100 years sports at Bayer

How it all began

Gymnastics squad in the park of the recreational house (1918)

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Gymnastics squad in the park of the recreational house (1918)

The history of Bayer sports starts at the beginning of the last century in the still young plant in Leverkusen (named so in 1930). In 1891 Bayer buy up the dye plant of “Carl Leverkus & Söhne” and the large area just south of the village Wiesdorf that offers enough room to build a new plant because the area around Eberfeld where the head office was founded in 1863 leaves no room for expansion. In 1897 the new plant starts production. Because the plant was built “in the middle of nowhere” the workers hardly have any opportunity to go about any hobbies.

A letter starts everything

In 1903 Wilhelm Hauschild addresses a letter to the factory and office workers of the Bayer plant in Leverkusen asking them to found a physical educatiuon and playing club in order to improve the physical state of the people working in the plant. In this letter he expresses his regret that there is no sports club in Leverkusen and goes on to point out the positive influence sporting activities have on health. 170 people are interested and sign the petition.

Carl Duisberg

At the end of November in 1903 the signed petition is handed of to the Bayer direction and their “aid in this affair” is requested. Director Carl Duisburg is especially taken in by the idea presented by Hausschild because he is always trying to improve the quality of living for his factory and office workers in order to tie them to the company. Just over half-a-year later the “Turn- und Spielverein der Farbenfabriken vorm. Friedr. Bayer & Co.“ Is founded in Leverkusen. From the beginning “TuS 04” have also got a girls squad, which was very rare in Germany at the time.

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Young gymnasts train outdoors (1920)

As the company grew step by step so did the importance of sporting activities. Bayer subsidise both recreational and disabled sport and later, with the athletes natural will to succeed and perform at their highest ability in their sport, they start backing top-class sports. Bayer attend to the workers wishes for sporting activities and as they years go by they become the biggest sponsors of sport in the Federal Republic.

The Bayer sports clubs in Leverkusen alone can boast about 18,500 members these days. Together with the clubs based in the other cities with Bayer plants, Wuppertal-Elberfeld, Krefeld-Uerdingen and Dormagen Bayer have about 50,000 members registered 27 sports clubs and all of them wear the Bayer cross. As part of the celebrations of 100 years of Bayer sport sponsorship numerous top Bayer athletes also wore the jubilee emblem on their sports-kit in order to emphasise their connection with the company. The Bayer 04 Leverkusen professional footballers wore their own emblem.

The whole year of 2004 was used by Bayer sport to celebrate the special occasion with numerous Bayer sporting events accompanied by supporting programme, exhibitions in Bayer sports facilities, a “Day of Bayer sports” and a ceremonial act on July 03 2004.