonized in 1922 to
1. Klub Sportowy Katowice accordingly. That same year, the membership of the club successfully challenged the change in court and won the right to play as
1. FC Kattowitz. By 1924, the team was part of regional Polish competition and playing as
1. FC Katowice. It soon emerged as one of the strongest teams in the country and finished second to
Wisła Kraków in the first season of Poland's newly established national competition in 1927.
Katowice lost a crucial match 0:2 at home to
Wisła During this period
Katowice was well known for its excellent players: goalkeeper
Emil Goerlitz, who was the first footballer from Upper Silesia to play for the Polish national team; defender
Erich Heidenreich, regarded as one of the best backs in Europe, who refused to play for Poland citing his German heritage; and forward
Karol Kossok, another Polish national who went on to become the top scorer for the clubs
Cracovia Kraków and
Pogoń Lwów. The team's most famous player was
Ernest Willimowski, who started his career with
Katowice, but was sold to
Ruch Chorzów in 1933, and appeared with both the
Polish and
German national squads.
Katowice faltered in 1929 and was relegated from first division Polish football, descending to play in the regional Silesian league where they became champions in 1932. They went on to the promotion round playoffs against the winners of the
Kraków league (
Podgorze Kraków) and
Kielce league (
Warta Zawiercie). The Katowice side twice beat
Warta (5:2, 6:2), but also twice lost to
Podgorze (1:2, 1:3). As a result,
Podgorze qualified for the central playoffs, and later went on the national league.
Play under the Third Reich in the 1940s In June 1939, the club's activities were suspended by Polish authorities when they were accused of promoting and supporting the interests of
Nazi Germany. After the German invasion of Poland which began World War II in the fall of 1939, the team resumed play with German authorities looking to hold up
1. FC Kattowitz as a model side in Upper Silesia for propaganda purposes. In 1933, German football was reorganized under the
Third Reich into sixteen top-flight Gauligen. With the onset of the war, existing divisions were expanded or additional divisions were formed to incorporate conquered territories. Citing the club's "excellent fighting spirit during the Polish-time",
1. FC Kattowitz sat atop the division at the end of the never completed season and the club soon ceased to exist. Today a side playing as
1. FC Katowice competes in the Polish A-Class (
7th level; men) and Polish
Extra League (women). ==Honours==