Frankfurt Galaxy
| Frankfurt Galaxy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Founded | 1991 | ||||
| Dissolved | 2007 | ||||
| city | Frankfurt am Main , Germany | ||||
| Team colors | Purple and orange
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| Head coach | |||||
| Stadion | |||||
| Surname | Commerzbank Arena | ||||
| address | 60528 Frankfurt am Main | ||||
| capacity | 52,300 | ||||
| Spectator (2007) | 198,258 (Ø 33,043) | ||||
| World Bowls (4) | |||||
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Frankfurt Galaxy was an American football team from Frankfurt am Main , which was a founding member of the World League of American Football ( WLAF ) in 1991 and played in NFL Europe , the European offshoot of the US- based National Football League (NFL).
Together with the NFL Europe, all six remaining teams and thus also Frankfurt Galaxy were dissolved after the 2007 season.
history
The early years 1991 and 1992
In the early 1990s, the American professional football league NFL decided to make football better known outside of the United States. Frankfurt am Main was chosen as the German location for the World League of American Football (WLAF) (later NFL Europe), as US soldiers stationed in the region were believed to have a reliable audience. In addition, Frankfurt is centrally located in Germany, and it is there that the Frankfurt Lions , the first German football team, were founded in the 1970s. The game was played in the Waldstadion (from 2005 to Commerzbank-Arena). “Frankfurt Galaxy” was chosen as the name, the team colors were purple, orange and white. In line with this, a cheerleading team called “Frankfurt Galaxy Dancers” was set up.
1991
The first game of the new league was played on March 23, 1991 in Frankfurt after the match ball was flown into the Waldstadion by helicopter. The newly formed teams were not yet well rehearsed, especially the attack teams. As a result, the Frankfurt Defense scored the very first points in the new league with a safety. The London Monarchs changed quarterback , whereupon the new QB Stan Gelbaugh laid the foundation for the guests' victory with a spectacular long touchdown pass (and the extension of his NFL career, which began in 1986, until 1996). In retrospect it turned out that this could already be considered the top game of the year, because the Frankfurt Galaxy and the London Monarchs were ultimately referred to as the best teams of the 1991 WLAF season, as the three European teams dominated the league, to the displeasure the overseas observer.
The Galaxy home games soon developed into a "party" secret tip, not only among US soldiers or die-hard football fans who traveled from all over Germany, around quarterback Mike Perez, running back Tony Baker or linebacker Yepi Pau'u from the South Pacific to cheer.
For the 1991 season finale against Sacramento Surge , Oliver Luck, General Manager of the Frankfurt Galaxy and father of Andrew Luck , welcomed a sensational 51,653 spectators in the Waldstadion. The nation's football fans had already seen the signs of the times on the lawn of the Waldstadion, where on Wednesday, March 27, 1991, the German national football team beat the USSR 2-1 in a friendly international match . Just four days after the WLAF premiere, the football markings were still clearly visible, and many irritated viewers called the TV station to inquire about the strange patterns on the field.
The London Monarchs remained unbeaten in the first nine games and secured a place for the World Bowl play- offs and home rights at Wembley Stadium early on . Frankfurt Galaxy lost twice to Sacramento, but beat the Barcelona Dragons , who went into the last game of the season against the undefeated Monarchs with two defeats. With the expected defeat, the Dragons would have drawn the shorter in a direct comparison against Frankfurt, so that the Galaxy would have moved into the semifinals by wildcard . The monarchs surprisingly lost 17-20, according to some, not without the ulterior motive of avoiding Frankfurt. Thus, the Galaxy was the third best team in the league with seven wins and three defeats, but still not among the four playoff teams. The seven US teams achieved balanced results at best.
In the semifinals, the Monarchs and Dragons beat their guests from overseas as expected, which meant that the London Monarchs received the Barcelona Dragons in the first Wordbowl at Wembley and then clearly beat them with 21-0.
1992
The 1992 season was less successful for the Europeans. The Galaxy won the first two games at home against the Worldbowl finalists, and at the end again against the defending champion, but drew the shorter in Barcelona and against US teams and achieved a 3-7 balance. The fans celebrated themselves and the team of coach Jack Elway, the father of the star QB of the Denver Broncos , John Elway .
