Category: US Armed Forces Football (World)

November 8, 2019

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League Finals 1952-1993

USAFE Finals 1952-1993

Year	Winners		Runners-Up
1952	Furstenfeldbruck Eagles	26	Burtonwood Bullets	7
1953	Landstuhl Raiders	30	London Rockets	21
1954	London Rockets
1955	London Rockets
1956	London Rockets
1957	Toul Tigers		Burtonwood Bullets
1958	Ramstein Rams		Alconbury Spartans
1959	Weisbaden Flyers
1960	SHAPE Indians
1961	SHAPE Indians		Alconbury Spartans
1962	Weisbaden Flyers		Chicksands Fighting Chicks
1963 *	Bitburg Barons * / Weathersfield Raiders *
1964	Rhein-Main Rockets		Chicksands Fighting Chicks
1965	Weisbaden Flyers	54	Weathersfield Raiders	6
1966	Weisbaden Flyers	49	Weathersfield Raiders	0
1967	Rhein-Main Rockets	19	Bentwaters Phantoms	14
1968	Bentwaters Phantoms
1969	Rhein-Main Rockets		Bentwaters Phantoms
1970	Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1971	Weisbaden Flyers		Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1972	Rhein-Main Rockets		Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1973	Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1974	Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1975	Weisbaden Flyers		Bentwaters Phantoms
1976	Bitburg Barons		Bentwaters Phantoms
1977	Bitburg Barons		Chicksands Fighting Chicks
1978	Bitburg Barons
1979	Lakenheath Eagles		Bitburg Barons
1980	Bitburg Barons		Lakenheath Eagles
1981	Upper Heyford Sky Kings		Bitburg Barons
1982	Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1983	Ramstein Rams		Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1984	Ramstein Rams		Bentwaters Phantoms
1985	Ramstein Rams		Upper Heyford Sky Kings
1986	Chicksands Fighting Chicks
1987	Rhein-Main Rockets		Lakenheath Eagles
1988	Rhein-Main Rockets	34	Lakenheath Eagles	0
1989	Rhein-Main Rockets	37	Lakenheath Eagles	18
1990	Lakenheath Eagles	39	Rhein-Main Rockets	30
1991	Rhein-Main Rockets	27	Lakenheath Eagles	6
1992	Rhein-Main Rockets	57	Lakenheath Eagles	12
1993	Rhein-Main Rockets		Lakenheath Eagles

Reference: [1-2, 6]

Note: * The 1963 Title was shared between Bitburg Barons and Weathersfield Raiders as the Final was cancelled after the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy.

USAFE Final 1952 – Wembley – Furstenfeldbrook Eagles 26 Burtonwoon Bullets 7 [Reference: 9]

Composite Standings

Team	Conference	Championships
Rhein-Main Rockets	Continental	10
Weisbaden Flyers	Continental	6
Upper Heyford Sky Kings	United Kingdom	5
Bitburg Barons	Continental	5 *
Ramstein Rams	Continental	4
London Rockets	United Kingdom	3
Lakenheath Eagles	United Kingdom	2
SHAPE Indians (Paris)	France	2
Bentwaters Phantoms	United Kingdom	1
Chicksands Fighting Chicks	United Kingdom	1
Furstenfeldbruck Eagles	Continental	1
Landstuhl Raiders	Continental	1
Toul Tigers	France	1
Weathersfield Raiders	United Kingdom	1 *

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League Finals Composite Standings 1952-1993

Note: *1963 Final shared between Weatersfield Raiders and Bitburg Barons after it was cancelled due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Report

The USAFE (United States Air Force in Europe) Football league title was won on 10 occasions by Rhein-Main Rockets (Continental Sports Conference), Weisbaden Flyers (CSC) six times, Upper Heyford Sky Kings (United Kingdom Sports Conference) five times , Bitburg Barons (CSC) five times, Ramstein Rams (CSC) four times, London Rockets (UKSC) three times, Lakenheath Eagles (UKSC) twice and SHAPE Indians (Paris, France Sports Conference) twice.

Bentwaters Phantoms (UKSC), Chicksands Fighting Chicks (UKSC), Furstenfeldbruck Eagles (CSC), Landstuhl Raiders (CSC), Toul Tigers (FSC), Weathersfield Raiders (UKSC) each won the title once.

There were four Sports Conferences: United Kingdom, Continental, France and Mediterranean, although in the end the France and Mediterranean Sports Conferences were merged with the Continental Conference.

