1997 London Monarchs season

1997 London Monarchs season
General manager	Alton Byrd
Head coach	Lionel Taylor
Home field	Stamford Bridge
Results
Record	4–6
Division place	6th
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
←  1996 London Monarchs 1998  →

The 1997 London Monarchs season was the fifth season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Lionel Taylor in his second year, and played its home games at Stamford Bridge in London, England. They finished the regular season in sixth place with a record of four wins and six losses.

Offseason

World League draft

1997 London Monarchs World League draft selections

Draft order		Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice
1	2	Ben Williams	DT	Minnesota
2	8	Avrom Smith	RB	New Hampshire
3	17	George Harris	S	Kentucky
4	20	Andre Bowden	LB	Fayetteville State
5	29	Tony Hargain	WR	Oregon
6	32	Joe King	CB	Oklahoma State
7	41	Ryan McCoy	LB	Houston
8	44	Brandon Moore	T	Duke
9	53	John Stonehouse	P	USC
10	56	Tommy Fagan	DE	Northeast Louisiana
11	65	Brian Collins	TE	Texas Christian
12	68	Reggie Holt	S	Wisconsin
13	77	Ed Hobbs	RB	Albany State
14	80	Jason Stinson	C	Louisville
15	89	Mario Bradley	CB	USC
16	92	Barry Rose	WR	Wisconsin–Stevens Point
17	101	Johnnie Williams	S	Miami (Ohio)
18	104	Linzy Collins	WR	Missouri
19	113	Fritz Fequiere	G	Iowa
20	116	Malcolm Showell	DE	Delaware State
21	124	Greg Smith	WR	Western Colorado
22	125	Brian Greenfield	P	Pittsburgh

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1997 London Monarchs staff

Front office General manager – Alton Byrd Head coaches Head coach/offensive Coordinator – Lionel Taylor Offensive coaches Offensive Run Coordinator/offensive line – Bob Mischak National coach/running backs – Tony Allen

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/linebackers – Dan Radakovich Defensive line – Dennis Danielson Defensive backs – Sam Jenkins Special teams coaches Special teams – Bob Gates

Roster

1997 London Monarchs roster

	Quarterbacks  1 Frank Costa  8 Preston Jones 12 Kerry Joseph 13 Charles Puleri 11 Stan White Running backs 33 Ron Dickerson, Jr. 45 Ed Hobbs FB 24 Avrom Smith 35 Tony Vinson Wide receivers 10 Alan Allen 88 Terrence Davis 84 Toderick Malone 19 Larry Stallworth 26 Ronnie West Tight ends 87 Steve Brooks 82 Michael Titley		Offensive linemen 74 Seth Dittman T 67 Fritz Fequiere G 79 Marc Lamb C 71 Chris Luneburg T 73 Pat Walsh T 68 Terrence Wisdom G Defensive linemen 75 Jeff Hunter DE 76 Emile Palmer DT 95 Malcolm Showell DE 78 Herman Smith DE 96 Ben Williams DT		Linebackers 59 Ed Burman OLB 55 Ryan McCoy OLB 94 Richard Newbill MLB 54 John Solomon OLB Defensive backs 23 Mario Bradley CB 25 Kevin Gaines S 22 George Harris S 36 Reggie Holt S 28 Kenny McEntyre CB 27 Claudius Wright CB Special teams 18 Brian Greenfield P  5 Don Silvestri K		National players  9 Clive Allen K 52 Karl Ballard LB 21 Rowelle Blenman DB 66 Lewis Capes DT 64 Tony MacKenzieG 29 Victor Muhammad RB 91 Tom TovoDT Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Kickoff [n 1]	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
				Final score	Team record
1	Sunday, April 13	3:00 p.m.	Frankfurt Galaxy	W 14–7	1–0	Stamford Bridge	10,718
2	Sunday, April 20	3:00 p.m.	at Rhein Fire	L 6–28	1–1	Rheinstadion	14,876
3	Saturday, April 26	7:00 p.m.	at Amsterdam Admirals	L 6–34	1–2	Amsterdam ArenA	13,767
4	Sunday, May 4	3:00 p.m.	Barcelona Dragons	L 32–37	1–3	Stamford Bridge	10,110
5	Sunday, May 11	3:00 p.m.	Scottish Claymores	W 16–8	2–3	Stamford Bridge	11,210
6	Saturday, May 17	7:30 p.m.	at Barcelona Dragons	W 9–7	3–3	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	13,514
7	Saturday, May 24	7:00 p.m.	at Frankfurt Galaxy	L 7–31	3–4	Waldstadion	30,723
8	Sunday, June 1	3:00 p.m.	Amsterdam Admirals	L 9–13	3–5	Stamford Bridge	9,150
9	Sunday, June 8	3:00 p.m.	at Scottish Claymores	W 10–9	4–5	Murrayfield Stadium	16,115
10	Sunday, June 15	3:00 p.m.	Rhein Fire	L 7–10	4–6	Stamford Bridge	10,462

