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1899	Founded on the 1st July 1899 as a gymnastics club, the membership comprised of 20 young men. Two local pubs for the club were quickly established: they alternated between “Zum Engel” and “ Zum Rössel” for club meetings and functions. For reasons of space the club then rented a field, with practice continuing in the stab;les during the winter.
1913	The club got their long-awaited banner thanks to collections and a kind donation from the board of TV Sinsheim.
1914	The club's activities are put on hodl because of the First World War, with most the members conscripted.
1921-1923	From 1921-23 Hoffenheim Turnverein faced further challenges: only a minority of members continued to be active, with club fees soaring and the club's finances weakening due to inflation. A football section was also founded.
1925	With new optimism the decision was taken to build a new gym hall.
1929	After almost four years of building the new gym hall was opened. In the same year a women's section was founded – a big change to the previously all-male club life. Shortly afterwards a Handball section was also founded.
1945	After the end of the Second World War the long-suggested merger between the gymnastics and football sections happens, to create the "Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim". One year later a chess section is added, which enjoyed great success until 1979.
1949	The club celebrates its 50 year anniversary in July with a two day gala.
1968	Athletics began to blossom with the opening of the sports field, with the club specialising in shot put and discus.
1971	In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the football section, Hoffenheim celebrated the opening of a new clubhouse in July. It became the centrepoint of club life.
1978	TSG enjoyed success in other areas as well: the rhythmic gymnastics section was founded, and they were crowned German champions.
1979	The athletics side enjoyed great success. In the eighties the Volleyball, Judo and Ju-Jutsu enjoy great popularity, particularly among young people and children.
1989-1990	Bitter relegation to “Kreisklasse A” is sealed. In the relegation play-off in Elsenz Hoffenheim go down to a 3-2 defeat against 1. FC Stebbach. Dietmar Hopp was at the match, and decided afterwards he wanted to take his home club out of the lower rungs of football. He takes TSG Hoffenheim under his wing, and so begins the relentless march of promotions.
1990-1991	TSG bounce straight back from relegation at the first time of asking, gaining promotion to Sinsheim's highest division.
1991-1992	Their stay in the local league doesn't last long: an excellent season is capped by promotion to the regional Rhein-Neckar "Landesliga".
1995-1996	After four seasons in the "Landesliga" Hoffenheim again win promotion, this time to the Nordbaden "Verbandsliga".
1998-1999	TSG's football section had double cause for celebration: the second team won their local league in 1998, and in 1999 TSG got their own home, complete with their own clubhouse, as the club soared to new heights in the footballing world. Thanks to the generous support of Dietmar Hopp the club now had the Dietmar Hopp Stadium, and FC Bayern Munich came to the opening with all their top names. It was a great day for both the club and the region as the "Rekordmeisters" came to town.
1999-2000	Thanks to a decisive final push the club, under Alfred Schön, make the jump from the "Verbandsliga" to the next highest level, the "Oberliga".
2000-2001	Hoffenheim brought in a new head coach, in the form of Hansi Flick. Together Flick and Schön, both former professionals, espoused their sporting philosophy. They developed the attractive attacking style now synonymous with the club, using hungry young players from the local region. TSG won the hearts of many football fans this season with technically strong, hight-tempo football. And suddenly the newcomer was flying high in the Baden-Württemberg "Oberliga". More than 4,000 fans flocked to the Dietmar Hopp Stadium to watch a 1-1 draw with neighbour SV Sandhausen, and on the final day of the season Hoffenheim picked up three points to win their second title on the trot and gain promotion to Germany's third division.
2001-2002	The first season in the third division, the "Regionalliga Süd", saw Hoffenheim finish in 13th place. In a strong division Hansi Flick's side more than held their own against some former Bundesliga clubs, and were able to celebrate a successful first season at this level.
2002-2003	In the 02/03 season Hansi Flick strengthened his side with eight new signings. Unfortunately this made for a slow start to the campaign, and half-way through the season the club found themselves in 16th place. However a storming run after Christmas saw the team climb up the league to finish in fifth place.
