Frankfurter Löwen

For other uses, see Frankfurt Lions and Löwen Frankfurt.
Frankfurter Löwen
Founded 1977
League

American Football Bundesliga

(1979–1984)

Team history Folded in 1985
Based in Frankfurt, Germany
Championships German Bowl: 1979, 1980
Division titles AFB North: 1980, 1981

The Frankfurter Löwen (English: Frankfurt Lions) were an American football team from Frankfurt, Germany.

The Löwen were the first American football club to be formed in Germany.[1][2] The club, a founding member of the American Football Bundesliga, was also the winner of the first two editions of the German Bowl.[3] However, the club was short-lived, folding in 1985. It was the last team to represent Frankfurt at the GFL level for over three decades before Frankfurt Universe earned promotion to the top tier after the 2015 season.

History

The history of American football in Germany, outside the US Army bases in the country, began in 1977, when the Frankfurter Löwen were formed as the first club to play the game in Germany. At first, this team was only able to play US Army teams, lacking German opposition.[1] The driving force behind the formation of the club was Alexander Sperber, son of an U.S. Army soldier and a German mother.[4]

In 1979, the American Football Bundesliga, later to be renamed the German Football League,[5] was formed, consisting of six clubs, the Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies, Düsseldorf Panther, Munich Cowboys, Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks.[1] The first official game of the league was played on 4 August 1979, between the Löwen and the Düsseldorf Panther, and ended in a victory for Frankfurt.[2]

The Löwen were an early power house of the game in Germany. The first season was completed undefeated, culminating in a German Bowl victory over the Ansbach Grizzlies, the team it would face in all three editions of the German Bowl it played in.[6]

While the club was able to repeat its championship the following year, with the league now split into a northern and a southern division, Ansbach finally managed to triumph in 1981. Frankfurt won its division, the northern, which it played in despite being a southern German club, but was stopped by the Grizzlies in the final. While the Grizzlies continued to play in the German Bowl until 1986, the short golden era of the Löwen had come thereby to a halt.[6]

The team moved to the southern division for 1982 but came only third that year and was knocked out in the quarter finals by the Düsseldorf Panther, who would go on to win the final. Panthers and Lions met again the following year in the quarter finals, with the same result, while 1984 was to be the last season for the club. The Frankfurter Löwen only just scraped into the play-offs, finishing fourth, and again had to face the Panthers, where a 55-0 defeat would be the last competitive game ever played by the side.[6]

After the 1984 season, the club folded in 1985, never to be reformed.

No team from Frankfurt until 2015 played at the highest level of American football in Germany again, until the promotion of the Frankfurt Universe. The city however has had a professional team in the sport until 2007, when the Frankfurt Galaxy of the NFL Europe folded.[7] A similar-named club, the Frankfurt Lions, are actually an ice hockey club and are unrelated to the Löwen.

Honours

German Bowl appearances

The club's appearances in the German Bowl:[3]

Bowl Date Champions Runners-Up Score Location Attendance
I November 10, 1979 Frankfurter Löwen Ansbach Grizzlies 14–8 Frankfurt 5,000
II July 30, 1980 Frankfurter Löwen Ansbach Grizzlies 21-12 Frankfurt 7,000
III August 5, 1981 Ansbach Grizzlies Frankfurter Löwen 27-6 Cologne 11,000

Seasons

The complete seasons played by the Frankfurter Löwen:[6]

Year Division Finish Points Pct. Games W D L PF PA Postseason
1979 AFB 1st 18–0 1.000 9 9 0 0 243 44 Won GB: Ansbach Grizzlies (14–8)
1980 AFB (North) 1st ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Won GB: Ansbach Grizzlies (21–12)
1981 1st 22–2 0.917 12 11 0 1 388 76 Won SF: Hanau Hawks (17–12)
Lost GB: Ansbach Grizzlies (6–27)
1982 AFB (South) 3rd 12–12 0.500 12 6 0 6 240 231 Lost QF: Düsseldorf Panther (0–66)
1983 4th 10–10 0.500 10 5 0 5 211 170 Lost QF: Düsseldorf Panther (0–30)
1984 4th 14–14 0.500 14 7 0 7 276 275 Lost QF: Düsseldorf Panther (0–55)

References

  1. 1 2 3 Geschichte (German) AFVD website, accessed: 29 December 2010
  2. 1 2 Google book review: Turnen and sport: transatlantic transfers author: Annette R. Hofmann, accessed: 12 January 2010
  3. 1 2 Bowls GFL website, accessed: 1 January 2011
  4. ↑ Football Goes International The Washington Post, published: 24 August 1980, accessed: 28 September 2015
  5. ↑ GFL German Football League (German) AFVD website, accessed: 29 December 2010
  6. 1 2 3 4 Football History (German) Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 2 January 2010
  7. ↑ Football-Hauptstadt Frankfurt (German) Frankfurter Allgemeine, published: 24 October 2007, accessed: 12 January 2011

External links

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