Backnang Wolverines
Backnang Wolverines 
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| City: | Backnang | ||
| Founded: | 1985 | ||
| Head coach: | Michael Mueller | ||
| League (2019): | State League Baden-Württemberg | ||
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| Greatest successes | |||
| 4. Second Bundesliga center | 1993, 1994 | ||
| Champion Regionalliga Middle-South | 1992 | ||
| Master District League BaWü | 2016 | ||
| Stadion | |||
| Surname: |
Karl Euerle Stadium |
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| Address: | Büttenfeld 29, 71522 Backnang | ||
| Contact | |||
| Internet: | BK-Wolverines.de | ||
| Data status | |||
| 20th February 2018 | |||
The Backnang Wolverines are an American football club from Backnang in Baden-Württemberg .
history
Beginnings
The Wolverines were founded in 1985. The heraldic animal Wolverine is a wolverine or bear marten. The name is known from the also blue and yellow US college team Michigan Wolverines .
Nationwide, around four dozen teams took part in regular league operations in the mid-1980s, mostly in large cities or places with US garrisons, such as the Ansbach Grizzlies , three-time German champions in the early days of German football. The Stuttgart Scorpions and the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns were established in the region at the time . From 1986 to 1990 the Wolverines were only able to play six friendlies and a few scrimmages (test games without an official referee with a fixed number of plays) against other teams, including the Lahr Bengals , Büsnau Bats , Stuttgart Stallions , Holzgerlingen Saints , Göppingen Red Hole Bombers and Konstanz 89ers . In Bad Säckingen there was a benefit game against the Black Forest Spirits from Waldshut.
In Backnang there were no suitable game or training facilities, some school or football fields were used. The football clubs were concerned that the field of football could be damaged. During this time, some players acquired match practice with the Fellbach Sioux , who played in the second Bundesliga middle (today: German Football League 2 ) from 1987 to 1990 .
League operation 1991–1992
At the beginning of 1991 the Fellbach players returned to Backnang, where they could mostly play in the Karl Euerle Stadium while training took place on the artificial turf fields in the Etzwiesen or next to the Karl Euerle Stadium of Viktoria Backnang . In view of the players with second division experience, the association made it possible to take part in the game operations of the Baden-Württemberg Association League at short notice and the team with experienced veterans and newcomers became unbeaten champions against the Lahr Bengals , Ravensburg Razorbacks and Weinheim Longhorns .
Reinforced with many new members and the American Carnell Hall, the Wolverines won again unbeaten the Regionalliga Mitte-Süd against the Dillingen Steelhawks , Holzgerlingen Saints , Karlsruhe Cavaliers , Rhein-Neckar Renegades and Stuttgart Bats . The home games, partly in the Etzwiesen Stadium of TSG Backnang in 1919 , were organized as a party and were very popular with over 1000 paying spectators. Due to the success on and off the field, the Wolverines were the readers of Backnanger county newspaper for Backnanger Team of the Year 1992 were chosen before the TSG-footballers in the German Cup in 1992 were eliminated early.
Second Bundesliga 1993–1994
1993
As a promoter to the second Bundesliga in mid-1993, the club was confronted with the situation that due to the upcoming downsizing of the 1st Bundesliga, which to date (and now again as the German Football League ) played in two groups with eight teams each, in extreme cases Relegation was planned for only two of the eight teams in the middle group, since several teams from the 1st Bundesliga South in 1993 were to be relegated to the second leagues, which were also reduced in size, and regional leagues were to be promoted. Therefore, it was decided, with the help of sponsors, to aim for the title and the possible promotion to the first division. The team was prepared by the player-coaches Michael Häusler (linebacker) and Gunther "Doc" Michel (quarterback) at a training camp in Turkey, with Edwin Davis (running back) from the regional league team Stuttgart Bats , who later became the top scorer of the second Bundesliga, was committed and with Douglas Cantrell brought another American college football experience to Backnang. In addition, a youth team was set up, which played the first friendly matches.
The favorite of the league were the Frankfurt Gamblers . The successor club of the Frankfurt Lions to the first German football team founded in 1977 and two-time German champions had profited from the football boom that the US professionals of the Frankfurt Galaxy had generated in 1991 and 1992. After the US league temporarily withdrew, European entrepreneurs wanted to use the gap semi-professionally and invested in big city clubs.
The opponents, apart from the Frankfurters, who only lost just once to the Scorpions, were initially surprised by the strength of the Swabian newcomer. Backnang was also able to beat the local rivals, winning twice against Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (2011 and 2012 German champions) as well as at the Stuttgart Scorpions under the television tower, where they were German runner-up in 2007. A turning point was the home defeat in front of numerous spectators in the second leg against Stuttgart, who became runner-up and thus secured the league. It showed that the top teams had experienced head coaches on the sidelines who were able to analyze the opponent well. In Backnang, the use of player-coaches was still common, although there was no overview from the edge of the field, especially in defense.
At the end of the season, Backnang and Darmstadt had 10 wins and 4 defeats each, so a direct comparison was decisive for placement and relegation. The Diamonds were beaten 36-7 in Backnang, but the 39-6 defeat in Darmstadt resulted in two fewer touchdown points, which was particularly painful considering the fact that the Wolverines were the only team to have scored over 400 points. Thus Darmstadt had secured third place and relegation. Backnang would have been relegated as fourth along with four other teams.
