The league was formed in 1978 as a highest level of play for the two regions of Mittelrhein and Niederrhein, which cover the western half of the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. The main reason for the creation of this league was to allow its champion direct promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga Nord rather than having to go through a promotion play-off. It was created from nine clubs from the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein and seven clubs from the Verbandsliga Niederrhein which remained as the leagues below the Oberliga. Additionally, two teams from the 2nd Bundesliga were relegated to the new league, bringing the initial number of teams to eighteen. Originally, the league was called Amateur Oberliga Nordrhein, from 1994 this was shortened to just Oberliga Nordrhein. With the introduction of the unified 2nd Bundesliga in 1981, direct promotion for the Oberliga champions became impossible again because there were eight of them competing for four promotion spots. The champion of the Oberliga Nordrhein had to compete with the winners of the Oberligas Nord, Berlin and Westfalen for two 2nd Bundesliga spots. Upon creation of the Regionalligas in 1994, the champions of the Oberligas were directly promoted again, however the Oberligas slipped to fourth tier in the German football league system. The top six teams in the Oberliga that year were qualified for the new Regionalliga West/Südwest, however, the champion, Fortuna Düsseldorf, won promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga and Bayer Leverkusen II declined, therefore only four teams went to the Regionalliga, the clubs being:
Alemannia Aachen
SC Brück, merged with Viktoria Köln in 1994 to form Preußen Köln.
1. FC Bocholt
Bonner SC
Additionally to those four clubs, two teams from the Nordrhein region were relegated from the 2nd Bundesliga in 1994, entering the Regionalliga as well, these being the Wuppertaler SV and the Rot-Weiß Essen. With the reduction of the number of Regionalligas from four to two in 2000, the Oberliga Nordrhein was now located below the Regionalliga Nord. With the creation of the 3rd Liga in 2008 the Oberliga Nordrhein was replaced by the Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen, which now is the fifth tier of the league system. The Oberliga Nordrhein ceased to exit after 30 seasons. Its clubs were split up over three league levels. The first four teams were promoted to the new Regionalliga West, clubs from place five to eleven went to the new Oberliga while the bottom seven teams were relegated to the Verbandsligas. The last round of games to be played in the league was on 18 May 2008. Throughout the league's existence the two leagues below the Oberliga were:
Verbandsliga Niederrhein
Verbandsliga Mittelrhein
The Schwarz-Weiß Essen is the only club to have played all 30 seasons in the league.
Champions of the Oberliga Nordrhein
The league champions:
In its 30-year history, three clubs managed to win the league three times, Wuppertaler SV, Rot-Weiß Essen and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen.
The Oberliga started in 1978 with 18 clubs from two regions and the 2. Bundesliga. From the 2. Bundesliga Nord:
1. FC Bocholt
Schwarz-Weiß Essen
From the Verbandsliga Niederrhein:
Olympia Bocholt
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen
VfB Remscheid
TuS Xanten
1. FC Viersen
ASV Wuppertal
RSV Meerbeck
From the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein:
Viktoria Köln
SV Baesweiler 09
Bonner SC
1. FC Köln II
SC Jülich 1910
TuS Langerwehe
SV Siegburg 04
FC Niederembt
FV Bad Honnef
Borussia Brand
Disbanding of the league
At the end of the 2007-08 season, the Oberliga Nordrhein was disbanded and its clubs distributed to various leagues according to the season's final standings: To the Regionalliga West:
