The history of Akademisk Boldklub
Familiar AB colors in green and white.
When the disciples of the Frederician Latin School graduated in 1883 and moved to Copenhagen, they brought more than academic knowledge with them. As the game of football hadn’t quite caught on in Denmark yet, these students started a Cricket Club instead as a focal point for their sporting activities.
This club was named “Fredericia-Student Cricket Club” (FSK), as a final honor to their old school. The players’ uniforms were already in the familiar AB colors back then: Green and white.
Admitted to the FSK in 1887
As early as 1887, the game of football was included in FSK. This happened after a Danish translation of the laws of the English Football Association had been made in the fall of 1886/87.
As the number of Copenhageners grew, it was agreed that the club’s name no longer represented its members.
On February 26, 1889, the “Fredericia Students’ Cricket Club” merged with the slightly younger “Polytechnic Club”.
The name then became: Akademisk Boldklub.
Admission requirements in the newly established Akademisk Boldklub
The entry requirements for membership of the newly established Akademisk Boldklub were changed after the merger so that anyone who had taken an entrance exam to university or polytechnic could become a member. This also applied to students from other Scandinavian universities.
In addition, non-academic footballers with potential could be admitted to AB by being unanimously proposed by the board or by 15 members of the club.
AB's new board of directors
AB’s new board of directors after the merger consisted of:
M. E. Pagh – Chairman (former Chairman of Fredericia-Student Cricket Club)
E. Faber
H. Forchhammer
H.C. Lund
H. Birk
membership fee of 50 øre per month in 1889
The membership fee for active members of AB in 1889 was just 50 øre per month.
On April 1, 1889, the club moved to new premises in Helgesensgade 5, where they were well received by the club’s first clothing sponsor. Unable to afford new towels for the club’s playing members, the mother of an AB player bought fabric on credit and sewed 6 towels, which she happily presented to the excited players.
At the same time, DBU acquired a nice trophy for the tidy sum of 150 SEK, and the result of DBU’s first tournament (1889-1890) was that AB won the final against KB with 2-0.
Around the turn of the century, both KB and B93 had their own pitches, and AB thought they should have their own too. They raised the necessary capital for the financing – DKK 60,000 – from the club’s supporters, and were then able to rent an area of 6 acres of land on Lammefælleden on Tagensvej from the City of Copenhagen, which was ready in 1903.
one of the biggest personalities in AB
One of the biggest personalities in AB at the time was Head of Department Charles Buchwald, who played all three ball games available at AB: football, tennis and cricket.
Buchwald played on the national football team, cricket and was a club tennis champion.
Buchwald made his debut on AB’s 1st team in football at the age of 16, the same age as Harald Bohr made his debut, earning 4 caps.
His brother Niels, who was probably better known off the pitch, was a goalkeeper, and the following story shows that he had a lot more on his mind than football. ‘AB was quite superior in a match against a selected German team – ‘Mittweida’ – and Niels Bohr passed the time by standing and leaning against one goal post.
Suddenly a long ball was kicked towards AB’s goal. Everyone expected Niels to go out and take the ball, but he did nothing.
After the game, he had to admit that his thoughts were on a mathematical problem that occupied him more than the game.
Establishment of a junior department in 1894
As the new game had not yet reached the schools, the club tried to establish a Junior Department in 1894, which was not a great success. In 1899, AB tried again. This time under the leadership of the creator of AB’s famous junior department and its leader for 20 years – Edmond Andersen. During the chapter’s first year of existence, the number of members increased to almost 70. Edmond Andersen kept a meticulous diary of each training session – both big and small.
Diary of training sessions and the age of rogues
22-12: 10 men. Five-a-side. It was established for the 50th time that X is in the rogue age.
27-12: 20 players. Nice weather. Good game!
3.-1.-01: No players met. Frost. Skating conditions. The season ended.
14th-6th: 23 men in training. Harald Bohr took a plunge
In 1919, the clouds began to gather over the courts on Tagensvej. The City of Copenhagen terminated the lease, but the club had it postponed several times due to many negotiations that took a very long time! But in May 1922, it was finally over. AB was referred to Fælleden and was graciously allowed to use a piece of the grounds of Rigshospitalet. During this time, the changing rooms were in a shed without water.
Relocation to Nørre Allé in 1924
The move to Nørre Allé was only made possible through great financial goodwill from well-known names within the academic circle, and not least from the football club FREM, which granted AB a large loan for the construction of the new pitches and clubhouse, which was completely ready for the inauguration on September 13, 1924. That it had cost the club money can be seen from the fact that at the inauguration party that evening, the invitation said the following: “sandwiches must be brought, only the spiritual food would the Committee provide”.
The year before, P.W. Degner joined the club the year before, and from the start he took over the management of the youth department. The number of members in the youth section grew steadily – from 130 in 1925 to over 200 in the mid-30s.
AB won the junior tournament 7 times under the leadership of the renowned Carl Skomager Hansen, who was also the first Dane to turn professional abroad when he signed a deal with Glasgow Rangers in 1921 for a transfer fee of £20!
Club life flourished in the interwar years, and the big party of the year was the ‘Rusgildet’. Here, the newly promoted seniors were introduced to the rules and customs of the club in the form of speeches, songs, a revue etc. and not least lots of drinks!
AB's 50th birthday
AB’s 50th birthday was held at the hottest restaurant of the time, Nimb, where Chairman O. Thieslen welcomed the guests and among other things, the chairman played the gramophone record that Professor and Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr had sent from his trip to the USA, which contained a tribute to the birthday boy.
