Established | 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Based in | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home stadium | Coldhams Common | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach | Marco Fasulo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
General manager | Megan Herdson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League | BAFA National Leagues | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Division | Southern Football Conference 1 East | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League titles | None | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Division titles | 2 (1994, 1995) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current uniform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Cambridgeshire Cats are an American football team competing in Southern Football Conference 1, East Division of the BAFA National Leagues (BAFA NL), with their home games played at Coldhams Common in Cambridge. The club was first formed in 1984, entered senior competition in 1985 and won two divisional titles in the 1990s as well appearing in the playoffs a further six times before folding in 1998. They reformed once again in 2002 and re-entered senior competition, gaining promotion in 2003 only to be relegated two seasons later. Most recently, they won the South East Conference of Division One before losing to the Tamworth Phoenix in the playoff semi-final.
The club was first formed in December 1984 as the Cambridge County Cats following trials conducted in the city by the RAF Wyton Eagles, one of the first American football teams to be founded in the UK. They joined the British American Football Federation for the 1985 season, where they competed in the A1 Division and finished top with a perfect 8-0 regular season record in front of crowds often in excess of 600, before losing to the Croydon Coyotes in the semi-final.
The following year, they switched to the newly formed Budweiser League, where they were elected straight into the top division. They finished with a 6-4 record and qualified for the playoffs where they lost in the first round away to the Wrekin Giants. They were unable to repeat this success the following year—they finished bottom of their group with a 0-9-1 record and so were relegated. They returned to winning ways in the lower division, recording eight consecutive wins on their way to finishing second in their group before losing 24–34 away to the Scottish champions, the Glasgow Diamonds.
1989 was a year of change for the Cats. After securing a sponsorship deal with the Washington State Apple Commission, a Seattle-based apple export firm, they were renamed the Cambridge Crunchers. They also left the Budweiser League to join the newly formed Combined Gridiron League where they were admitted into the top division, competing in the Central Conference of the Crown National Division. They finished second in the group behind the Colchester Gladiators, and qualified once again for the playoffs. Unfortunately, they were unable to progress, losing 3–27 at home to the Heathrow Jets.
The following year saw a degree of turmoil for the club, beginning when their sponsors suddenly decided to withdraw their support forcing the club to change its name once again, becoming the Cambridge Wildcats. They moved over to the NCMMA following the demise of the CGL and despite suffering from low team numbers, the team recorded a 6-3-1 season record and so qualified for the playoffs. However, it was revealed that they hadn't paid the required league fees and so they were excluded from the post-season. During the close season, they entered into merger negotiations with another local team, the Newmarket Hornets. However, it emerged that it was actually a take-over attempt by Newmarket, and the club chose to fold rather than lose its identity.