By Michael Rappe
Heidelberg. It was a basketball game that was talked about for a long time and that those involved probably still remember today. And it was of utmost importance for the development of USC Heidelberg. Because without promotion to the 2nd Basketball Bundesliga South on April 30, 1994, the further path to success would have been with the membership of the ProA (the 2nd Bundesliga North and South were merged to form the Pro A) from 2007, the conversion into a GmbH, The renaming to MLP Academics in 2012 and ultimately promotion to the Basketball Bundesliga in 2021 were not possible. The SNP Dome, the temple that now regularly attracts over 4,000 spectators, would most likely not exist either.
“The father of this birth” in April 1994 was Thomas Riedel. After the regional league was relegated in 1988, he took over the management of the department and then also became a coach. New sponsors and good players came. “I was very excited and very afraid that I wouldn’t reach the goal of promotion. When we did it, I was happy and proud,” says Riedel.
An incredible 1,500 spectators came to the old ISSW hall on that historic day to watch the decisive third promotion game to the 2nd Bundesliga between USC and KuSG Leimen. The hall was completely overcrowded and the temperature was like in a sauna. Leimen won the first game 79:77, Heidelberg won the second game in front of 1,400 spectators with 82:72.
RNZ editor Hasso Waldschmidt wrote about the third game in front of 1,500 spectators at the time: “In sauna temperatures and with oxygen levels decreasing sharply towards the end of the game, both teams fought and struggled for every chance. Despite the actually clear 70:61 victory, the encounter was down to the last one Open for a minute.” A lavish victory celebration followed, during which Horst “Horschek” Wolf danced into May at midnight, with his son Julius and the basket net around his neck, to the sounds of “We are the champions”.
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USC’s captain that season was Joachim Klaehn, editor of RNZ and later its head of the sports department. The now 64-year-old came to USC in 1991 after working in Mannheim, Ulm, Leimen, France and Karlsruhe. He had the choice between Speyer (2nd league) and Heidelberg (regional league) and after a trusting conversation with coach Riedel decided on USC. A year later, ex-national center Wolf returned to USC.
“The rise in 1994 became a mission, we were mostly close friends and became a close-knit unit with the audience,” remembers Klaehn. But he also didn’t forget the great performance of the Leimen team under the late coach Gerhard Heindel. “Troy Russell and his teammates were great sports people, and they also really wanted to get promoted to the second division at the time.” With Matthias Biller and Henrik Stein, two Leimeners moved directly to USC, and later Dirk Sodomann and Andreas Mühling.
In 1995, Klaehn, who was also responsible for the club’s public relations at the time, left USC when his playing career ended. In October 2022 he returned to the Academics and is now responsible for the “Communications and Media” department at the Bundesliga club. So the circle closes, 30 years after the legendary game in the ISSW, which is rightly considered the birth of the upswing in Heidelberg basketball.
2024-04-27 02:00:00
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