About

The United States Air Force in Europe Football League (USAFE – pronounced “You-Safe”) was the League for Air Force Personnel stationed at Cold War Military Bases in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy & Greece.

There were three Conferences: UK Sports Conference, Continental Sports Conference (German & France) and Mediterranean Sports Conference (Italy & Greece). While the MSC was a competitive Conference, the Finals were usually played between the Winners of the UKSC and the CSC.

Following the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the USAFE Football League was discontinued and the only US Military Football now played in the UK is High School Football at Lakenheath, London Central (High Wycombe), Alconbury & Menwith Hill. [1]

The United States ARmy EURope played a separate League (USAREUR). [6]

The Ramstein Rams, Alconbury Spartans, Burtonwood Bullets & Weathersfield Raiders all played matches in Ireland, including one at Croke Park in aid of the Irish Red Cross. [12-15]

Continental Sports Conference Sports Patch [Reference: 11]

Teams

UK Sports Conference (UKSC)	Continental Sports Conference (CSC)
Alconbury Spartans	Berlin Bears
Bentwaters Phantoms	Bitburg Barons
Chicksands Fighting Chicks	Camp New Amsterdam
Fairford Falcons	Landsberg Tigers
Greenham Comon Pirates	Rhein-Main Rockets
Lakenheath Eagles	Sembach Tigers
Mildenhall Marauders	Ramstein Rams
Upper Heyford Sky Kings	Spangdalem Sheikhs/Sabers
Weathersfield Raiders	Weisbaden Flyers
High Wycombe Bucks	Hahn Hawks
Burtonwood Bullets	Zweibrucken
France Sports Conference / District (FSC)	Mediterranean Sports Conference (MSC)
SHAPE Indians (Paris)	Aviano Eagles (Ita)
Laon Rangers	Hellenikon Olympians (Gre)
Chateauroux Sabres	Moron
Chaumont Mudhens	San Vito
Fontainbleu Foresters	Torrejon
Bordeaux Cardinals
Orly Comets
Evreux Normans
Etain Pioneers
Toul Tigers
Dreux Plainsmen
Chambley Desert Rats
Phalsbourg Falcons

References: [1-8]

References

Websites

[1] Britball Now (2019) US Miltary Football in the UK [Internet] Available from: http://www.britballnow.co.uk/history-index/us-military-football-in-the.html [Accessed 8 November 2019]

[2] USAFE Football (2019) Teams | CSC [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/Teams/CSC/csc.html [Accessed 8 November 2019]

[3] USAFE Football (2019) Teams | UKSC [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/Teams/UKSC/uksc.html [Accessed 8 November 2019]

[4] USAFE Football (2019) Teams | MSC [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/Teams/MSC/msc.html [Accessed 8 November 2019]

[5] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2019) United States Army Europe Football Tournament [Internet] Available from: http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1974_USArEurFT.pdf [Accessed 8 November 2019]

Bibliography

[6] Crawford, Russ (2016) “Le Football: A History of American Football in France”. pg. 87-110. Published by University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln & Lincoln.

[7] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 103-105. Published by the author.

[8] Lensmen Photographic Archive (2012) . “The 1950s Ireland in Pictures”. pg. 36. The O’Brien Press Ltd. Dublin, Ireland.

Images

[9] Britball Now (2019) USAFE Final 1952 (Wembley) [Internet] Available http://www.britballnow.co.uk/_Media/1952-usaf-final-wembley_med.jpeg [Accessed 8 November 2019]

[10] USAFE Football (2019) Ramstein Rams [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/db_Ramstein-Rams-121.jpg [Accessed 8 November 2019]

[11] USAFE Football (2019) CSC Sports Patch [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/CSC-Sports-Patch.jpg [Accessed 8 November 2019]

[12] USAFE Football (2020) USAFE-Football-Coin_Hat-5 [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/USAFE-Football-Coin_Hat-5.jpg [Accessed 18 July 2020]

Newspapers

[13] Anon. (1954) . “Photo caption”. Northern Whig. 18 November 1954. pg. 6.

[14] Anon. (1966) . “Rams bring 45 ‘Rough Scrappers”. Belfast Telegraph. 1 September 1966. pg. 18.

Journal Articles

[15] Magee, Damian. “English Beer and American Football: Exporting American Football as a Cultural Commodity to the British Isles.” Irish Journal of American Studies, vol. 7, 1998, pp. 121–148. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30002410.

