Skjold Birkerød

Formative years (1917–1940)

IF Skjold Birkerød was founded in 1917 as Skjold; an association football club initiated by municipal teacher Levring, who immediately after his employment in Birkerød started playing football with the male pupils. The final founding of Skjold as an organised club took place a few years after Levring had begun playing the game in the town. The foundation took place in the Lecture Association's premises. Skjold's very first board consisted of names that were already known in the town at the time, namely bicycle vendor H. Hansen, saddler Andreasen, manufacturer Axel Lauersen and the old rentier Sv. Haurowitz who with great enthusiasm and personal effort formed the basis for what is today one of North Zealand's largest clubs in terms of membership.

In the first years of the club's existence, students from the elitist boarding school could not obtain membership. This was due to the worker's club Skjold's goal of breaking down barriers in the sport of association football, which in the 19th century in Denmark was reserved for the sons of the bourgeoisie. Early on, the young workers played on "Fedtemors" court in Ebberød. The first football pitch was by the Møllevangen and Søndervangen, and the land on which the pitches were was part of the old brickworks. Changing took place in the brickworks' open barn, where annual rent was DKK 300 per year. The club was not able to build a stadium until seven years after its foundation. By then, in 1926, after a household collection, the club acquired a suitable area of Andreas Jensen's farm on lot no. 3 in Kajerød, and on 5 May 1929, the sports facility in Kajerød was inaugurated. The new home ground was realised after 111 members had voluntarily made their contribution to the completion of this club's own facility. Regarding the financial part of the construction, it had been necessary to take out a loan and a large amount, at that time, of no less than DKK 12,349 was loaned. Furthermore, help was obtained in the form of transport of the excavated land by dairy owner Henningsen, who also donated buttermilk as refreshment to the members of Skjold.

The first competitive match of IF Skjold Birkerød was against at team from Hørsholm and Skjold lost by a resounding final score of 1–22.

In the years after, the club struggled and in 1934 Skjold was close to being dissolved, but two of the club's first board members, saddler Andreasen and manufacturer Axel Laursen helped bring it back on its feet. Skjold, who throughout its first years led a neutral existence in the lower ranks first entered the historical annals, when, in 1931, 14 years after its foundation, they won the fifth-tier B-rækken (nowadays DBU Sjællands Serie 2). After this triumph, Skjold disappeared somewhat from the picture, and after short stays in the fourth-tier the team returned to B-rækken, from where they had fresh start. The first significant results that marked the club's golden age was when the first team in the 1940s reached Oprykningsrækken and secured promotion to the national 3rd Division.

On the club's 25th Anniversary, in 1942, Skjold obtained a municipal loan of DKK 20,000 for the expansion of the existing stadium, a process which began on 5 January 1942. On 4 July 1944, the expanded stadium in Kajerød was inaugurated. Birkerød then had 7,000 inhabitants and the club at this time had 1,200 members of which approximately half were active members. The construction sum was DKK 31,788. This time, the members' efforts also helped to keep costs down. By the end, there was still extra room in the new sports complex and it was decided to build an outdoor gym. The inauguration of the complex was marked with a competition between South and North Zealand in athletics. After this inauguration, Skjold's heyday started, which were followed by some of the greatest achievements in club history.

First successes (1940–1949)

After winning A-rækken (fourth-tier; nowadays the Zealand Series) in 1941 and 1942, the team went to play in Oprykningsrækken, where they finished the first season in third place, while the second season resulted in a promotion to Mesterækken, the tier just below the 3rd Division. In 1943–44, the team played in Oprykningsrækken again, and when club talent Helge Hjortdal emerged, the club began making strides up the divisions. His presence gave the team the momentum it needed before the 3rd Division became reality. The qualifying matches for the third tier were eventful. The first was against B.1908 from Amager Vest, and with a 1–0 win, Skjold reached the promotion play-off final. The final opponent was Herning Fremad from the JBU association. Herning, who were favourites for securing promotion to the 3rd Division, had 5–600 away fans travelling from Jutland. Skjold ended up victorious and won promotion to the 3rd Division. Helge Hjortdal scored a hat-trick and played a key role for the team at just 17 years of age. He later became director of the Danish Parliament, Folketinget and lived in Birkerød until his death in 2017. Skjold suffered relegation in their first year in the 3rd Division and returned to the Zealand Series.

New structure, new stadium (1954–1963)

After this successful period, some years of mediocrity followed in the lower divisions. A structure change in the leagues meant, that the divisions went from spring-autumn to autumn-spring seasons. In the spring of 1955, Skjold managed to win their Zealand Series group. This title allowed the team to be considered for the 3rd division again by competing in Kvalifikationsserien to secure promotion to the 3rd Division. The matches, however, ended disappointment for Skjold, as they almost all ended in defeat.