Buschball history
The 70s - the birth and the "Ballodrome"
Buschball was invented at the end of the 70s in Essen in the middle of the Ruhr area. Andreas Oligmüller and some friends of his kicked a ball upwards a steep hill behind his house. Afterwards, the ball had to be kicked over a fence into a large dustbin. This original ground was called "Ballodrome" by the forefathers of Buschball and until today enjoys the good reputation of being the most difficult ground of them all although not a single match has been played there since the rebirth (see below) of Buschball.
During tournaments the ball was not inflated, in fact it was not allowed to be. Also, there was no kick limit: all shots were added up until the dustbin was hit. This led to double-digit kick sums from time to time. Remarkably, some parts of the ground were given their own nickname. The place which often separated the wheat from the chaff was named "Pulvermanns Grab" (Pulverman's grave), for example.
About Buschball being played by the end of the 70s is not a matter of doubt. However, proofs do not exist anymore. A number of newspapers covering Buschball put the number of the year Buschball was born on 1977. This figure was however interpreted into the statement "end of the 70s".
The 80s - the first world cup tournament and May, 2nd
Since the definite date of the first Buschball game cannot be verified anymore the birth of Buschball is celebrated on May, 2nd. The reason for this holiday is a recently emerged document which had hidden himself in a cardboard box on an attic and was handed to us. The document provides a detailed report of the beginnings of the sport. One senctence refers to May 2nd, 1980 when Buschball was mentioned in combination with a weekend escape to Repe (Sauerland) for the first time in a document.
During that weekend the ball was kicked - as often reported by the media - at road signs and trees which depending on the degree of difficulty were placed behind bushes and/or trees. Repe was not the only but the first of a number of holidays during which Buschball was played.
The document mentioned above which was typed in the early 90s by one of the forefathers of Buschball also contains the results of the first world cup tournament from 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991 and 1992.
What Buschball may have looked like back then is illustrated by the following photographs taken during a holiday trip at the end of the 80s. The dress code should be proof enough that the photos really are from the 80s... The people in the photo are the forefathers of Buschball (Andreas Oligmüller in the front) while discussing the question "I should probably put it forward a bit more!?" In the end, the player attempted a lob. Notice the style of the lob - nowadays this is a key element in many Buschball games.
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The 90s - the Buschball association and hibernation
While during the 80s the first three world cup tournaments were played by only two participants the starting field doubled in the early 90s. A number of friends took notice of Buschball. The Buschball virus spread for the first time and the enormous potential of the young sport made itself clear. Since championships with such a large number of players could not be coordinated any longer the International Buschball Association (IBV) was brought into being. The report of an IBV conference delivers astonishing facts: the ranking at that time was abandoned, the number of players was limited to four and for the first time the ball had to come to a halt.
The documents from the world cup tournament of 1992 show that the tournament went on for several days and the winner was rewarded with a trophy. Yet it is questionable whether such a trophy really existed and the question remains unanswered until this day.
Also there is indirect proof of the Ballodrome being the most difficult ground in the world. The simple mentioning of a "4" with six exclamation marks in the first section of the ground shows that a Pole-in-One is impossible there.
In the early 90s an ambitious tournament schedule was created. It remains unknown whether players adhered to it. It is a fact,however, that the following documents are the last to record this early version of Buschball. Due to a shift of interest and relocations Buschball fell into a long hibernation.
2007 - the reincarnation of Buschball
The new age of Buschball began at the end of 2007. Andreas Oligmüller, forefather and baptist of the sport, already had told Johannes Schmitt about Buschball several times. Johannes was thrilled by the idea and reported it to Martin Sowa. After a short trial match the two of them started to modernise the concept. Due to the danger of kicking a ball at road signs they decided to create a mobile target. The constructed the flag pole (or simply "Pole"). The first Pole was given to Johannes as a birthday present by Martin.
Three days later, on December, 30th 2007 the first match of the new version of Buschball took place. The tremendous fun factor was obvious even then but another hibernation followed - hopefully for the last time.
2008 - the rules and the club
Five month after the first match the friends met again to play Buschball. With sunshine and nice weather in general it was a lot easier to enjoy the sport. After the first experiences a large body of rules was written to give the concept a stable form. During the first year several corrections made it even more suitable. In addition, after a few months of unorganised matches the next step was made: the first Buschball club 1. BBV Rheinhausen 08 was founded on June 28th, 2008.
Eleven founding members took part in the ceremonial ritual with barbecue and beer. The first chairman was Sascha Fritsche, his representative was Johannes Schmitt. Being the first Buschball club in the world, the BBV usually provides the most experienced players in almost all tournament. Andreas Oligmüller as well as Martin Sowa and Johannes Schmitt are members of the club.
2009 - the professional Pole and the new capital of Buschball
In 2008 the Pole broke twice during about 40 Buschball games. The wooden stick obviously could not withstand the forces of the sport. Therefore a supplier was searched for and quickly found in b+d - allzweck - Sportartikel. The company is also the supplier of all football world and european cup tournaments and produced Buschball equipment in brilliant quality as of 2009. Since then the Pole shines in the neon colours yellow and orange and thus can be seen even in deep thicket. Besides, it helps not having to produce all the Poles by hand.
In 2009 the course was set for a bright Buschball future in Cologne. Hundreds of Buschball matches were played in the capital of carnival which is mainly due to students from the German Sport University Cologne. Two further clubs emerged from this group of players: The 1. BC Cologne 09 and the 1. Hamburg Poppenbütteler Buschball Club e.V..
With about 200 players and more than 400 matches in 2009 Buschball may not yet have gone where it belongs. But a first step is done.
To be continued...