Colchester Gladiators
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| Established | 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Home stadium | Colchester Rugby Club, Colchester |
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| Head coach | Neil O'Hare | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | BAFA National Leagues | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division | National League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League titles | 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division titles | 2 (1988, 2013) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current uniform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Colchester Gladiators are an American Football team competing in the South East National League of British American Football League (BAFL). They play their home games at the Colchester Rugby Club in Colchester, Essex and train at the Sir Charles Lucas Centre for Sport and Art in Colchester. The club was first formed in 1983 and entered senior competition in 1985 where they enjoyed a degree of success, winning the Budweiser League Premier Division playoffs in 1988 and only failing to make the post season playoffs on three occasions before the team folded in 1995. They reformed again in 2003 after a high-profile charity reunion match which featured TV presenter Dermot O'Leary. The Gladiators entered the BAFL the following year, gaining promotion in 2006 only to be relegated after just one season. The Gladiators went on to win the 2013 National League title after recording an unbeaten 13-0 season (including the play-offs).
The Colchester Gladiators were formed in October 1983 by a group of friends at a time when American football first started to attract interest in the United Kingdom. After playing competitive matches during the summer of 1984, they were accepted into the American Football League UK for the 1985 season where they competed in the Southern Division. They finished second in their group, qualifying for the playoffs at their first attempt before losing their wild-card match against the London Ravens, who eventually became the league champions.
They transferred to the Budweiser League the following year, finishing third in their first season before winning the Premier Division Southeast Conference in 1987. After a comfortable win over the Cotswold Bears in the quarter-finals, they lost their semi-final to the Leeds Cougars. For the 1988 season, they competed in the North London & East Conference which they won with a perfect 10-0 record, scoring 526 points in their ten games, the second highest total in the entire league. They continued this form going into the playoffs, shutting out the Portsmouth Warriors in the first round before recording a 29–7 win at the Bristol Packers. They were then drawn at home to the London Capitals, who they narrowly beat by a single point to set up a final clash against the Brighton B-52s. They dominated this match, winning 47–28 to claim the divisional title.
Instead of taking promotion up to the National Division of the Budweiser League, the Gladiators' management decided to transfer to the Combined Gridiron League instead, where they competed in the top Crown National Division. Just as they did the previous season, they topped their conference with a perfect 10-0 record, conceding just 42 points. After defeating the Leicester Huntsmen, they again faced the Portsmouth Warriors. However, they were unable to reproduce the previous season's result, losing a high-scoring game 36–50 and so ending a 25-game winning streak.
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