Hamburg Blue Devils
 |
|
| Founded | 1992 |
|---|---|
| League | Verbandsliga Nord |
| Based in | Hamburg, Germany |
| Stadium | Adolf-Jäger-Kampfbahn |
| Colors | Navy blue |
| Head coach | Maximilian von Garnier |
| Championships | Eurobowl: 1996–1998 German Bowl: 1996, 2001–2003 |
| Division titles | GFL North: 1997, 2001 |
| Cheerleaders | Blue Angels |
| Website | www.hsvbluedevils.de |
The Hamburg Blue Devils are an American football team in Hamburg, Germany. The Blue Devils are one of the most successful American football clubs in Germany, having won four German Bowls as well as three Eurobowls. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the clubs rivalry with the Braunschweig Lions dominated the game in Germany, with the two sides meeting in six German Bowls between 1998 and 2005 as well as the 1999 Eurobowl.
In the late 1990s, the club had become the most financially successful American football club in Europe, but by 2003, the club had to declare insolvency.
The Hamburg Blue Devils were formed in 1992 and began playing non-league football in September 1992. It continued to take part in tournaments in 1993, defeating a number of European top clubs, including the German champions, the Munich Cowboys.
In 1994, the Blue Devils took part in the Football League of Europe, where they lost the final to the Stockholm Nordic Vikings, played in front of 18,000 in Hamburg.
Unusually, the club was admitted to the American Football Bundesliga, the later GFL, without having worked its way up through the league system in 1995 and reached the German Bowl in its first attempt. There however, the Düsseldorf Panthers proved too strong and Hamburg lost 10-17.
The club's second season in the league brought triumphs and sadness. The team won both the German Bowl and the Eurobowl, however, the team's head coach since 1992, George White, died two days before the play-off semi finals. In 1997, the Blue Devils were able to defend their European crown but lost in the semi finals of the national championships. Finally, in 1998, the club won the Eurobowl for a third consecutive time, as the first club ever, but once more lost the German Bowl, to future bitter rival Braunschweig Lions.
The 1999 season was all about the Blue Devils versus the Lions, the two teams meeting both in the Eurobowl and the German Bowl. On both occasions, the Lions kept the upper hand, but the 30,000 that turned out to see the German Bowl at Hamburgs Volksparkstadion were a new record for the game in Germany.
The following season was a disaster for the club. With new coach and quarter back, the club played its first losing season in its short history and missed the play-offs. It did reach the Eurobowl once more but this time lost to the Bergamo Lions.
...
Wikipedia