^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Standings

World League of American Football
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	STK
Rhein Fire	7	3	0	.700	206	146	3–2	4–1	W3
Barcelona Dragons	5	5	0	.500	236	209	2–3	3–2	W1
Scottish Claymores	5	5	0	.500	134	154	2–3	3–2	L2
Amsterdam Admirals	5	5	0	.500	156	160	4–1	1–4	W1
Frankfurt Galaxy	4	6	0	.400	147	142	3–2	1–4	L1
London Monarchs	4	6	0	.400	116	184	2–3	2–3	L1

^[2]

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Frankfurt Galaxy

Week One: Frankfurt Galaxy at London Monarchs – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Frankfurt	7	0	0	0	7
London	0	6	6	2	14

at Stamford Bridge, London, England

• Date: Sunday, April 13
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
• Game attendance: 10,718
• Referee: Bill Carollo
• ^[3]

Week 2: at Rhein Fire

Week Two: London Monarchs at Rhein Fire – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
London	0	0	0	6	6
Rhein	0	0	14	14	28

at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany

• Date: Sunday, April 20
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 14,876
• ^[4]

Week 3: at Amsterdam Admirals

Week Three: London Monarchs at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
London	0	6	0	0	6
Amsterdam	7	13	0	14	34

at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Date: Saturday, April 26
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 13,767
• Referee: Walt Coleman

Week 7: at Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Seven: London Monarchs at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
London	0	7	0	0	7
Frankfurt	6	11	0	14	31

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

• Date: Saturday, May 24
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 30,723
• ^[5]

Week 8: vs Amsterdam Admirals

Week Eight: Amsterdam Admirals at London Monarchs – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Amsterdam	7	0	0	6	13
London	0	0	3	6	9

at Stamford Bridge, London, England

• Date: Sunday, June 1
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
• Game attendance: 9,150

Week 10: vs Rhein Fire

Week Ten: Rhein Fire at London Monarchs – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	3	7	0	10
London	0	7	0	0	7

at Stamford Bridge, London, England

• Date: Sunday, June 15
• Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
• Game attendance: 10,462
• Referee: Phil Luckett
• ^[6]

Awards

After the completion of the regular season, the All-World League team was selected by members of the media. ^[7] Overall, London had two players selected. ^[7] The selections were:

• Richard Newbill, linebacker
• Malcolm Showell, defensive end

Notes

1. All times local to where the game was played.

References

1. "1997 World League draft". WorldLeague.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 1997. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
2. "1997 Season in Review". The Official 1998 NFL Europe League Fact Book. pp. 218–222.
3. Halling, Nick (April 14, 1997). "Monarchs make winning start" . The Independent . London, England. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
4. Associated Press (April 20, 1997). "Fire 28, Monarchs 6". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
5. Associated Press (May 24, 1997). "Galaxy 31, Monarchs 7". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
6. Associated Press (June 15, 1997). "Fire 10, Monarchs 7". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
7. "1997 All-World League team". WorldLeague.com. June 20, 1997. Archived from the original on July 9, 1997. Retrieved June 30, 2013.