1995 WLAF season
The 1995 World League of American Football season was the third season of the professional American football league organized by the NFL. It was the league's first season with six teams based only in Europe.
| Regular season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Duration | April 8, 1995 – June 10, 1995 | |
| World Bowl '95 | ||
| Date | June 17, 1995 | |
| Site | Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands | |
| Champions | Frankfurt Galaxy | |
| ||
Returning from a 2-year hiatus after the 1992 WLAF season,[1] the league had dropped its seven North American teams, with the three existing teams (the Frankfurt Galaxy, London Monarchs and Barcelona Dragons) joined by three new franchises (the Rhein Fire, Scottish Claymores and Amsterdam Admirals).
The World Bowl '95 title game was won by Frankfurt, 26–22 over Amsterdam.
Season
The top draft choice was Shaumbe Wright-Fair, who was picked by the Rhein Fire.[2] The Scottish Claymores, after a 5–0 record in the preseason, surprisingly fired their head coach, Larry Kuharich, five days before their WLAF kickoff because "his coaching philosophy did not mesh with the make-up of the team".[3]
Frankfurt's road to the World Bowl included a 27–7 win at London on May 15.[4] The Claymores' hopes of making the World Bowl were dashed with a week 6 defeat by Rhein 33–27 in overtime.[5] The Claymores ended their inaugural season with a 2–8 record.
| World League of American Football | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Home | Road | STK |
| Amsterdam Admirals | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | 246 | 152 | 5–0 | 4–1 | W2 |
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 279 | 202 | 3–2 | 3–2 | W3 |
| Barcelona Dragons | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 237 | 247 | 2–3 | 3–2 | L1 |
| London Monarchs | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 174 | 220 | 1–4 | 3–2 | L2 |
| Rhein Fire | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 221 | 279 | 2–3 | 2–3 | L3 |
| Scottish Claymores | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | 153 | 210 | 0–5 | 2–3 | W1 |
World Bowl '95
Frankfurt beat Amsterdam 26–22 at Amsterdam Olympic Stadium.[6]
The game was played on Saturday, June 17, 1995. The match-up was between the 6–4 Frankfurt Galaxy and the 9–1 Amsterdam Admirals. 23,847 fans witnessed the Galaxy pull off an upset en route to a 26–22 victory and their first ever World Bowl title. Quarterback Paul Justin earned MVP honors by completing 18 of 36 attempts for 308 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
In the regular season the Admirals had won the teams' first meeting 14–12 in Amsterdam, while the Galaxy had taken the second meeting 28–13 in Frankfurt.
References
- Halling, Nick (10 April 1995). "Monarchs fall". The Independent. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- "AMERICAN FOOTBALL'S TOP DRAFT CHOICE IS SHAUMBE WRIGHT-FAIR". The Independent. 22 February 1995. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- Tench, Matt (5 April 1995). "Coach of Claymores is no more". The Independent. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
- Halling, Nick (16 May 1995). "Galaxy continue London gloom". The Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- Halling, Nick (15 May 1995). "Claymores collapse in the end". The Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- Halling, Nick (19 June 1995). "WLAF to build on a fitting finale". The Independent. Retrieved 29 May 2014.