2003-2004	The following season Hansi Flick and assistant Alfred Schön repeated the trick, finishing in fifth place. But thanks to the clubs exploits in the DFB Cup Hoffenheim came under national scrutiny for the first time, as they sensationally dumped Bayer Leverkusen out of the competition. Unfortunately they went out in the quarter-finals to VFB Lübeck, but to progress so far was a real succes, and allowed the club to start dreaming of bigger things. In the summer of 2004 the new training ground was finished, a modern facility boasting two indoor pitches. These new facilities, and the move to become a fully professional outfit, laid the foundations for new aims. The following year the club finished seventh, going out of the DFB Cup in the first round to Hansa Rostock.
2004-2005	Hoffenheim went into the new season with a much strengthened side. New sporting director Karlheinz Förster brought a wealth of knowledge to the club, with the remit of fulfilling the boards aims. However following a defeat to VfB Stuttgart's second team in November 2005 Hoffenheim parted ways with manager Hansi Flick. The vastly experienced Lorenz-Günther Köstner was his replacement, but after missing out on promotion both he and Förster stepped down at the end of the season. There was success for the juniors, who gained promotion to Germany's top division.
2006-2007	The departure of the manager and sporting director marked the start of a new era in Hoffenheim, with new structures put in place under the guidance of patron Dietmar Hopp. The appointment of the new manager was one of 1899 Hoffenheim's first sensations: Ralf Rangnick, who finished second in the Bundesliga with Schalke and led them in the Champions League, signed a five year contract at the club. Other new arrivals included Bernhard Peters, former hockey coach and twice world champion who at the time was in talks about a position with the German Football Association, as well as Hans-Dieter Hermann, psychologist to the German national side, and director of football Jan Schindelmeiser. But there weren't just new structures for the sporting side of things: under the leadership of Jochen A. Rotthaus the business TSG Hoffenheim Fußball-Spielbetriebs GmbH improved its service to fans, partners and friends. The raft of changes that came over the summer led to something of a false start on the pitch, but this was soon forgotten come the end of the season. 1899 finished in second place behind SV Wehen Wiesbaden to secure promotion. The clubhad finally reached the 2nd Bundesliga, and planning could start for the next season, both on a sporting and a business level. Building work increased the capacity of the stadium so that for the 07/08 season the players would walk out in front of 6,350 fans.
2007-2008	1899 Hoffenheim’s expansion now focussed on its infrastructure, particularly its stadium capacity. Dietmar Hopp chose to build a new 30,000 seater stadium on the A6, oppositie Sinsheim’s Technical Museum, offering the Rhein-Neckar region a world class venue. TSG Hoffenheim also received a brand new training and business complex in Zuzenhausen. Numerous guests from the fields of sport and politics attended the opening on the 22nd April 2008. It included around 7000 square metres of pitches, one of the most modern facilities in Germany. The business centre includes room for administration, media and marketing, as well as conference rooms. The training centre is spread across three floors, while the under 23s training pitch is located opposite, along with the club’s offices. There were also developments on the sporting side of things in time for the new season. There were notable new signings, including Carlos Eduardo for 8 million euros who became the most expensive player in the history of the 2nd Bundesliga. After an average first half of the season the club were lying in eighth place, but seven wins on the trot after Christmas took them into the automatic promotion spots. So on the last day Ralf Rangnick’s side needed a win at home to secure promotion. Greuther Fürth were the opponents, and an emphatic 5-0 win ensured the club would be pkaying in the Bundesliga next year. 10,000 people watched the mastch on a big screen erected in Sinsheim and then gathered at the town hall for the end of season celebrations, as they celebrated the club’s success together with their heroes.
2008-2009	1899 Hoffenheim started their first full season in the Bundesliga with a sensational 3-0 win away to Energie Cottbus. Ralf Rangnick’s side would play home games in Mannheim’s Carl-Benz-Stadium for the first half of the season, until the new stadium was completed. And with their attacking football they captured the imagination of the whole Rhein-Neckar region, with any lingering doubts about the club’s acceptance now banished. Hoffenheim left Mannheim at Christmas unbeaten and top of the league, and moved into their new stadium, the Rhein-Neckar Arena, on the 24th January with a big entertainment show to celebrate. The first match there was played against a select local side, with 1899 running out 6-2 winners. The Bundesliga opener also finished successfully, against Energie Cottbus. Sadly the second half of the season saw 1899 suffer a series of injuries, and struggled to recreate their earlier form. Nevertheless a final position of 7th in the Bundesliga was far more than anyone could have dreamed of at the start of the campaign.

From foundation to the Bundesliga