Founded | 1979 |
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League | German Football League |
Team history | Berliner Bären (1979-81) Berlin Adler (1981-present) |
Based in | Berlin, Germany |
Stadium | Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark |
Colors | Yellow and Black |
Head coach | Eric Schramm |
Championships | Eurobowl: 2010, 2014 EFAF Cup: 2008 German Bowl: 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2004, 2009 Ladies Bowl: 1993–1997, 2000–2004 |
Division titles | GFL North: 1986–1992, 1994, 2009 |
Cheerleaders | Aces |
Website | www.berlinadler.de/ |
The Berlin Adler (English: Berlin Eagles) 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 a ten Ladies Bowls and five Junior Bowls.
Internationally, the club has participated in the European Football League (EFL) on a number of occasions and has won the Eurobowl in 2010 and 2014.
As of 2015, the club is second only to the Munich Cowboys (405) in German Football League (GFL) games played, with 378, one of only three teams with more than 300 league games. The Cowboys have played 35 out of a possible 38 seasons at the highest level of the game in Germany, the Adler one less, 34.
The club was formed as the second American football club in Berlin on 12 February 1979, then under the name of Berliner Bären (English: Berlin Bears). Shortly after its formation, the club was joined by the Berlin Bats, increasing the number of club members substantially. In the early days, all training was carried out on the facilities of the US Army and supervised by US soldiers stationed in Berlin.
In 1979, the Bears became a founding member of the American Football Bundesliga, renamed the German Football League in 1999, together with the Frankfurter Löwen, Düsseldorf Panther, Ansbach Grizzlies, Munich Cowboys und Bremerhaven Seahawks.
The Bears came third in their first season in competitive football, but was unable to make the play-off in its first four seasons. To improve on-the-field performance, the team decided to join established club BSC Wilmersdorf in 1981, changing its club colors and name, becoming the Berlin Adler.