Playing with the ball during wartime was different than it had been before 1940. People trained more diligently, enjoyed the camaraderie of the club and felt part of the community in a completely different way than before. In the 1942-43 season, AB won ‘The Double’ and the team included Knud Lundberg, the doctor who played on three national teams at the same time – football, handball and basketball, Karl Aage Hansen, later a professional in Juventus, Ivan Jensen and Georg Dahlfelt, who played with Lundberg on the national handball team.
In 1946, a new sport was added to AB
In 1946, a new sport was added to AB: table tennis. With various cricket and football players on the team, they managed to win the Copenhagen Championship in 1946 and 47, and the crowning glory was ‘The Double’ (DM and cup) in both 1948 and 1949. Despite the great results, the department was disbanded in the early 50s.
AB’s golden age period was in the time after World War II. Membership was well over 1000 and the flow of Danish championships increased, with victories in 1945, 1947, 1951 and 1952. And football was popular, with 30,000 spectators in Idrætsparken for most matches.
AB had six players in the squad for the 1948 London Olympics: Knud Lundberg, Dahlfelt, Karl Aage Hansen, Ivan Jensen and the back pair Poul Petersen and Knud Bastrup-Birk. When many of these players retired – Lundberg stayed until 1960 – the results were a little more modest, despite the addition of new players: Chr. Brøgger, Dan Ohland Andersen, Frank Rechendorf, Ejler and Poul Koch and Jens Carl Christensen.
Eventually, the surroundings became too small as housing was being built on many of the former pitches, so they explored the possibility of moving to new and larger surroundings. When AB’s agreement with the Ministry of Education was terminated at the same time, they had to look for other areas. Letters were written to many municipalities, but only in Gladsaxe Municipality was the club’s request met with goodwill, and soon realities were on the table.
Merger with Bagsværd Idrætsforening in 1960
Bagsværd Idrætsforening offered to merge with AB, and when the dynamic mayor of Gladsaxe Municipality, Erhard Jacobsen, and the rest of the municipal council supported the idea, the first discussions between AB’s chairman C. V. Jensen, the municipality and BIF.
The initial plan was to expand Bagsværd Stadium, but it fell through when Gladsaxe Municipality offered to buy a 12-hectare area at Skovbrynet in Bagsværd, on the condition that AB and BIF’s football departments were merged.
Long and tough negotiations between the two football clubs led in late 1961 to both associations’ general meetings agreeing to the merger – at the old Nørre Allé, however, it took three general meetings!
At Skovbrynet, 8 soccer fields were built
On the beautifully situated area at Skovbrynet, 8 football pitches were laid out and a sports hall with 3 tennis courts, restaurant, changing rooms and meeting rooms was built – the largest in Northern Europe at the time! AB Hallen was completed in 1966, but the facility was inaugurated in the fall of 1963 when the two gravel pitches were put into use.
The start of our era in Gladsaxe Municipality began well when the club became Danish champions in 1967 with a team consisting of young players who had played in the club since their youth and in 1970 they won silver medals, just one goal away from another Danish championship.
During this period, the club was constantly involved in European football, which resulted in a great overall victory over FC Zurich, as well as straight games against AEK Athens, Anderlecht and Dundee United. In 1970, AB had drawn Slima Wanderers from Malta in the Fair City tournament and won the first match at home 7-0. In the return match, on a hopeless gravel pitch, AB’s coach had ordered hesitant and cautious play in the first 15 minutes, but chairman Hans Frost intervened and suggested pressing from the start, scoring a quick goal, and then entertaining the Maltese for the rest of the match with small balls in triangles. Søren Jensen, also known as Søren Sutsko, parried orders and scored already after 3 minutes – in his own goal! As captain Niels Yde said in his speech at the dinner, ‘Søren should be praised. He followed the chairman’s advice!’ However, AB won the match 3-2. Many of the talented players were sold abroad (including Kresten Bjerre, Flemming Kjærsgaard, Finn Wiberg, Johnny Petersen, Aage Hansen and Benny Nielsen), and it was difficult to find qualified replacements.
After that it went downhill, with stints in both Denmark’s second and third best leagues! From 1974 to 1985, AB’s best team was consistently placed in Denmark’s second tier, despite countless opportunities for promotion. In the 1986 season, the club was relegated to the 3rd division, and for one year they were close to being relegated to the Danish league.
But in the early 90s, things started to go downhill again – mainly because a group of talented players who had played for AB for many years were not tempted by lucrative offers from clubs in the top flight. They valued the camaraderie and special spirit of AB more than the money at other clubs. Three players in particular deserve to be mentioned: René Henriksen, who at the age of 28 made his debut for the Danish national team, Peter Frandsen and Peter Rasmussen – who holds the club record in AB with 394 games – just 2 games more than Peter Frandsen.
These three players helped AB return to the country’s best football league in 1996, where it has since won bronze medals in 1999 and 2000, as well as a cup triumph in 1999 with a 2-1 victory over AaB.
In 2001 AB reached their 3rd cup final in 7 years, but were beaten 1-4 by Silkeborg in Parken.
After 8 seasons in the country’s best league, AB had to leave the good company in 2004 and had to go down to the 1st Division. Here it was the club’s mission to aim for a promotion in 2010. Vision 2010 was very close to succeeding, but in the end the club had to admit that the big bet did not bear fruit. This was followed by a few years where AB’s squad consisted of part-time professionals. 3 years followed where they saved their existence in the last round of matches on the finishing line. There was euphoria every time, with some great finishes in terms of points, so it all worked out in the end.
In the 14/15 season, however, things went wrong. After a great final spurt again, AB lost their last game and had to go down to the 2nd Division. However, it was a quick return for the academics, who after a mixed fall were fantastic in the spring, winning 12 out of 16 games and scoring 38 goals. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the following season they were relegated back to the 2nd Division, where the club plays today.
