On the return journey from Berlin, the railway stopped 35 kilometres short of Gelsenkirchen. Schalke’s players then rode in open cars through downtown Dortmund, were cheered by the crowds, and became the first football team to sign the city’s golden book. Hard to believe, but, as former BVB spokesman and later archivist Gerd Kolbe put it, “there was deep sympathy between the two clubs.” Not forever.
The turning points came in 1943, 1947 and the 1950s. In November 1943, after years of heavy beatings, Dortmund finally beat the previously dominant rivals, and the first BVB international, August Lenz, scored the winning goal. After the war, Dortmund developed into a serious challenger.
They even won the first post-war meeting and became Westphalian champions in 1947 with a 3–2 victory. The changing of the guard in the Oberliga West followed, along with Dortmund’s German titles in 1956 and 1957. Schalke answered with one more title in 1958, but after their own weaker phase in the 1970s, Dortmund eventually replaced Schalke as the number one club in the Ruhr. Schalke’s three cup wins stand against Dortmund’s five league titles and one Champions League.
The great blue-and-white versus black-and-yellow hatred really developed in the Bundesliga era, fuelled by mutual envy over the other club’s success.