Websites

[16] USAFE Football (2020) RM_USAFE ScannedImage-2 [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/Teams/CSC/Rhein-M/Rhein-Main/rhein-main_39.html [Accessed 18 July 2020]

[17] USAFE Football (2020) RM ScannedImage [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/Teams/CSC/Rhein-M/Rhein-Main/rhein-main_36.html [Accessed 18 July 2020]

[18] USAFE Football (2020) RM_USAFE ScannedImage-3 [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/Teams/CSC/Rhein-M/Rhein-Main/rhein-main_40.html [Accessed 18 July 2020]

[19] USAFE Football (2020) Rhein-Main 1967 vs Bentwaters USAFE Championship Game [Internet] Available from: http://www.usafefootball.com/Teams/CSC/Rhein-M/Rhein-Main/rhein-main_78.html [Accessed 18 July 2020]

Newspapers

[20] Fox, Bucky (1989) “USAFE – Just Another Year” World American Football. 9 November 1989.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 8 November 2019

November 7, 2019

American Expeditionary Force Football League 1918-1919

AEFFL 1918-19

Date	Venue	Winning Team		Runners-Up
		SOS Football		Championship
25.12.1918	Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (Fra)	Saint-Nazaire	17	Bordeaux	0
		First Army Division		Playoff
25.12.1918	Tonnerre (Fra)	Panther (36th) Division	38	Lightning (78th) Division	0
		First Army Division		Championship
31.12.1918	Tonnerre (Fra)	Panther (36th) Division	20	Blue Ridge (80th) Division	0
		AEF Championship
19.01.1919	Colombes Stadium (Fra)	Saint-Nazaire	12	Panther (36th) Division	0

Reference: [1]

AEFFL 1919

How they Qualified:

First Army: 36th (Panther) division won 3-0 in a replay against First Army Corps

Second Army: After a marathon qualification series 7th (Hourglass) Division were declared Champions over the 28th (Keystone) Division based on Yards gained after the game finished level.

Third Army: the 89th (Rolling W) Division beat the 4th (Ivy) Division 14-0 in the Final.

S.O.S. Base Sections: Saint-Nazaire, the unofficial Champions of 1918, were given an automatic Playoff berth.

S.O.S. Intermediate Sections: SOS Tours won the Final 19-0 against SOS Base Section 2.

General Headquarters: GHQ Chaumont and GHQ Le Mans got the Final two Playoff births having played almost no Qualification games.

Date	Venue	Winners		Runners-Up
		Quarter-Finals
14.03.1919	Colombes Stadium, Paris	89th (Rolling W) Division	13	Saint-Nazaire	0
15.03.1919		SOS Tours	25	GHQ Chaumont	0
15.03.1919	Auteil Velodrome, Paris	36th (Panther) Division	13	HQ Le Mans	0
		Semi-Finals
21.03.1919	Bar-sur_Aube Stadium	36th (Panther) Division	7	7th (Hourglass) Division	0
22.03.1919	Auteuil Velodrome, Paris	89th (Rolling W) Division	17	SOS Tours	3
		AEFFL Championship
29.03.1919	Velodrome Parc des Princes, Paris	89th (Rolling W) Division	14	36th (Panther) Division	6

Reference: [1]

Report

The American Expeditionary Force, before heading home from World War I, played a series of morale-boosting games at the end of 1918 and first half of 1919.

In the Unofficial 1918 Championship, matches were played on Christmas Day & New Year’s Day deciding the Service of Supplies (SOS) and First Army Divisions Championships, with a Final following this on the 19th January 1919, which was won 12-0 by SOS Saint-Nazaire.

The following Spring (1919), the remaing Army men in France were not due to return home until July, so the General of the Armed Expeditionary Force, General John J. Persching, gave General Order 241, which stipulated the formation of sports Championships in American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Track & Field and Boxing. No one could not participate and the slogan was “Everybody in the game!”.

A budget of $1 Million (doubled to $2 Million by Washington) was made for uniforms – the Equivalent of $27 Million in 2014.

The Championships were organised in Qualifying Rounds for the Various Armies and Divisions, with Playoffs from Quarter-Finals onwards played at large Stadiums in Paris. A Total of 1, 335, 732 Football Players and Spectators took part in the Football Section, making it the Most popular, just ahead of boxing.

The Championship was won by the 89th (Rolling W) Division 14-6 over the 36th (Panther) Division.

These were among the earliest documented Football games in Europe, of the American Code.

