At the height of the European migrant influx to Australia in 1953, Gerhard Torner, Guenter Schlede and Stefan Krix founded a soccer club for the German community in Melbourne.
Named Maribyrnong SC after the suburb in which their migrant hostel was located, the club finished second in the Victorian Division Four in 1954. The following year the club became affiliated with the Melbourne German Club (Duetscher Verein Melbourne), Club Tivoli, and relocated. It adopted the name by which it is known to this day, Alemannia Richmond Soccer Club.
Under President Adam Pfeiffer, the club took sixth place in Division Three in 1955. The following season saw the team claim second spot in the League, gaining promotion to Division Two. After finishing in fourth place in 1957, Alemannia was placed in the new Division One South following a league re-structure. Fritz Schwab succeeded Harold Schwelm and Frank Manier as Secretary. He lured several players from his former club, St Albans, to Richmond. They included Guenter Gerick, Erich Bartkowiak, Kurt Goetlicher, Matze Landherr, Branko Miller, Klauss Krummow and the Bormann brothers, Werner, Bodo and Guenter.
Alemannia finished in third place in their initial season of Division One football. The club's players captured local World Cup representing Germany. At the time Richmond's team was the pre-eminent German side in Australia, defeating both Concordia Sydney and Victoria Adelaide.
With only the Champions of the two Division One leagues (North and South) gaining promotion to the State League, Richmond narrowly missed out on promotion when runner's-up in the league in 1959. Werner Klein, Heinz Duecker and Franz Marth joined the club.
Promotion finally came in 1960. In a tight battle, Richmond claimed the Division One South Championship from Geelong. The Germany team also won the Laidlaw Cup that year. Playing out of the Olympic Village ground in Heidelberg, Richmond finished in 11th place in the State League in 1961. It wasn't until late July that the team won a game (3-1 against Hakoah), but a late season rally saw Alemannia pass Box Hill but finish four points behind Moreland to be relegated.
Victorian soccer then saw a breakaway League formed under the rebel Victorian Soccer Federation. Some Alemannia members, believing they would be more successful independant of the Tivoli Club, formed SC Richmond and joined the V.S.F. The old amatuer Association collapsed and the V.S.F. became the sole governing body. The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled Alemannia Richmond had to be admitted to the V.S.F. The SC Richmond faction amalgamated with the Lions club.
Many players were lost during this division, and only through recruiting players from the dissolved Sunday League side Kolpinghaus was Alemannia able to field two teams in 1962.
Picked up from Kolpinghaus were Bruno Fink, Adi Nueckel, Karl Heinz Gewinner and Adolf Bachhuber. With Fritz Rauch and Rolf Erdmann arriving as immigrants, and Fritz Aldeschulte returning from the United States, a new team was put together to play in the First Division.Losing only one game, Alemannia suprised many by taking out the Division One South Championship by three points over Austria to return to the State League.
Determined to do better at the second attempt and State League football, money was spent to sign State League veterans for the 1963 season. This divided the club again somewhat, as some of the younger players who had won promotion were cast aside. Winning one more game than in 1961, the club still finished 12th in the 1963 State League and were relegated. Two wins over fifth placed Wilhelmina, and a defeat of fourth-placed Slavia were not enough and Richmond ended up six points behind Croatia (also relegated) and seven behind Hakoah.
With the departure of the "Foreign Legion" as the veteran State League signings had been dubbed, and unable to convince all the disenfranchised youngsters to return, the 1964 season shaped as a distaster for Alemannia. So it proved, as Richmond finished in 11th spot and were relegated to Division Two. In 1965 the club finished in 4th place, before finishing in 3rd spot for the following two seasons.
Though having sustained reasonable results in those years, the club struggling through those years and nearly folded on several occassions. In 1968 Walter Roth became President, and the club finished 7th in Division Two. A new group of players, headed by Manfred Kuhn, took the club to the runner's-up spot in Division Two in 1969, returning Alemannia to a brief stint in Division One (12th in 1970) before the remainder of the 1970's would be spent in Division Two.
Through the seventies the club slowly rose up the Division Two standings. By the mid '70's the team was perenially in the mid-table positions before finishing 3rd in 1977 under new President Hans Kuss. In 1978 it slipped to 5th, before attaining promotion to Division One with 2nd place in the 1979 season. Through the early eighties the club held it's spot in Division One.
