A LOOK BACK: All the teams, all the years
Years in League: 1995-2007 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/3 (won 1) Notable Players: Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Jim Kubiak, Carl-Johan Bjork The Coaching Tree: Bart Andrus (John Allen, Berlin); Jim Kubiak (Arena League) Best Known For: Bright orange uniforms; the bunch formation (three WRs bunched together) which is now in vogue Defining Moment: Beating Berlin in 2005 for their first NFL E title - ending fans' suffering They Survived: The one-way game, played in Olympic Stadium, in which both teams went one way because the other endzone was under construction		Years in League: 1991-92; 1995-2004 Playoffs/World Bowls: 2/4 (won 2) Notable Players: Jon Kitna, La'Roi Glover, Marco Martos, Bruce Clark, Scott Erney, Lawrence Phillips The Coaching Tree: Jack Bicknell (sons Bob Bicknell and Jack Bicknell Jr.), (Peter Vaas Berlin/Cologne ---> David Duggan, Cologne), (Vince Martino, Hamburg) Best Known For: Their vociferous fans who still show up at the World Bowl. Forca Dragons! Defining Moment: Lawrence Phillips, becoming the league's first 1,000 yard runner, making defenders look like kids in a t-ball game They Survived: A torrential downpour for their first-ever game against the NY/NJ Knights for a win
Years in League: 1999-2007 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/4 (won 3) Notable Players: Lennie Friedman, Aaron Boone, Andre Ware, Eric McCoo The Coaching Tree: Peter Vaas (David Duggan, Cologne--->John Lyons, Cologne) Best Known For: Going from worst to first under Vaas. From a terrible first year under Wes Chandler, Vaas turned the team into a dynasty Defining Moment: Vaas and Company shocking Barcelona in Amsterdam to capture the World Bowl They Survived: A horrendous first year in which nothing went right for this franchise		Years in League: 1991-1992 Playoffs/World Bowls: 2/0 Notable Players: John Brantly, Jon Miller (both voted all league in '91 and '92) The Coaching Tree: Chan Gailey - Dallas Cowboys, Georgia Tech Best Known For: Quietly making the playoffs both years they played Defining Moment: Beating Ohio the last week of the '92 season to make the playoffs They Survived: Playing in both London and Frankfurt in 1991, shaking off jet lag and making the playoffs
Years in League: 2003-2007 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/0 Notable Players: Derrick Ross, Phillip Gardent, Avon Couborne The Coaching Tree: Peter Vaas (David Duggan --->John Lyons) Best Known For: Vaas' fiery demeanor, and always being a .500 team until the 2007 season, when they went down to the very last game of the season with a chance to make the World Bowl Defining Moment: Crushing Amsterdam in Week 9 '07, one game away from a World Bowl birth - the closest the team had ever been to the World Bowl. They Survived: A weak offense in 2007 that grew stronger behind one of the best running attacks in NFL E history, with Ross and A.J. Harris		Years in League: 1991-1992, 1995-2007 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/7 (won 4) Notable Players: Mike Perez, Jake Delhomme, Tony Baker, Yepi Pa'u, J.T. O'Sullivan, Jeremy Unertl, Roger Robinson, Mario Bailey among others The Coaching Tree: The only assistant who went on to a head coaching job was Wes Chandler Best Known For: The only team that played in all 15 years of the league Defining Moment: Among the many: Beating a heavily-favored Amsterdam team for their first World Bowl title in 1995, then doing it again to the Admirals in 2006 They Survived: Yes that's right. They are the true survivors of the league. They played in the league's first-ever game, and possibly its' last
Years in League: 2005-2007 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/1 (won 1) Notable Players: Scott McCready, Casey Bramlet, Shawn Mayer, Marcus Maxwell The Coaching Tree: Jack Bicknell (Vince Martino) Best Known For: Beating Frankfurt for perhaps the league's last title in Frankfurt, where the Galaxy was undefeated during the regular season Defining Moment: Week 9 - a World Bowl birth on the line. Frankfurt ahead with :48 left on the clock. Bramlet throws a 50-yard rainbow to Maxwell to win the game sending the record crowd at AOL Arena into delirium They Survived: Injuries, inconsistency and the loss of coach Bicknell at the start of training camp in 2007 to storm back and win the World Bowl		Years in League: 1991-1992, 1995-1997 (1998 as England Monarchs) Playoffs/World Bowls: 1/1 (won 1) Notable Players: Stan Gelbaugh, Judd Garrett, Brad Johnson, Danny Lockett The Coaching Tree: Dan Crossman, Judd Garrett Best Known For: Going 9-1 in their first year, losing a meaningless Week 10 game to Barcelona and beating them 21-0 for the league's first title Defining Moment: Dan Crossman raising the World Bowl trophy in the stands at Wembley Stadium after winning the first World Bowl They Survived: A terrible second season and came back in 1995, but they never quite captured the hearts and minds of London the way they did in 1991
