Plymouth Admirals
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| Established | 1984 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Home stadium | Parkway Social Club, Plymouth |
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| Head coach | Mark Tanner | ||||||||||||||||
| General manager | Paula Dodds | ||||||||||||||||
| League | BAFL | ||||||||||||||||
| League titles | None | ||||||||||||||||
| Division titles | 1 (1991) | ||||||||||||||||
| Current uniform | |||||||||||||||||
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The Plymouth Admirals were an American Football team who competed in the British American Football League (BAFL) up until 2010. They played their home games at the Parkway Sports Club in Ernesettle, Plymouth. Formed in 1984, the Admirals were one of the longest established American football teams in the United Kingdom. They enjoyed a fair degree of success, spending a number of years in the top division, figuring in post-season playoffs on eight occasions, and winning the BNGL Premier Division playoffs in 1991.
The Plymouth Admirals were formed in October 1984 by Adrian Patrick, they played two matches in their first year of competition, scoring victories over the Weston Stars and the Bristol Bombers. They entered the Budweiser League Channel Division Two in 1986 and proceeded to win their division with a perfect 10–0 record, achieving a shutout in six of their matches including a huge 91–0 win over the Weston Stars. Unfortunately, they were drawn away to Northants Stormbringers in their first playoff match – facing a team who had finished second in the Atlantic Premier Division, they were always the underdogs and they lost 8–35 to the eventual semi-finalists.
The following season saw them finish second in the Southwest conference of the Budweiser League's Premier Division – however, this was not enough to qualify for the playoffs due to the structuring of the league. Despite moving to the Plymouth Sports Club, a certain amount of turmoil was experienced in the build-up to the following season due to the demise of the Budweiser League. Faced with the prospect of a year without any competitive matches, the club took the decision to step down a level and play in the South West American Football League where they faced more local teams. Despite scoring a number of heavy wins, they finished third in the league with a 7–3 record.
The Admirals joined the British National Gridiron League in 1989, entering at Premier Division level (the second of the league's three tiers). Just as the previous season, they finished with a 7–3 record which saw them finish second in their conference, but narrowly missed out on a playoff spot. 1990 was a somewhat mediocre season, losing four out of their first five matches before ending strongly, although their situation off the field was much healthier – they were now playing on a new astroturf pitch at the Plymouth Sports Centre and were attracting an average attendance of between 200 and 300 supporters for each home game.
1991 proved to be the best season in the club's history. After comfortably winning their conference with a perfect 10–0 record, conceding just 30 points in the process, they were drawn away to against wildcard qualifiers Gwent Mustangs in their first playoff match. This proved to be a very tight matchup until the last quarter when the Admirals pulled away to win 27–7. After defeating the LA (London Area) Panthers (who finished the season as champions of the Midlands conference), they earned a trip to the Saffron Lane Stadium in Leicester to face the Sutton Coldfield Royals in their first ever playoff final. Cheered on by a large travelling contingent, the Admirals beat their opponents 26–16 to claim the UK Premier Bowl Trophy and gain promotion to the top flight.
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