In 1982 Gary Groenwald captured the first V.S.F. player honour for the club when he took out the Division One Best and Fairest Player Award. The following season Dragan Vasic took out the Top Goalscorer title for Division One.
When the club was relegated after finishing 13th in 1986, the club's focus had momentarily switched away from matters on the park. Tom Waldebauer and Willi Gaab had approached the Richmond City Council about securing a new ground, after thirty years at Burnley Oval. The Council had the responsibility for Crown Land near the Burnley Sidings transferred to it's control from the Commonwealth. The club, with assistance of a loan obtained by the Tivoli Club, took the responsibility of building it's own clubrooms. Finishing 12th in Division Two in 1987, and 8th the following year, the club held its spot in the league. In 1988, Richmond City Council Commissioner Mr. Alex Gillon and Alemannia President Tom Waldebauer opened the new clubrooms at Kevin Bartett Reserve. The rooms had been built by the voluntary work of the committeemen, club members and players.
Helmut Kalitzki assumed the Presidency in 1989, when the team finished 9th, before a 12th placed finish the following season. In 1991, the side coached by Mike Lynn captured the Division Two Championship. Featuring the likes of Jim MacLean, Paul Priestley, Keith Adams, Nick Halliwell and Russell Athersych the team beat Altona City to the title by one point. The rest of the nineties would be spent in Division One, including numerous close encounters with promotion to the Premier League, with third-placed finishes in 1993 and 1996, and 4th place in 1994 and fifth placings in 1997 and 1999. Jim MacLean, a former Premier League Best and Fairest at Croydon City and Morwell Falcons, took out the Division Two Best and Fairest Player Award with Richmond in the Championship-winning season of 1991.
The 1993 team featuring MacLean, Geoff Gillard, Danny Ward and Jani Suric ended up two points behind Champions Werribee City and a point behind Port Melbourne. In 1994 youngsters Liam Caffrey and Alex Efstathiou inspired the side to go close again, just three points behind promoted Box Hill Inter. In 1996 a 2-2 draw in the final game against Westgate saw Richmond pipped by one point by Preston Lions for the runner's-up spot behind Springvale White Eagles.
The squad, coached by Frank McGrellis, included Halliwell, Peter Zois, Julian Peel, Andy Greenwood, Jim McBride, Mark Lennon, Sean Lane, Deany Hennessy and Nick Gourlias. Robert Spence scored 12 goals, and Chris Andriotis netted 21 times. The reserve team took out the Championship three years running between 1994-96.
When the club finished 11th in Division One in 2000, it was relegated to Division Two North West, finishing 4th in 2001. Striker Dale White finished up as the league's Top Goalscorer that season with 21 goals. Moved back to it's traditional South-side home in regionalised leagues, the team took 4th place in Division Two South East. Under coach Andy O'Dell, boosted with Helmut Kalitzki returning as President, the club returned to the First Division by capturing the Division Two South East Championship in 2003. Peter Psarros claimed the Top Goalscorer title for the division, and the reserve team also took out it's Championship to complete the most successful season in over a decade.
The return to Division One saw the club near the top of the table most of the season, finally finishing in fourth place. New signing Joey Di Iorio shared the League Best and Fairest Award, as well as finishing the division's top goalscorer. Mid-season acquisition Cameron Jones won the Best and Fairest from another new player in 2004, James Baskerville.
After a patchy start to the 2005 season, Dean Hennessey took over as senior coach after the resignation of Andy O'Dell. English goalkeeper Matt Conkie, defenders Jason Dimozantos and John Petridis, midfielders Craig Kerr, Andy Ross, Craig Murphy and Irish striker Fergal O'Colmain were amongst the new faces that steered the side up the table. Eight unbeaten games through June and July, with the addition to the squad of Xhezair Sulemani, had the side in line for promotion. Winning the last four games of the season saw the club promoted to the Victorian Premier League as runner's-up behind Kingston City in State League Division One.
It was third time lucky for the club in the top flight, finally managing to survive a season in Victoria's highest level. After a promising opening round win over Essendon Royals, good results were hard to come by, despite the side playing some good football and creating plenty of chances. Phil Stubbins took over as coach at the end of may, and after two draws the side went on a five game winning streak which lifted it from bottom of the table into the Top Six. In the end the club finished eighth, with a young and improving team that has a lot to look forward to.