The 1911–12 season was the first major success in the club's history. Borussia easily dominated the league with twelve wins, one draw and one loss, and thus earned qualification for promotion games towards "Verbandsliga" as northern district champions as well as the West German championship. Borussia defeated VfJuB Düren, the southern district champions, in a 4–2 game, before achieving a 5–0 blowout against VfB 1900 Gießen, the Hessian champions. Ultimately, Borussia lost the finals for the West German championship against Cologne BC 01, the precursor of Borussia's greatest all-time rival, 1. FC Köln, at a 2–4 scoreline.