CSM Resita

The club was founded on 16 May 1926 from a merger between local teams Clubul Sportiv and Societatea Sportivă Muncitorească, the new team was named SS UDR (Sociatatea Sportivă a Angajaților Uzinelor de Fier și Domeniile din Reșița – "Sports Society of Employees of the Factories and Domains from Reșița"), the first coach of the team being native Ernest Loukota who also helped at the merger, the main starting 11 in the club's first year of activity being: Ștefan Czinczer – Szilágyi, Rech – Bundy, Andresz, Pecsenovszky – Grosz, Pázler, Lakatos, Adalbert Deșu, Keller.

In the 1930–31 season, UDR won the Romanian West League and qualified to the national finals, where it defeated with 2–0 Societatea Gimnastică Sibiu in the final after a double scored by Eugen Lakatos, coach Loukota using the following 11: Carol Damacsek – Alexandru Pomacsek, Györi – Sinko, Sepi, Jozsef Bundi – Fibișanu, Eugen Lakatos, Silviu Ploeșteanu, Jozsef Kilianovics, Moise. In the following season, the club reached again the championship final, losing it with 3–0 in front of Venus București, this time coach Loukota used the following players: Carol Damacsek – Iosif Czako, Györi – Sinko, Sepi – Jozsef Bundi, Kilianovics – Tudor, Silviu Ploeșteanu, Eugen Lakatos, Moise, Keller.

After World War II and the advent of the Communist regime, professional football was forbidden, UDR merged with a local labor union team, Locomotiva and was renamed Oțelul (Steel) Reșița and after several further name changes, it was ultimately branded Metalul Reșița.

The 1950s were a period of slow decline for the club. By 1954, Metalul Reșița was playing in the Romanian second division, Divizia B, finishing the season in 7th place, however, the season also brought the club's second trophy, in the form of the 1954 Cupa României, this being the first time that a team from Divizia B had won the trophy after defeating five Divizia A teams, Știința Timișoara (6th place at the end of the 1954 Divizia A season) 5–1, Locomotiva Tg. Mureș (10th place) 4–0, Locomotiva Timișoara (4th place) 2–0, and CCA București (2nd place) 1–0 and a 2–0 victory in the final with Ștefan Szeleș scoring twice in the 30th and 40th minutes against Dinamo București (3rd place), coach Mihai Zsizsik using the following players in the final: Iosif Zarici – Emil Chirilă, Valentin Teodorescu, Eugen Potoceanu – Mihai Munteanu, Ștefan Apro – Iosif Jojart II, Petru Mioc, Ștefan Urcan, Petre Iovan (replaced by Vida in the 70th minute), Ștefan Szeleș.

After relegation, FCM Reșița spent more than a decade in the second division, competing in Series III, finishing 3rd in 1978–79, 7th in 1979–80, 6th in 1980–81, and 10th in 1981–82. Renamed CSM Reșița in 1982, the club placed 7th in 1982–83, followed by back-to-back 3rd-place finishes in 1983–84 and 1984–85. It then finished 8th in 1985–86, 5th in 1986–87, and 5th again in 1987–88, a season in which it also enjoyed a notable Cupa României run, reaching the Round of 16 before losing 0–2 to Victoria București. Reșița narrowly avoided relegation in 1988–89, finishing 14th and surviving on goal difference, before improving to 4th place in 1989–90 and finishing 11th in 1990–91.

In the 1991–92 season, under head coach Carol Oțil, Reșița won Series II of Divizia B, finishing ahead of UTA Arad, which was deducted eight points following a match-fixing scandal related to the 24th-round match between Unirea Alba Iulia and UTA Arad, known as the ‘fur coat affair’, allowing the Red and Blacks to secure promotion to Divizia A after fourteen seasons in the second division. The squad was composed largely of young players, several of whom had come through the club's youth system. The promotion-winning squad included Gh. Popa, Boșca, Predulescu, Cojocaru II, Mărgineanțu, Lupu, Uțiu I, Moza, Bica, Șola, Panescu, Calofir, Sandu, Potocianu, Boltașiu, Cepoi, Doană, Despa, Cr. Alexandru, I. Szijj, Pușcaș, Büle II, Stroia, Petrescu, Lazarovici, D. Stănescu, Al. Marcă and Cl. Balaci.

In the 1992–93 season, CSM Reșița struggled in Divizia A, with the inexperienced side enduring a difficult first half of the campaign, including a heavy 0–9 defeat away to Steaua București. The team was also affected by coaching changes, with Ion Copăceanu initially in charge, followed by Dudu Georgescu and Dan Firițeanu, before Silviu Stănescu took over during the winter break. The arrival of Stănescu brought an improvement in results, with Reșița recording several victories against teams involved in the relegation battle. The highlight of the season came in the 23rd round, when CSM Reșița defeated unbeaten league leaders Steaua București 2–0 at Valea Domanului Stadium, with goals from Pușcaș and Cr. Alexandru. However, they finished last in Divizia A and were relegated to the second division after one season in the top flight. Rossoneri also reached the Round of 16 of the Cupa României, where they were eliminated by U Craiova 0–1 after extra time.