Years in League: 1991-1992 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/0 Notable Players: Chris Mohr, Tracy Simien - the first home grown player to make an impact in the NFL (KC Chiefs) The Coaching Tree: None Best Known For: Playing in the Big O - Olympic Stadium, which at times looked like the Big Empty Defining Moment: After a Week 4 loss at home to the Knights in '91, coach Jacques Dusseault expressed his displeasure - in French tow which one player said "we tune him out, not that we know what he's saying." They Survived: Opening the 1991 season with two playoff teams, Birmingham and Barcelona, and being in the fight for the division title until the end of the season.		Years in League: 1991-1992 Playoffs/World Bowls: 1/0 Notable Players: Anthony Parker, Reggie Slack, Eric Wilkerson, Ron Sancho The Coaching Tree: Will Lewis was an intern on Darrell "Mouse" Davis' first staff Best Known For: The run and shoot offense, which, when the weather turned warm, heated up the scoreboard. They won six in a row in 1992, averaging 34 points a game Defining Moment: The always quotable Davis "Today, we couldn't run and couldn't shoot - anyone." They Survived: A torrential downpour in the first ever game for the franchise in Barcelona. Conditions were so bad the team went for it twice on fourth down - deep in their own territory
Years in League: 1992 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/0 Notable Players: Tom Rouen The Coaching Tree: None Best Known For: Being oh so close in several games and finally winning their only game of the season at home versus Frankfurt in Week 7 on a FG as time ran out. Defining Moment: The NY/NJ Knights had come into town riding a huge offensive wave and a winning streak, and in one of the most exciting games in league history, they lost 39-33 in OT. The game featured a 99-yard TD by Ohio and over 1,000 yards of total offense. They Survived: Comparisons to the team they replaced, Raleigh-Durham. Had the league played in 1993, they would have made the playoffs.		Years in League: 1991-1992 Playoffs/World Bowls: 2/0 Notable Players: Kerwin Bell, Scott Mitchell, Roger Vick The Coaching Tree: Don Matthews (Galen Hall ---> Pete Kuharcheck) Best Known For: An innovative offense and those bright, florescent green uniforms Defining Moment: The opening game of the 1991 season they used every gadget play known to the sport. They used the statue of liberty play so effectively, it became a staple for the team. They Survived: All the jokes about the uniforms. The best was in an Orlando-London game in 1992 "It looks like there are 11 pints of lime sherbet chasing [Stan] Gelbaugh."
Years in League: 1991 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/0 Notable Players: Mark Maye The Coaching Tree: None Best Known For: Quite possibly, one of the worst football teams in modern history. They went 0-10 in their only season under local legend Roman Gabriel Defining Moment: After nearly beating Sacramento in the rain to open the season, they fell prey to the statue of liberty play twice when Orlando slaughtered them. They came oh so close to a win at Frankfurt They Survived: Nothing. Owned by one-time local hero George Shinn (best known for putting pro basketball in Charlotte, whining about an arena and moving the team), the Skyhawks closed the curtain after one year in business.		Years in League: 1995-2007 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/5 (won 2) Notable Players: Byron Chamberlain, Joe Smith, Danny Wuerffel, Marcus Robinson among the many The Coaching Tree: Galen Hall (Pete Kuharchek, Rhein, Bart Andrus, Amsterdam, Mike Jones, Frankfurt, Wes Chandler, Berlin) Best Known For: One of the greatest rivalries in pro football - with Frankfurt as their bitter rival. Defining Moment: Pick one of many. How about beating the league-leading Galaxy at LTU Arena in 2007, putting the Fire back into the World Bowl race despite having no offense They Survived: A move to Arena AufShalke as Rheinstadion was rebuilt as LTU Arena, a sparkling gem of a stadium.
Years in League: 1991/1992 Playoffs/World Bowls: 1/1 (won 1) Notable Players: Shawn Knight, David Archer, Tony Burse, Mike Sinclair The Coaching Tree: Kay Stephenson (Jim Haslett) Best Known For: Winning the World Bowl with a stunning comeback against Orlando and their hi-tech offense in Montreal. David Archer's QB savvy keyed the comeback. Defining Moment: Beating San Antonio on the road to capture the North American West in Week 10, '92 then beating Barcelona in a war of attrition in the heat to get to the World Bowl in Montreal. They Survived: Two awful, old rickety stadiums, and a trip through the CFL as the Goldminers and later the San Antonio Texans		Years in League: 1991/1992 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/0 Notable Players: Judd Garrett The Coaching Tree: Mike Riley (Judd Garrett) Best Known For: Being close to the North American West title twice and missing out both times on last-game (Week 10) losses. They also lost out on playing in the brand new Alamodome which opened after the Riders stopped riding. Defining Moment: A win against Sacramento in Week 10 of 1992 would have put them in the playoffs against Orlando and sent Barcelona to Birmingham, where the Riders had a better than even shot of getting to Montreal for the World Bowl. They Survived: Being nicknamed Pioneers, which was to be Sacramento's nickname until they came up with Surge
Years in League: 1995-2004 Playoffs/World Bowls: 0/2 (won 1) Notable Players: Aaron Stecker, Siran Stacy, Yo Murphy, Scott McCready, Scott Couper The Coaching Tree: Jack Bicknell (Vince Martino) Best Known For: Their boisterous and well-dressed fans, from the Hat to the Cheddarheads as well as home-grown talent in WR Scottie Couper, always a fan favorite Defining Moment: Opening moments of the 1996 World Bowl. Frankfurt fumbled, Marcus Thomas scooped it up and ran for a TD They Survived: The Gene Dahlquist regime. Dalhquist never did get the offense quite right, despite having solid players