DC Presidents

D.C Presidents
Year Formed 1985 as Washington Presidents, reformed as D.C Presidents in 2010
Team Colours Royal Blue, Red and White
Home Field 'Houghton Cricket Club, Houghton, Durham[1]
Conference Alignment BAFA National Northern Section
Head Coach Mark Quinn

The DC Presidents were a British American Football team based in County Durham who were active for two periods, 1986-1997 and 2012-2013.

History

The Presidents started in February 1985 when American Football enthusiasts Jeff Rutter and John Lockhart formed The Washington Presidents, named after the birthplace of the first US President George Washington’s grandfather; the summer of 1985 saw the club's first ever game. They played against another local new team the Darlington Dragons, which the Presidents won 62–10,[1] with founder Jeff Rutter scoring on his début game as quarterback. The Presidents then went on to play a further two games in 1985 against Steel City Giants from Sheffield, losing 22–13, and Musselburgh Magnums away, losing 56–12.

The following year, 1986, saw the formation of the new National Budweiser League, and the Presidents entered their first competitive season in Division 1 North. They played 3 pre–season matches, all away from their home stadium Albany Park, Washington. Losing to Newcastle Senators 46-6, Hereford Chargers losing 28–22 and then winning 26–24 against the Bradford Dolphins. The Presidents' first ever regular season ended with a respectable 4–6 season.

The Washington Presidents ceased in 1997 until their re-formation in early 2011.[2]

Re-formation

The Presidents re-formed in late 2010 under the new name of the DC Presidents, and began recruiting players throughout the winter and into early spring of 2011. Founding member of the original Washington Presidents Jeff Rutter returned as CEO of the new Presidents and recruited some original members of the Washington Presidents.

On 9 December 2011 the DC Presidents were officially accepted into the British American Football National League after successfully completing their 2011 Association process.[3] The association process included two games versus Crewe Railroaders[4] and Shropshire Revolution and also played the two warm up games the Teesside Cougars.

Second Disbandment

On 7 April 2014, the DC Presidents announced on their Facebook page that they had to solve some internal problems and as a result it meant that the club had pulled out of the 2014 season.

Support

The club's mascot 'Uncle Sam' is a regular fixture at the clubs games and 2013 saw the formation of the club's cheerleading squad the “Liberty Belles”, who made their debut at the Edinburgh Wolves game.[1][3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "DC Presidents Kick Off New Season". Culture Durham. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. ↑ http://www.dcpresidents.com/content/history
  3. 1 2 "Durham-based side prepares for second league campaign". Durham Times. May 1, 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "DC Presidents bring American football back to North East England". Sunderland Echo. June 30, 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2013.

External links

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