London Monarchs
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| London Monarchs | |||||
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| Year Founded | 1991 | ||||
| Year Retired | 1998 | ||||
| City | London, England | ||||
| Team Colors | London: Red, Metallic Gold, Royal Blue, White England: Red, Royal Blue, White |
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| Franchise W-L-T Record | Regular Season: 26-33-1 Postseason: 1-0 |
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| Championships | |||||
World Bowls (1)
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The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were replaced by the new Berlin Thunder.
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[edit] Early years
The WLAF operated in 1991 and 1992 and included six U.S. teams, one Canadian team, and three European-based teams, including the Monarchs, that was organised in three divisions (North American West, North American East, and European Divisions). The WLAF suspended operations prior to the 1993 season, but was revived in 1995 as the World League, featuring six European-based teams, again including the Monarchs. The World League was renamed "NFL Europe League" in 1998. This league plays its games in the spring so as not to conflict with the traditional American football season of autumn and early winter.
In 1991 and 1992 the Monarchs played their home games at the famed Wembley Stadium. In the 1991 season the team won the first World Bowl at Wembley, beating the Barcelona Dragons 21-0, the only team to have beaten them in the entire season. In the first season of the World League, crowds at Wembley averaged 40,483 for the five games. However dwindling interest - even with the advent of a new local rivalry with the Scottish Claymores - forced the team to shift its home ground to White Hart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., when the league resumed play in 1995, and that year average attendance fell to 16,343.
Because the pitch at White Hart Lane is laid out for association football, special dispensation had to be applied for to use a shortened field and it was granted: the pitch at White Hart Lane measured 93 yards. In 1996, the Monarchs were forced to find an alternative venue for their final home game and chose Stamford Bridge, where they would play all of their home games in 1997.
[edit] England Monarchs
Towards the end of the 1997 season, the WLAF was starting to re-evaluate the team's situation in its market, believing that the return to London had not been as big a success as hoped. In conjunction with general manager Alton Byrd, the team was rebranded the England Monarchs and travelled the country, playing home games at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, Ashton Gate (home of Bristol City F.C.) and Alexander Stadium, an athletics stadium in Birmingham - another step down in the size and quality of the stadiums used. This venture divided opinion dramatically amongst the Monarchs support and rather than increase interest in the team, attendances slumped to an average of 5,944. The announcement at the end of the 1998 season that the league would add a new team, the Berlin Thunder, led to weeks of speculation that either one of the existing teams would be shut down, or that the Monarchs and Claymores would be amalgamated into a single British team. Confirmation that the Monarchs were to close down came in July that year.
Like other WLAF/NFL Europe teams, most of the Monarchs' players were young American "developmental" players assigned from teams in the National Football League. The league paid these players' salaries, as well of that of the coaches, who tended also to be Americans, though there were exceptions - in the early Monarchs Walter McKone, D.O. was a team osteopath and Stewart Parkinson a team manager. A few players of European extraction also participated, primarily as kicking specialists, although league rules required the participation of at least one player of European extraction on every other series of four downs. The league's points leader in 1991 was Phil Alexander, kicker with the Monarchs, who is now currently Managing Director of Crystal Palace football club. One exception to the "kicker phenomenon" was Victor Ebubedike (later Victor X Ebubedike, and later still Victor Muhammad) who played as running back for the Monarchs for a number of years, and who became the first European to score a touchdown (versus the Orlando Thunder) in 1991. Notable players for the Monarchs included Stan Gelbaugh, William Perry, Obafemi Ayanbadejo, Steve "Hollywood" Brooks, Tim Simpson, and Brad Johnson, a quarterback who would go on to win Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also of note was Dedrick Dodge, a special teams maven, who went on to win a number of Super Bowl rings with teams including the Denver Broncos. Notable British players include Marc 'Big Bird' Cohen, one of the best European WR of his time. He is currently terrorising defenses for the Coventry Cassidy Jets in the BAFL Premier division and the EFL.
[edit] Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
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| London Monarchs (WLAF) | |||||
| 1991 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1st European Division | Beat Knights in semi-final Won World Bowl I (Dragons) |
| 1992 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3rd European Division | -- |
| 1993 | WLAF Suspended - Did Not Play | ||||
| 1994 | |||||
| London Monarchs (World League) | |||||
| 1995 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4th League | -- |
| 1996 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5th League | -- |
| London Monarchs (NFL Europe) | |||||
| 1997 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5th League | -- |
| England Monarchs | |||||
| 1998 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 5th League | -- |
| Totals | 28 | 33 | 1 | (including 2 playoff games) | |
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The London Monarchs and the Birmingham Fire were the first two teams in WLAF/NFL Europe history to end a game in a tie (17-17 in Week 4 of the '92 season). The Berlin Thunder, the team that replaced London in the league in 1999, and Hamburg Sea Devils (who replaced the Scottish Claymores in 2005) repeated not only the feat of a tied game, but also the exact same score, on April 1, 2006 of all days.
- Monarchs kicker Don Silvestri scored the WLAF's first 4-point field goal - awarded for a successful kick of 50 yards or more - in the 1995 season against Scotland. It turned out to be significant, as the Monarchs won the game by 1 point.
[edit] Notable Monarchs
Phil Alexander (K, 1991-2)- Marc 'Big Bird' Cohen (WR, 1995)
- Clive Allen (K, 1995)
- Victor Ebubedike, aka Victor Muhammad (RB)
Stan Gelbaugh (QB, 1991-2)- Jon Horton (WR)
- Brad Johnson (QB, 1996)
- William Perry (DT, 1996)
- Don Silvestri (K)
- 42 FS Harvey Wilson College Southern
- 22 RB Judd Garrett College Princeton
- 33 FS Dedrick Dodge College Florida State.
Dodge later played in the NFL for six seasons with four different teams. first with the Seattle Seahawks from 1991 to 1992 then San Francisco 49ers from 1994 to 1996 and finally a season each with the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers 1997 and 1998 respectively.
- 20 FB Jeff Alexander College Southern
Alexander later played two years in the NFl with the Denver Broncos played in 14 games in 1989 and later 7 games in 1992
[edit] External links
- kenn.com - source of the attendance figures mentioned in the article.
- Team's WLAF Info.
- Team old official web site
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