Bad Homburg Falken

Last updated
Bad Homburg Falken
Bad Homburg Falken.jpg
Founded1980 (1980)
Folded1995 (1995)
Leaguedefunct
Based in Bad Homburg
ArenaSportplatz am Massenheimer Weg
Sportzentrum Nord-West
ColorsRed and White
  
Championshipsnone
Division titlesGFL South: 1988

The Bad Homburg Falken were an American football team from Bad Homburg, Germany. The club's greatest success has been promotion to the American football Bundesliga, now the German Football League, in 1980 and 1983 where it played for 12 seasons until 1993. In this era it qualified for the play-offs on five occasions, winning the southern division of the league in 1988. [1]

Contents

History

The Bad Homburg Falken were formed in 1980 by Alexander Sperber, son of a U.S. Army soldier and a German mother. Sperber has previously formed the Frankfurter Löwen, Germany's first American football club and been instrumental in creating an American football league in Germany. A large number of founding members of the new club came from the Neu-Isenburg Adler, formed shortly before. [2] [3]

The new club adopted the colours and crest of the Atlanta Falcons, Falken being the German word for Falcons. The Bad Homburg Falken secured the marketing rights in Germany, thereby preventing any Atlanta Falcons's merchandise from being sold in Germany. [2]

The Falken entered the Bundesliga in 1981 and played in the League until 1993. [1]

Bad Homburg experienced its most successful era from 1988 to 1992 when the club qualified for the play-offs in five consecutive seasons. The 1988 season saw it take out a division title but the club was knocked out in the quarter-finals of the play-offs, a fate it suffered in 1989, 1991 and 1992 as well. In between, in 1990, the Falken reached the semi-finals after a quarter final win over München Rangers but lost there to the eventual champions Berlin Adler. [1] The club's success was however partly based on an increasing number of U.S. import players, forcing the club into financial trouble. [2]

The club suffered a rapid decline after its most successful era, finishing last in its division in 1993 and being relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. At this level, too the team finished last, winning just one game all season and consequently the Bad Homburg Falken folded following before the start of the 1995 season. [1] [2]

Honours

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Football League</span> German league of American football

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Bowl</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Düsseldorf Panther</span> German American football team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berlin Adler</span>

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 ten Ladies Bowls and five Junior Bowls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Yorker Lions</span> American Football team from Germany

The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Munich Cowboys</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cologne Crocodiles</span> American football team from Cologne, Germany

The Cologne Crocodiles are an American football team from Cologne, Germany.

The Red Barons Cologne were an American football team from Cologne, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bremerhaven Seahawks</span>

The Bremerhaven Seahawks are an American football club from Bremerhaven, Germany.

The Franken Knights are an American football team from Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany. Between 1995 and 1996 the club played in Würzburg for two seasons but returned to Rothenburg again the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allgäu Comets</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">München Rangers</span> American football team in Germany

The München Rangers are an American football team from Munich, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpVgg Bad Homburg</span> German football club

The SpVgg Bad Homburg is a German association football club from the town of Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hesse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 German Football League</span> Sports season

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 1979 American football Bundesliga season was the first edition of the top-level American football competition in West Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dortmund Giants</span> American football team from Dortmund, Germany

The Dortmund Giants are an American football team from Dortmund, Germany. The official name of the club is 1. Dortmunder Footballclub Dortmund 1980 "Giants" e.V..

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.

Udo Klug was a German football midfielder and later manager.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Football History (in German) Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 28 September 2015
  2. 1 2 3 4 Der Höhenflug der Falken (in German) Frankfurter Neue Presse , published: 31 January 2015, accessed: 28 September 2015
  3. ↑ Football Goes International The Washington Post , published: 24 August 1980, accessed: 28 September 2015
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.