The successful years from 1995
After a two-year break, the WLAF resumed gaming as the World League in 1995 . The successful Galaxy manager and later league president Oliver Luck switched to the new rival Rhein Fire Düsseldorf (see Germany derby ). The new coach was ex-professional Ernie Stautner , who had won the Super Bowl twice as assistant coach to the Dallas Cowboys and is the only player or coach born in Germany who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . On June 17, 1995, Frankfurt Galaxy and quarterback Paul Justin won the World Bowl , the league final, for the first time with a 26:22 away win over the Amsterdam Admirals .
Defending champion Galaxy moved back to the World Bowl in 1996, but lost to the Scottish Claymores at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh by a narrow margin of 27:32.
For the 1997 season, the San Diego Chargers loaned their German NFL professional Werner Hippler back to his old team. Nevertheless, the Galaxy missed its goal of finally bringing the World Bowl final home to the loyal fans in the Waldstadion. Because although Hessen had no chance of making it to the finals, the last home game against Barcelona with 40,743 spectators attracted more fans than any other World League game since 1992. Economically, the season ended with a six-figure profit.
Frank Messmer , who came to Galaxy in 1995 from the Konstanz 89ers Association League team , was voted “Europe's Best Defender” for his outstanding achievements. At the American Bowl in Dublin in July 1997 Messmer played on the team of the then four-time Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the Chicago Bears .
For the 1998 season, Frankfurt Galaxy signed Dick Curl as the new head coach, who previously worked as offensive coordinator for the reigning World Bowl champion Barcelona Dragons . In addition, the World League has now been renamed NFL Europe , and Frankfurt has been set as the host city for the World Bowl in advance. After a false start and a chase to catch up, the Galaxy ended the season first in the table in order to qualify for the home game final. But the World Bowl was won by local rival Rhein Fire 34:10.
In the 1999 season, Dick Curl led his "Men in Purple" to the second finals in his second year as head coach. The NFL Europe League honored Curl's performance again with the election of 'Coach of the Year', not least because he had achieved a tactical masterpiece with the use of two quarterbacks. At the final in Düsseldorf's Rheinstadion on June 20, 1999, Frankfurt Galaxy triumphed and won the World Bowl for the second time in team history with a 38:24 over the Barcelona Dragons .
The 2000 season ended with the penultimate place in the table, the weakest position since 1997. At the last home game of the season, the fans said goodbye to Mario Bailey , who had had a fantastic career in the Frankfurt Galaxy jersey for over six years. Doug Graber became the new coach .
Although Frankfurt Galaxy had the best defense in the league in 2001, the offense was weak due to injury. Three of the seven lost games were lost with a touchdown or less and were always lost at the last minute.
After three years of absence from the final, the Frankfurt Galaxy managed to win the long-awaited title again in the 2003 season, this time over arch rivals Rhein Fire . The World Bowl XI in Hampden Park in Glasgow , where Eintracht Frankfurt once lost the final of the European Cup against Real Madrid with 3: 7 in 1960, was won 35:16. The Frankfurt Galaxy was the first team to win the World Bowl for the third time, making it the most successful team in the history of the NFL Europe League.
Mike Jones has been Head Coach since January 2004, the fifth and last Head Coach in the history of the Frankfurt Galaxy. After the Barcelona Dragons were replaced by the Cologne Centurions in Cologne, the Frankfurt Galaxy was the only founding member, making it the oldest team in NFL Europe. It had always been the most popular with the fans anyway.
The defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy qualified again for the 2004 finals, which was held in the " Arena auf Schalke " in Gelsenkirchen. Opponent on June 12th was Berlin Thunder , who suffered only one defeat during the season, had previously beaten Frankfurt Galaxy 41-0 and were therefore considered favorites. In fact, it was the third time that Frankfurt Galaxy failed to defend the World Bowl, which went to Berlin at 30:24.
After a 2005 season marked by injuries and the associated poor record of 3-7 games, the Galaxy moved into the World Bowl final for the seventh time in 14 years in the 2006 season. In the LTU arena in Düsseldorf, the Galaktische defeated the last non-German team in the league, the Amsterdam Admirals , with 22: 7 points. Galaxy running back Butchie Wallace was then voted the most valuable player (MVP) of the evening. With the final victory, the Frankfurt Galaxy takes over the title as the sole record holder in terms of World Bowls (4) in the history of NFL Europe.
In September 2006, Frankfurt Galaxy moved into the new office space in the east curve of the Commerzbank-Arena as the main tenant .
A DVD has been available since November 15, 2006, which documents the successful 2006 season of the Frankfurt Galaxy and takes a look behind the scenes, including a. with the “Making Of” of the 2006 Frankfurt Galaxy Dancers calendar and five short films about the greatest personalities in the club's history.
