Formed in 1913 the club played its first three decades as a non-descript local side.
Sportfreunde took part in the
1943 Tschammerpokal, the German Cup, but lost 4–2 to
FC Schalke 04 in the second round after defeating Luxembourg side
FK Niederkorn in the first round. It won promotion to the
Gauliga Niederrhein in 1944 but the league was cancelled after only one round because of the effects of the
Second World War. Sportfreunde Katernberg spend three more seasons in the Oberliga from 1950 to 1953 but never came close to the success of 1947–48 and was eventually relegated back to the 2. Oberliga. Two seasons in this league followed until another relegation in 1955 took the club permanently from the top levels of German football. ==Honours==