References

Bibliography

[11] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 21-34. Published by the author.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 7 November 2019

November 2, 2019

European Theater of Operations Championship 1942-1944

Autumn 1942

Date	Venue	Winners		Runners-Up
14.11.1942	Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast	Hale	9	Yarvard	7
21.11.1942	Inver Park, Larne	Yarvard	14	Tech	0

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
Hale	1	1	0	0	9	7	1.000
Yarvard	2	1	1	0	21	9	.500
Tech	1	0	1	0	0	14	.000

Reference: [1-5, 12-14]

ETO Championship Spring 1943

Date	Venue	Winners		Runners-Up
08.05.1943	White City Stadium, London	Yarvard Crimson Tide	19	Tech Fighting Irish	6
10.06.1943	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Yarvard Crimson Tide	14	Hale Blue Devils	0
26.06.1943	Eastville Stadium, Bristol	Yarvard Crimson Tide	40	Hale Blue Devils	0

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
Yarvard Crimson Tide	3	3	0	0	73	6	1.000
Tech Fighting Irish	1	0	1	0	6	19	.000
Hale Blue Devils	2	0	2	0	0	54	.000

Reference: [11]

ETO Autumn 1943

Date	Venue	Winners		Runners-Up
10.10.1943		Podhs		Ball Toters
17.10.1943	Elm Park, Reading	Red Tornado	14	Gremlins	0
24.10.1943	Wellingborough	Engineering Bulldozers	0	Ball Toters	0
31.10.1943	Elm Park, Reading	Skytrain	0	Red Tornado	0
28.11.1943	Oxford University	Army Blues	0	Army Greens	0
05.12.1943	White City Stadium	Central Base Pirates	8	8th Air Force Commandos	0
12.12.1943	St. Helen’s Stadium, Swansea	101st Screaming Eagles	6	Invaders	6

Reference: [11]

ETO Championship Winter 1944

Date	Venue	Team 1		Team 2
		Arab Bowl
	Oran, Algeria	Army	10	Navy	7
		Northern Ireland Championship
01.01.1944	Lone Star Field, Newry	Navy Galloping Gaels	0	Army Wolverines	0
		Bowl
06.02.1944	Eastville Stadium, Bristol	4th Infantry Blues	28	Invaders	7
		Tea Bowl
13.02.1944	White City Stadium	Canadian Mustangs	16	US Pirates	6
		Fog Bowl		US Air Force Title
19.02.1944	US Air Force Title	Photo Lighnting	14	Ordnance Mustangs	0
		ETO Semi-Final
27.02.1944	“SW Town”	4th Infantry Blues	32	US Navy Seabees	0
		ETO Championship
12.03.1944	“SW Town”	4th Infantry Blues	20	8th Air Force Lignting	0
		Coffee Bowl
19.03.1944	White City Stadium	US Blues	18	Canadian Mustangs	0
		Bowl
26.03.1944	“SW Town”	4th Infantry Blues	27	Invaders	0

References: [1-5, 11]

ETO Championship Autumn 1944

Date	Venue	Winners		Runners-Up
		Army-Navy Grid Classic
12.11.1944	White City Stadium	1st Air Depot Shuttle-Raders	20	Navy Sea Lions	0
		Thanksgiving Bowls
23.11.1944	Norwich	348th Bomb Group Kiwis	0	445th Bomb Group	0
23.11.1944	Nottingham	Berger’s Bouncers	6	Henley’s Hurricanes	0
23.11.1944		Moore’s Maulers	6	Bearcats	0
23.11.1944		78th Fighter Group Greyhounds	6	434th Troop Carrier Command Greyhounds	0
26.11.1944		Shuttle-Raders	33	398th Bomb Group Blue Blazers	0
26.11.1944		Helton’s Hellcats	14	356th Fighter Group Tukey’s Terrors	6
26.11.1944		Air Force Command Warriors	28	Photo Lightnings	0
		Bowls
03.12.1944		Air Force Command Warriors	23	Cowboys	0
03.12.1944		Shuttle-Raders	25	Ramblers	0
		Championship		3rd Bombardment Division
03.12.1944		94th Bomb Group Fighting Eagles	3	Helton’s Hellcats	0
		“Turkey” Bowl
10.12.1944		Air Force Command	40	Berger’s Bouncers	0
		Championship		8th Air Force Command
10.12.1944		Shuttle-Raders	18	3rd Air Depot Liberators	0
		“Turkey” Bowl
10.12.1944		Moore’s Maulers	0	Doughter’s Fighting Eagles	0
		Army-Navy Grid Classic II
17.12.1944		Navy Green Waves	13	Army Red Raiders	7
		Tea Bowl II
31.12.1944	White City stadium	Air Force Command Warriors	13	8th Air Force Shuttle-Raders	0

References: [11]

Note: Only Major “Turkey Bowl” Style games played in Stadiums in front of the British & Irish Public in aid of the Red Cross are shown above. From Autumn 1943-Autumn 1944 there were Championships organised in various Divisions, with teams playing as many as 10 games before the playoffs.