2007 - the last season
In the 2007 season, the Frankfurt Galaxy (7-3) won the opportunity to defend the World Bowl title in their home stadium against the Hamburg Sea Devils (7-3). In front of 48,125 spectators, however, the team was defeated by the competitor from the north with 28:37 points. After this game, General Manager Tilman Engel had the sad task of informing the team about the end of the NFLE.
The Frankfurt Galaxy team was directly affected by the dissolution of NFL Europe announced on June 29, 2007 by Uwe Bergheim (Managing Director of NFLE ). After the Frankfurt Galaxy Footballteam Betriebs GmbH was liquidated, operations were finally ceased on September 30, 2007. Then 13 Galaxy fans founded their own club in order to maintain the fan scene in the area around the Main metropolis - the AFC Universe Frankfurt .
Head coaches
- Jack Elway (1991-1992)
- Ernie Stautner (1995–1997)
- Dick Curl (1998-2000)
- Doug Graber (2001-2003)
- Mike Jones (2004-2007)
The Frankfurt Galaxy balance sheet
- Season 1991 - 7: 3
- Season 1992 - 3: 7
- Season 1995 - 6: 4 World Bowl Champion (26:22 over Amsterdam Admirals)
- 1996 season - 6-4 World Bowl participation (27:32 at Scottish Claymores)
- 1997 season - 4-6
- 1998 season - 7-3 World Bowl participation (10:34 against Rhein Fire)
- Season 1999 - 6-4 World Bowl Champion (38:24 over Barcelona Dragons)
- Season 2000 - 4: 6
- Season 2001 - 3: 7
- Season 2002 - 6-4
- Season 2003 - 6: 4 World Bowl Champion (35:16 over Rhein Fire)
- 2004 season - 7: 3 World Bowl participation (24:30 against Berlin Thunder)
- Season 2005 - 3: 7
- 2006 season - 7: 3 World Bowl Champion (22: 7 over Amsterdam Admirals)
- 2007 season - 7: 3 World Bowl participation (28:37 against Hamburg Sea Devils)
A total of 82 wins and 68 losses in the 15 seasons, as well as 4: 4 in the World Bowl.
Audience numbers
Remarks:
- colored background of the lines: Waldstadion III ; Commerzbank Arena
- Capacity information marked with * refer to the fact that the stadium was in a phase of renovation at this time.
| Audience figures during the existence of the NFL Europe | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| season | Total audience |
Home games |
cut | capacity | workload | |
| 1991 | 149,326 | 5 | 29,865 | 62,200 | 48.01% | |
| 1992 | 181.196 | 5 | 36,239 | 62,200 | 58.26% | |
| 1995 | 145.381 | 5 | 29,076 | 62,200 | 46.75% | |
| 1996 | 166,582 | 5 | 33,370 | 62,200 | 53.64% | |
| 1997 | 175,067 | 5 | 35,013 | 62,200 | 56.29% | |
| 1998 | 171.009 | 5 | 34.202 | 62,200 | 54.99% | |
| 1999 | 181,635 | 5 | 36,327 | 62,200 | 58.40% | |
| 2000 | 169,458 | 5 | 33,892 | 62,200 | 54.49% | |
| 2001 | 152.742 | 5 | 30,548 | 62,200 | 49.11% | |
| 2002 | 169,521 | 5 | 33.904 | 62,200 | 54.50% | |
| 2003 | 117,524 | 5 | 23,504 | 25,000 * | 94.01% | |
| 2004 | 130,290 | 5 | 26,058 | 38,000 * | 68.57% | |
| 2005 | 146,885 | 5 | 29,377 | 43,000 * | 68.31% | |
| 2006 | 140,590 | 5 | 28,118 | 52,300 | 53.76% | |
| 2007 | 198.258 | 6th | 33,043 | 52,300 | 63.17% | |
Others
In June 1999, the Galaxy pulled jersey number 12 out of circulation during a game against the Amsterdam Admirals . With this, the team honored the fans.
media
- Cheerleader at Frankfurt Galaxy ( hr3-AproPop , May 25, 1991)
literature
- Andreas Breitwieser: The Galaxy Frankfurt Story. The team. The games. The successes. Falken Verlag , Niedernhausen / Ts. 1997, ISBN 978-3806818031 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fansite with seasonal statistics for the Frankfurt Galaxy
- ↑ Galaxy pulls jersey number 12 out of circulation. In: Spiegel Online . June 7, 1999, accessed July 5, 2020 .