ATS Kulmbach

The ATS Kulmbach is a German association football club from the city of Kulmbach, Bavaria.ATS, in its better days, played in the third division and reached the first round of the German Cup in 1975–76. The club has declined since then, to the point that its first team plays in tier eleven, the lowest level in its region.HistoryThe club was formed as a gymnastics club in 1861, under the name of Turnverein 1861. It took TV until 1911, to form a football department. In 1931, the TV merged with local side Turnerbund Kulmbach to form Kulmbacher Turnerschaft.After the end of the Second World War, on 3 March 1946, the ATS Kulmbach was formed out of this club.ATS first made an appearance on the Bavarian football scene when they won the local Oberfranken championship in 1948 and took part in the promotion round to the Landesliga Bayern (II), where it came last, without a win. Kulmbach made another attempt at Landesliga promotion the year after but was equally as unsuccessful.The club finally succeeded in 1951 in earning promotion to Bavaria's highest league, which was now the tier-three Amateurliga Bayern.Kulmbach finished its first Bayernliga season in 13th place, three points away from a relegation rank. The club dramatically improved the following season, taking out the league title thanks to an unbeaten run at home. The team then took part in the promotion round to the tier-two 2nd Oberliga Süd but finished last out of six teams and FC Hanau 93 and Bavarian runners-up FC Wacker München earned promotion instead.