Modus
During the regular season each club played all other clubs home and away. The best two teams after the regular season then contested the German Bowl. [2]
| 1979 American football Bundesliga | |
|---|---|
| League | American football Bundesliga |
| Sport | American football |
| Duration | 4 August–10 November 1979 |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Regular season | |
| Bundesliga champions | Frankfurter Löwen |
| Bundesliga runners-up | Ansbach Grizzlies |
| German Bowl I | |
| Champions | Frankfurter Löwen |
| Runners-up | Ansbach Grizzlies |
The 1979 American football Bundesliga season was the first edition of the top-level American football competition in West Germany.
In the inaugural season six clubs competed in the league. At the end of the regular season the Frankfurter Löwen contested the first-ever German Bowl against the Ansbach Grizzlies and won 14–8. [1] [2]
During the regular season each club played all other clubs home and away. The best two teams after the regular season then contested the German Bowl. [2]
The formation of the league dates back to a German TV interview with Alexander Sperber, son of a U.S. Army soldier and German mother, which created enough interest to form a number of teams and the league in March 1979. [3]
The league's opening game was held on 4 August 1979 in Düsseldorf when the Düsseldorf Panther hosted the Frankfurter Löwen in front of 4,400 spectators and lost 0–38. [4]
The regular season saw the Frankfurter Löwen win all their nine-season games, the tenth game, the home game against the Berlin Bären having been cancelled. Behind Frankfurt the Ansbach Grizzlies finished runners-up, undefeated by the other four teams but unable to overcome the Löwen . At the end of the table the Düsseldorf Panther remained winless all season. In the inaugural German Bowl, held in Frankfurt on 10 November 1979, the Löwen defeated Ansbach once more to take out the first-ever German championship. [2]
The league table of the American football Bundesliga: [2]
| American football Bundesliga | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | Team | G | W | T | L | PF | PA | PCT | |
| 1 | Frankfurter Löwen | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 493 | 177 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | Ansbach Grizzlies | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 243 | 44 | 0.800 | |
| 3 | Berlin Bären | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 146 | 83 | 0.500 | |
| 4 | Bremerhaven Seahawks | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 112 | 114 | 0.450 | |
| 5 | München Cowboys | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 90 | 224 | 0.300 | |
| 6 | Düsseldorf Panther | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 38 | 297 | 0.000 | |
| Qualified for play-offs |
The 1979 season remained the only season of the American football Bundesliga, renamed to German Football League in 1999, to be played in single-division format. From 1980 onwards the league was subdivided into regional divisions, predominantly north and south. [2]
The Frankfurter Löwen continued their dominance in 1980, winning another title but then declined and folded in 1985. The Ansbach Grizzlies went on to play in each of the first eight German Bowls, winning the 1981, 1982 and 1985 editions. The club declined from there, dropped out of the league in 1990 and never returned to the highest level of play. The Bremerhaven Seahawks and Düsseldorf Panther briefly left the league after the 1979 season to join a rival competition but returned soon after. The Seahawks dropped out of the league in 1986 and, like Ansbach, never returned. The Panther, alongside the Berlin Bären, soon renamed to Berlin Adler, and the Munich Cowboys became more permanent features of the league, dropping out of the league on occasions but still spending more seasons in the league than any other club and winning thirteen German Bowls between them. [2] [1]
The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from American-Football-Bundesliga to German Football League. In terms of attendance figures, cumulative salaries paid by teams, performance in international exhibition games and competitions and ability to draw foreign talent, the GFL is arguably the strongest national league in Europe.
The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League.
The Düsseldorf Panther are an American football team from Düsseldorf, Germany. The club is the oldest extant American football club in Europe, having been formed on 1 May 1978.
The Berlin Adler is an American football club based in Berlin, Germany. The club is one of the most successful clubs in the sport in Germany, having won six German Bowls as well as a ten Ladies Bowls and five Junior Bowls.
The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany.
The Ansbach Grizzlies are an American football team based in Ansbach, Germany. The club, together with the Düsseldorf Panther and the Munich Cowboys, is one of the oldest in Germany. The Grizzlies were a dominating force in the game during the first decade of American football in Germany, reaching all of the first eight German Bowls.
The Munich Cowboys are an American football team based in Munich, Germany. The club, together with the Düsseldorf Panther and the Ansbach Grizzlies, is one of the oldest in Germany. The team refers to itself as The Grand Old Team of the South.
The Frankfurter Löwen were an American football team from Frankfurt, Germany.
The Marburg Mercenaries are an American football team from Marburg, Germany.
The American Football Association of Germany is the governing body of the sport of American football in Germany.
The Cologne Crocodiles are an American football team from Cologne, Germany.
The Red Barons Cologne were an American football team from Cologne, Germany.
The Bremerhaven Seahawks are an American football club from Bremerhaven, Germany.
The Berlin Rebels are an American football team from Berlin, Germany.
The Allgäu Comets are an American football team from Kempten, Germany. The club is named after the Allgäu region of Bavaria, of which Kempten is the largest town.
The Nürnberg Rams are an American football team from Nuremberg Germany.
The 2014 German Football League season was the thirty sixth edition of the top-level American football competition in Germany and fifteenth since the renaming of the American football Bundesliga to German Football league.
The 2013 German Football League season was the thirty fifth edition of the top-level American football competition in Germany and fourteenth since the renaming of the American football Bundesliga to German Football league.
The Hanau Hawks were an American football team from Hanau, Germany. The club's greatest success has been promotion to the American football Bundesliga, now the German Football League, in 1980, 1983 and 1992 where it played for 17 seasons until 1998. In this era it qualified for the play-offs on thirteen occasions, winning the southern division of the league in 1995 and 1997.