Yugoslav Handball Championship
The Yugoslav Handball Championship was the highest level competition in men's team handball in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, played regularly for almost four decades between 1953 and 1991, before being abandoned due to the breakup of Yugoslavia.
The first five editions from 1953 to 1957 were decided via a finals play-off tournament contested by clubs who had qualified in regional competitions, before a regular round-robin league format was introduced for the 1957–58 season. The league featured clubs from all of Yugoslavia's federal subjects, with the most successful being RK Bjelovar with 9 titles, followed by RK Borac and RK Metaloplastika with 7 titles each.
Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the competition was eventually succeeded by the following handball leagues:
Handball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatian Premier Handball League
Macedonian Handball Super League
Montenegrin First League of Men's Handball
Handball League of Serbia
Slovenian First League of Handball
Winning clubs 1953–91
| Season | Republic | Winning club |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 |  CRO |
RK Medveščak (1) |
| 1954 | CRO |
RK Medveščak (2) |
| 1955 |  SRB |
RK Crvena Zvezda (1) |
| 1956 | SRB |
RK Crvena Zvezda (2) |
| 1957 | CRO |
RK Zagreb (1) |
| 1957–58 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (1) |
| 1958–59 |  BIH |
RK Borac (1) |
| 1959–60 | BIH |
RK Borac (2) |
| 1960–61 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (2) |
| 1961–62 | CRO |
RK Zagreb (2) |
| 1962–63 | CRO |
RK Zagreb (3) |
| 1963–64 | CRO |
RK Medveščak (3) |
| 1964–65 | CRO |
RK Zagreb (4) |
| 1965–66 | CRO |
RK Medveščak (4) |
| 1966–67 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (3) |
| 1967–68 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (4) |
| 1968–69 | SRB |
RK Crvenka (1) |
| 1969–70 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (5) |
| 1970–71 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (6) |
| 1971–72 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (7) |
| 1972–73 | BIH |
RK Borac (3) |
| 1973–74 | BIH |
RK Borac (4) |
| 1974–75 | BIH |
RK Borac (5) |
| 1975–76 | BIH |
RK Borac (6) |
| 1976–77 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (8) |
| 1977–78 | BIH |
RK Željezničar (1) |
| 1978–79 | CRO |
RK Bjelovar (9) |
| 1979–80 |  SLO |
RD Slovan (1) |
| 1980–81 | BIH |
RK Borac (7) |
| 1981–82 | SRB |
RK Metaloplastika (1) |
| 1982–83 | SRB |
RK Metaloplastika (2) |
| 1983–84 | SRB |
RK Metaloplastika (3) |
| 1984–85 | SRB |
RK Metaloplastika (4) |
| 1985–86 | SRB |
RK Metaloplastika (5) |
| 1986–87 | SRB |
RK Metaloplastika (6) |
| 1987–88 | SRB |
RK Metaloplastika (7) |
| 1988–89 | CRO |
RK Zagreb (5) |
| 1989–90 | SRB |
RK Proleter (1) |
| 1990–91 | CRO |
RK Zagreb (6) |
Championships by club
| Titles | Club | City | Republic | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | RK Bjelovar | Bjelovar | CRO |
Formerly known as "RK Partizan" 1955–1991 |
| 7 | RK Borac | Banja Luka | BIH |
|
| 7 | RK Metaloplastika | Šabac | SRB |
|
| 6 | RK Zagreb | Zagreb | CRO |
|
| 4 | RK Medveščak | Zagreb | CRO |
Formerly known as "RK Prvomajska" 1952–1963 |
| 2 | RK Crvena Zvezda | Belgrade | SRB |
|
| 1 | RK Crvenka | Crvenka | SRB |
|
| 1 | RK Željezničar | Sarajevo | BIH |
|
| 1 | RD Slovan | Ljubljana | SLO |
|
| 1 | RK Proleter | Zrenjanin | SRB |
|
European success
Traditionally one of the strongest handball leagues in Europe, several Yugoslav clubs went on to compete with considerable success in the European Cup (present-day EHF Champions League), the premier continental handball competition. Prior to the breakup of Yugoslavia, six Yugoslav clubs had managed to reach the European finals 11 times, winning four titles.
| Club | W | RU | SF | Years won | Years runners-up | Years semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Metaloplastika | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1984–85, 1985–86 | 1983–84 | 1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88 |
| Bjelovar | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1971–72 | 1961–62, 1972–73 | 1967–68, 1970–71 |
| Borac Banja Luka | 1 | 1 | — | 1975–76 | 1974–75 | |
| Medveščak | — | 1 | — | 1964–65 | ||
| Slovan | — | 1 | — | 1980–81 | ||
| Proleter | — | 1 | — | 1990–91 | ||
| Crvenka | — | — | 1 | 1969–70 | ||
Notable clubs
(at least 10 top-flight seasons or at least one title)
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