This club made an appearance in the quarterfinals of the regional Westdeutsche (West German) final in 1910 where they were decisively put out (2–9) by Duisburger SV.

Established 24 June 1902, Teutonia Osnabrück also had quarterfinal appearances in the Westdeutsche final to its credit, dropping decisions to FC München-Gladbach in 1908 (0–3), and BV Dortmund (3–4) in 1909.

Rapid came back to the fold thirteen years later in 1938 and the re-unified club adopted the light-purple colours of the returning footballers.

Their Gauliga titles in 1939 and 1940 put VfL into opening round group play for the national championship, but they were unable to advance.

The team played in the Oberliga Nord (I) and delivered credible performances that left them standing fourth in the league's all-time table behind well-known sides Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, and FC St. Pauli.

That was the closest the club came to the Bundesliga; although they would finish second in the promotion playoff round twice more, the gap to first was bigger both times.

In 1978–79, Osnabrück managed one of their most famous victories, a 5–4 win over Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal at the Olympiastadion, with a hat-trick from Andreas Wagner.

Aside from a single season in the third tier Oberliga Nord, which they won, the club spent the entire decade in the second division.

A year later, the club made headlines by firing coach Anton Rudinski just one game into the 1988–89 season, in which they narrowly avoided relegation.

After losing the relegation playoff, it emerged that defender Marcel Schuon was implicated in a match-fixing scandal, without which the club may have survived.

Liga and reaching the DFB-Pokal quarter finals with wins over Hamburger SV and Borussia Dortmund.

Claus-Dieter Wollitz returned in 2012, but left the team with one game remaining in the 2012–13 season after criticising the club's management.

Liga, with former player Daniel Thioune taking over as coach during the campaign, replacing Joe Enochs.

Bundesliga, Osnabrück spent much of the season in the top half, and managed victories over big clubs like Hamburger SV and VfB Stuttgart, though they ultimately finished 13th.

Thioune left for Hamburg at the end of the campaign, and in the 2020–21 season (played mostly without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic) the club went through two coaches, Marco Grote and Markus Feldhoff.

Under Feldhoff, Osnabrück again finished in the relegation playoff spot, losing to FC Ingolstadt and returning to the 3.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

[14] In recent years, the possibility of the club moving to a new stadium has been suggested due to the limitations of the current ground.

[19][20] The "VfL Bündnis" alliance between the VfL Museum, Fanprojekt Osnabrück, the Violet Crew ultra group, and the club's fan department was recognised by the DFB in 2019 and awarded the Julius Hirsch Prize for their work in memory of Felix Löwenstein, a Jewish member and supporter of the club who was a victim of the Nazi regime killed in the Sandbostel camp in 1945.

[21] The VfL Museum had also advocated for a road next to the stadium to be renamed to the Felix-Löwenstein-Weg, which was done as part of the club's 120th anniversary.