NFL Europe League was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded in 1989 as the World League of American Football, the league was envisioned as a transatlantic league encompassing teams from both North America and Europe. Initially, the WLAF consisted of seven teams in North America and three in Europe. It began play in 1991 and lasted for two seasons before suspending operations; while the league had been "wildly popular" in Europe, it failed to achieve success in North America. After a two-year hiatus, it returned as a six-team European league, with teams based in England, Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Spain. NFL Europa was dissolved in 2007 due to its continued unprofitability and the NFL's decision to shift its focus towards hosting regular-season games in Europe; at the time of its closure, the league consisted of five German teams and one team based in the Netherlands.
The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union from 1888 to 1895, the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL – Jack Depler in Orange, and Jack Fish, Al McGall and Andy Salata in Newark.
The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were replaced by the new Berlin Thunder.
The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA).
The Montreal Machine were the sole Canadian team in the World League of American Football (WLAF), a springtime developmental professional league set up by the National Football League (NFL) that played in 1991 and 1992. There were also three European teams and six North America-based teams. Like all WLAF teams, the Machine played American rules football, 11 players per side on a 120-yard long/53 1/3-yard wide field, rather than Canadian rules football of 12 players per side on a 150-yard long/65-yard wide field.
There are 13 U.S. metropolitan areas with sports teams competing in the four major leagues: Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, National Football League, and National Hockey League.
The Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks were an American football team headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina that played for one season in 1991 in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The name was inspired by the Wright brothers' flights on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The three jet-trails and three planes in flight, as well as the triangle design in the logo, represented the three points of the Research Triangle area. The team's cheerleaders were known as the "Kittyhawks."
The Birmingham Fire were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They were a member of the North American West division of the World League of American Football (WLAF) and played their home games at Legion Field. The club was a charter member of the WLAF, and was under the ownership of Gavin Maloof. Led by head coach Chan Gailey, the Fire saw moderate success as they compiled an overall record of twelve wins, nine losses and one tie (12–9–1) and made the playoffs in both seasons they competed. The franchise folded in September 1992 when the NFL placed the league on an indefinite hiatus.
The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus. It was owned by Managing General Partner Fred Anderson and the General Manager was Michael F. Keller. In charge of Special Projects was Jack Youngblood, who also partnered with Joe Starkey and Ronnie Lott on Surge radio broadcasts on Sacramento radio station KRAK.
The San Antonio Riders were a professional American football team that played in the WLAF in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio in 1991 and then were forced to move to Bobcat Stadium on the campus of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, 45 miles (72 km) northeast of San Antonio, for the 1992 season after the San Antonio Independent School District refused to allow the sale of beer at WLAF games or the display of beer advertising at Alamo Stadium. In return, Riders ownership scrapped plans to fund $235,000 in renovations to the Stadium. In June 1991, SAISD officials announced plans for a rent increase on the Riders for the 1992 season. The relationship would last for only one season.
The Orlando Thunder was a member of the World League of American Football from 1991 to 1992. The team played their games in the 70,000 seat Florida Citrus Bowl, and was coached by Don Matthews in 1991 and Galen Hall in 1992. The team's most visible point was their colors – the League wanted to develop new colors which hadn't been used for teams before, hence the vermilion and green that the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks wore, and the fluorescent green jerseys that the Thunder sported.
Stanley Morris Gelbaugh is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills, Phoenix Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. He attained his greatest success in the World League of American Football (WLAF) with the London Monarchs, where he was the league's Offensive Most Valuable Player in its inaugural season. He played college football at the University of Maryland.
World Bowl '91 was the first annual championship game of the World League of American Football. It took place on June 9, 1991 at London's Wembley Stadium. The game featured a matchup between the Barcelona Dragons and the London Monarchs. The Monarchs won 21–0 in front of 61,108 fans.
Darrel "Mouse" Davis is a retired American football coach and former player. A veteran coach at the high school, college, and professional levels, he last coached with Jerry Glanville at Portland State and with June Jones at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Davis served as the head football coach at Portland State University from 1975 to 1980, compiling a record of 42–24. He has also been a head coach with the Denver Gold of the United States Football League (1985), the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football (1991–1992), and the Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League (2001–2002) and the San Diego Riptide (2003) of AF2. A native of Washington, Davis grew up in Oregon, where he started his coaching career as a high school football coach. Davis is now widely regarded as the 'godfather' of the run and shoot offense.
Jeff Ladd Novak is a former American football offensive lineman who played professionally in the World League of American Football (WLAF) and the National Football League (NFL). Novak was born in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and grew up in Clear Lake City outside Houston, Texas. He went to Clear Lake High School and he graduated from Texas State University in 1990.
Cornell Rodney Burbage is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football (WLAF). He played college football at the University of Kentucky.
John Morgan Garrett is an American football coach and former wide receiver. He is the former head football coach at Lafayette College, a position he assumed December 21, 2016 after spending one season as the offensive coordinator for the University of Richmond. He was also a professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals and in the World League of American Football (WLAF) for the San Antonio Riders. He played college football at Columbia University and Princeton University.
Michael Paul Perez is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the seventh round of the 1988 NFL Draft. Perez played college football at San Jose State and has also been a member of the Houston Oilers, Frankfurt Galaxy, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Albany Firebirds, New York CityHawks and New England Sea Wolves.
The 1991 London Monarchs season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the newly created World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Larry Kennan and played its home games at Wembley Stadium in London, England. They finished the regular season in first place of the European Division with a record of nine wins and one loss. In the postseason, the Monarchs beat the New York/New Jersey Knights in the semifinals before capturing the first World League championship with a win over the Barcelona Dragons in World Bowl '91.
Jeff Graham is a former American football quarterback who played five seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 1989 NFL Draft. He played college football at California State University, Long Beach and attended Estancia High School in Costa Mesa, California. Graham was also a member of the New York/New Jersey Knights of the World League of American Football (WLAF). He was inducted into the Long Beach State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.