Report

From 1942-1943 the US Army played a series of American Football matches in Northern Ireland, Wales & England in aid of the Red Cross. Teams were named Tech (Engineering), Hale (Infantry) and Yarvard (Artillery).

Irish and British newspaper readers would have been familiar with reports in the papers of US College Football, and the team names reflect this (Yarvard and Hale are not mis-spellings, but the names reflect the Ivy League Colleges of Harvard and Yale, similarly Tech is a nod to the big American Tech Colleges.

Starting in Northern Ireland in 1942, matches were played at the home of Ulster Rugby, Ravenhill (Hale winning 9-7) and Larne (Yarvard getting a 14-0 win over Tech). 8, 000 turned up to see the Ravenhill game, and a full capacity 2,000 for the Larne match.

The next year, the European Theater of Operations Championship was organised in England & Wales, with the teams given the nicknames Fighting Irish (Tech – a nod to Notre Dame), Blue Devils (Hale – after Duke University) and Crimson Tide (Yarvard – in honour of Alabama University).

The Crimson Tide won all three matches played in front of the public, attracting crowds of 25,000 (London), 7, 000 (Cardiff), and 6, 000 (Bristol).

Autumn 1943 is notable for the appearance of the Bulldozers, an African-American Engineering team.

In 1944 Army & Navy (not the US Colleges, but Army & Navy Personnel stationed in Europe), played a 0-0 Tie in Newry, dubbed the Northern Ireland Championship. Navy were nicknamed the Galloping Gaels for the day.

There were also numerous Championships for various Divisions as well as two Army-Navy Grid Classics and Two Tea Bowls and a Coffee Bowl in 1944 as the tide turned on the war and opportunities for playing in large stadiums for the benefit of both the Red Cross and the citizens of Britain increased.

An interesting footnote to this era is the very first American Football game played in Africa, the Arab Bowl, played in Oran, Algeria, which Army won 10-7 over Navy.

Yarvard Team at Sandy Bay, Larne, 1942 [14]

References

_________________________________________________________

Websites

[1] Irish American Football Association (2016) Journey to Thirty [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/journeyto-thirty/ [Accessed 08 August 2016]

[2] Irish American Football Association (2016) History of US Teams playing in Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/history-of-us-teams-playing-in-ireland/ [Accessed 22 November 2016]

[3] Irish American Football Association (2016) History [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl/history.htm [Accessed 26 October 2016]

[4] Lucky Show (2016) American Football in Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://www.luckyshow.org/football/Shamrock%20Bowl.htm [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[5] Dublin Town – Article by Gerry Farrell (2016) College Football Classic Ireland’s Relationship with American Football [Internet] Available from: http://www.dublintown.ie/irelands-relationship-with-american-football/ [Accessed 7 May 2018]

Sources.

[6] Anon. (1942) . “Photo caption: American Football att Ravenhill”. Belfast News-Letter. 16 November 1942. pg. 6.

[10] Magee, Damian. “English Beer and American Football: Exporting American Football as a Cultural Commodity to the British Isles.” Irish Journal of American Studies, vol. 7, 1998, pp. 121–148. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30002410.

[11] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 47-82. Published by the author.

Social Media

[12] Belfast Blitzers | Faacebook (2019) Post 22 August 2019: “ So this is the last of the photos in the archive, it’s of the Yarvard team at Sandy Bay, Larne Harbour on the 21st November 1942. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/pcb.2260513057393170/2260507127393763/?type=3&theater [Accessed 23 August 2019]

[13] Belfast Blitzers | Faacebook (2019) Post 22 August 2019: “So this is the last of the photos in the archive, it’s of the Yarvard team at Sandy Bay, Larne Harbour on the 21st November 1942. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/rpp.454643317980162/2260507354060407/?type=3&theater[Accessed 23 August 2019]

Images

[14] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Photo 22 August 2019 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/pcb.2260513057393170/2260507127393763/?type=3&theater [Accessed 23 August 2019]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 2 November 2019