- Match results second Bundesliga mid-1993 ( German Football League 2 )
| team | FG | SS | DD | BW | SHU | US | MR | KW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt Gamblers | --- | 12:13 | 27:19 | 29: 6 | 48: 7 | 13: 0 | 34:12 | 40: 6 |
| Stuttgart Scorpions | 7:17 | --- | 31:19 | 7:14 | 33: 0 | 34: 3 | 33: 0 | 54: 6 |
| Darmstadt Diamonds | 6:12 | 17:10 | --- | 39: 6 | 32:21 | 56:16 | 45: 6 | 35-0 |
| Backnang Wolverines | 12:34 | 25:40 | 36: 7 | --- | 32:14 | 20: 0 * | 36: 0 | 65: 3 |
| Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 17:21 | 7:28 | 7:27 | 32:52 | --- | 32:20 | 25:28 | 20: 0 * |
| Ulm Sparrows | 13:31 | 0:37 | 0:19 | 17:33 | 6:13 | --- | 47:14 | 20: 0 * |
| Mannheim Redskins | 11:31 | 6:27 | 7:47 | 22:47 | 47:35 | 19:29 | --- | 14:25 |
| Kaiserslautern Warriors | 6:45 | 19:36 | 14:29 | 8:28 | 14:21 | 18: 3 | 14:26 | --- |
* Rating.
- Final table second Bundesliga in mid-1993
| society | Sp | G | V | U | Points | TD | Diff. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Frankfurt Gamblers | 14th | 13 | 1 | 0 | 26: 2 | 393: 125 | +268 |
| 2. | Stuttgart Scorpions | 14th | 11 | 3 | 0 | 22: 6 | 390: 145 | +245 |
| 3. | Darmstadt Diamonds | 14th | 10 | 4th | 0 | 20: 8 | 397: 193 | +204 |
| 4th | Backnang Wolverines | 14th | 10 | 4th | 0 | 20: 8 | 412: 252 | +160 |
| 5. | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 14th | 4th | 10 | 0 | 8:20 | 251: 388 | −137 |
| 6th | Ulm Sparrows | 14th | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6:22 | 174: 349 | −175 |
| 7th | Mannheim Redskins | 14th | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6:22 | 212: 475 | −263 |
| 8th. | Kaiserslautern Warriors | 14th | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4:24 | 133: 436 | −303 |
Tie-breakers based on the direct comparison gained in each case: Darmstadt before Backnang, Ulm before Mannheim
1994
The Wolverines should have been relegated at the end of 1993, which is why some ambitious players changed clubs or were poached. Backnang was still allowed to play again in the 2nd Bundesliga middle in 1994, instead of the Frankfurt Gamblers , who were neither allowed to advance nor wanted to play second class again and switched to the new semi-professional Football League of Europe .
The Swabians hadn't planned for this, but three Americans were signed, although they contributed less to the success than the former stars. Ewald Fischer from Fellbach led the training.
The Badener Greifs and Bad Homburg Falken were relegated from the 1st Bundesliga South , the Stuttgart Scorpions and Darmstadt Diamonds also held the class, while the Rüsselsheim Razorbacks and Dillingen Steelhawks rose from the regional leagues . Fourth place was again taken out of these seven second division teams; this midfield position was again not sufficient for relegation due to the further reform of the 2nd Bundesliga from four to two groups. The Scorpions rose again, Darmstadt and Rüsselsheim stayed in second place, Badener Greifs and Dillingen Steelhawks went to the new Regionalliga Mitte, the Bad Homburg Falken even broke up.
Descent 1995–1998
In 1995 the Wolverines only played in the fourth-class Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, where they again took fourth place. Opponents were the former first division club Mannheim Redskins and Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns , the Rhein-Neckar Bandits and Karlsruhe Cavaliers . In the Baden-Württemberg Cup, the team made it to the semi-finals, after having reached the cup final in Stuttgart against the Scorpions in previous years.
For 1996, some of the players returned, and the Wolverines narrowly missed promotion. In 1997 the championship title and promotion should be achieved, but due to the thin staff cover one had to be content with a place in the midfield. Most of the remaining top performers were now over 30 years old and some had completed more than 10 seasons, often in attack and defense. Not enough young players came from the youth. With the Scorpions and Unicorns, two clubs in the region have been established in the German Football League since the 1980s , albeit with interruptions. In 1998 the first team stopped playing league games due to a lack of personnel, the club concentrated on youth work in the form of a syndicate with the Stuttgart Silver Arrows .
New start in 2002
Since 2002, a new generation of players for the Backnang Wolverines has been continuously participating in the league game operations, initially in the BaWü Association League, and in the BaWü Oberliga from 2006–2008.
The Backnang Wolverines Seniors played in the two-part Baden-Württemberg regional league in 2016 against the Crailsheim Titans , Bempflingen Renegades , Heidelberg Hunters , Kuchen Mammuts , Mannheim Knights , Offenburg Miners and Reutlingen Eagles .
Furthermore, they will play in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg in 2018. The rise from the state to the major league took place through a league reform that provides for larger leagues.
More teams
In addition to the men's team (Seniors), the Wolverines are active with two youth teams in tackle football (U19 and U17) and one in flag football .
See also
- List of active American football clubs in Germany (1990–1999)
- List of active American football clubs in Germany (2000–2009)
- List of active American football clubs in Germany (2010-2019)
swell
- "Huddle" magazine, issues 35/1993, 37/93, 40/93
- Backnanger Kreiszeitung , various issues
- Backnang Wolverines History