Frankfurt Galaxy
The Frankfurt Galaxy was a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called Waldstadion. The Galaxy was the only team in the league to have remained in operation and in the same city throughout the league's existence.
| Frankfurt Galaxy | |
|---|---|
 Frankfurt Galaxy logo | |
| Year founded | 1991 |
| Year retired | 2007 |
| Home field | Commerzbank-Arena |
| City | Frankfurt, Germany |
| Team colors | Purple and Orange  Football Uniforms of Frankfurt Galaxy |
| Championships | |
World Bowls (4)
| |
In September 2014 it was announced that the Frankfurt Football Betriebs GmbH had purchased the rights for the Frankfurt Galaxy from the NFL. It plans to rename the Frankfurt Universe, playing in the German Football League 2 into Frankfurt Galaxy and to take the former's spot in the league in 2015. An attempt to do the same in 2007 had failed because the naming rights then lay with the NFL.[1][2]
History
In 1991, the Galaxy was a founding member of the World League of American Football (WLAF). They hosted the first ever WLAF game against the London Monarchs at the Waldstadion on March 23, 1991 and scored the first ever WLAF points with a safety, but lost the game.
When the World League resumed in 1995, the Galaxy, the Monarchs, and Barcelona Dragons were the only former WLAF teams that continued playing. Before it folded, Frankfurt Galaxy was the oldest pro football team outside of the NFL and CFL. Frankfurt also played in the last NFL Europa game, losing the 2007 World Bowl to Hamburg.
The Frankfurt Galaxy's record eight appearances in the 15 World Bowl games were evenly split in the composite standings with four wins (1995, 1999, 2003 and 2006) and four losses (1996, 1998, 2004, and 2007).
Season-by-season
| Season | League | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | |||
| 1991 | WLAF | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 3rd (European) | – | – | — | — | |
| 1992 | WLAF | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 2nd (European) | – | – | — | — | |
| 1993 | WLAF suspended operations from 1993 to 1994 | ||||||||||
| 1994 | |||||||||||
| 1995 | WLAF | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 2nd (League) | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | World Bowl '95 champions | |
| 1996 | WLAF | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 2nd (League) | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Scottish Claymores in World Bowl '96 | |
| 1997 | WLAF | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 5th (League) | – | – | — | — | |
| 1998 | NFLE | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 1st (League) | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Rhein Fire in World Bowl '98 | |
| 1999 | NFLE | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 2nd (League) | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | World Bowl '99 champions | |
| 2000 | NFLE | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 5th (League) | – | – | — | — | |
| 2001 | NFLE | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 6th (League) | – | – | — | — | |
| 2002 | NFLE | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 3rd (League) | – | – | — | — | |
| 2003 | NFLE | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 1st (League) | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | World Bowl XI champions | |
| 2004 | NFLE | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 2nd (League) | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Berlin Thunder in World Bowl XII | |
| 2005 | NFLE | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 5th (League) | – | – | — | — | |
| 2006 | NFLE | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 2nd (League) | 1 | 0 | .000 | World Bowl XIV champions | |
| 2007 | NFLE | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 2nd (League) | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Hamburg Sea Devils in World Bowl XV | |
| Total | 82 | 68 | 0 | .547 | 4 | 4 | .500 | ||||
Head coaches
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Postseason | Achievements | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | GC | Won | Lost | Win % | ||||
| 1 | Jack Elway | 1991–1992 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 0 | .500 | – | – | – | — | — |
| 2 | Ernie Stautner | 1995–1997 | 30 | 16 | 14 | 0 | .533 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | World Bowl '95 championship World League Coach of the Year (1995) |
| 3 | Dick Curl | 1998–2000 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 0 | .567 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | World Bowl '99 championship 2× NFL Europe Coach of the Year (1998, 1999) |
| 4 | Doug Graber | 2001–2003 | 30 | 15 | 15 | 0 | .500 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | World Bowl XI championship NFL Europe Coach of the Year (2003) |
| 5 | Mike Jones | 2004–2007 | 40 | 24 | 16 | 0 | .600 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | World Bowl XIV championship NFL Europe Coach of the Year (2006) |
Notable players
| No. | Player | Position(s) | Years Played | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5, 81 |  Mario Bailey |
WR | 1995–2000 | All-Time NFL Europe Receiving leader |
| 1, 18 | Andy McCullough |
WR | 1999, 2001 | World Bowl VII Most Valuable Player[3] |
| 4 | J. T. O'Sullivan |
QB | 2004, 2007 | NFL Europa Co-Offensive Most Valuable Player (2007)[4] |
| 11 | Mike Perez |
QB | 1991–1992 | First starting quarterback in team history |
| 32 | Roger Robinson |
RB | 2006 | Led League in rushing, All-NFLEL team selection[5] |
| 82 | Keith L. Craig |
WR | 1991 | First Service Member (U.S.Army) selected under Operation Discovery[6] |
References
- Aus Universe wird Galaxy (in German) football-aktuell.de, accessed: 10 September 2014
- Streit um Frankfurt Galaxy (in German) football-aktuell.de, accessed: 10 September 2014
- "Andy is a real catch". NFL.com. June 27, 1999.
- "All-NFL Europa Team" (Press release). June 21, 2007.
- "NFLEL names All-League team, MVPs" (Press release). May 25, 2006.
- "Wiesbaden Galaxy sets player tryouts, medical seminar". Stars and Stripes. September 11, 1991.