London Monarchs

The London Monarchs were a franchise in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were replaced by the new Berlin Thunder.

1 Early Years
2 England Monarchs
3 Season-By-Season
4 Trivia
5 Notable Monarchs
6 External links

[edit] Early Years

The WLAF operated in 1991 and 1992 and included six U.S. teams, one Canadian team, and three European-based teams, including the Monarchs, that was organised in three divisions (North American West, North American East, and European Divisions). The WLAF suspended operations prior to the 1993 season, but was revived in 1995 as the World League, featuring six European-based teams, again including the Monarchs. The World League was renamed "NFL Europe League" in 1998. This league plays its games in the spring so as not to conflict with the traditional American football season of autumn and early winter.

In 1991 and 1992 the Monarchs played their home games at the famed Wembley Stadium. In the 1991 season the team won the first World Bowl at Wembley, beating the Barcelona Dragons, the only team to have beaten them in the entire season. In the first season of the World League, crowds at Wembley averaged 40,483 for the five games. However dwindling interest - even with the advent of a new local rivalry with the Scottish Claymores - forced the team to shift its home ground to White Hart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., when the league resumed play in 1995, and that year average attendance fell to 16,343.

Because the pitch at White Hart Lane is laid out for association football, special dispensation had to be applied for to use a shortened field and it was granted: the pitch at White Hart Lane measured 93 yards. In 1996, the Monarchs were forced to find an alternative venue for their final home game and chose Stamford Bridge, where they would play all of their home games in 1997.

[edit] England Monarchs

England Monarchs Logo for 1998

England Monarchs Helmet for the 1998 season

Towards the end of the 1997 season, the WLAF was starting to re-evaluate the team's situation in its market, believing that the return to London had not been as big a success as hoped. In conjunction with general manager Alton Byrd, the team was rebranded the England Monarchs and travelled the country, playing home games at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, Ashton Gate (home of Bristol City F.C.) and Alexander Stadium, an athletics stadium in Birmingham - another step down in the size and quality of the stadia used. This venture divided opinion dramatically amongst the Monarchs support and rather than increase interest in the team, attendances slumped to an average of 5,944. The announcement at the end of the 1998 season that the league would add a new team, the Berlin Thunder, led to weeks of speculation that either one of the existing teams would be shut down, or that the Monarchs and Claymores would be amalgamated into a single British team. Confirmation that the Monarchs were to close down came in July that year.

Like other WLAF/NFL Europe teams, most of the Monarchs' players were young American "developmental" players assigned from teams in the National Football League. The league paid these players' salaries, as well of that of the coaches, who tended also to be Americans, though there were exceptions - in the early Monarchs Walter McKone, D.O. was a team osteopath and Stewart Parkinson a team manager. A few players of European extraction also participated, primarily as kicking specialists, although league rules required the participation of at least one player of European extraction on every other series of four downs. The league's points leader in 1991 was Phil Alexander, kicker with the Monarchs, who is now currently Managing Director of Crystal Palace football club. One exception to the "kicker phenomenon" was Victor Ebubedike (later Victor Muhammad) who played as running back for the Monarchs for a number of years, and who became the first European to score a touchdown (versus the Orlando Thunder) in 1991. Notable players for the Monarchs included William Perry, Obafemi Ayanbadejo, Steve "Hollywood" Brooks, Tim Simpson, and Brad Johnson, a quarterback who would go on to win Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also of note was Dedrick Dodge, a special teams maven, who went on to win a number of Super Bowl rings with teams including the Denver Broncos.

[edit] Season-By-Season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff Results
London Monarchs (WLAF)
1991	9	1	0	1st European Division	Won World Bowl I
1992	2	7	1	3rd European Division	--
1993	Did Not Play
1994	Did Not Play
London Monarchs (World League)
1995	4	6	0	4th League	--
1996	4	6	0	5th League	--
London Monarchs (NFL Europe)
1997	4	6	0	5th League	--
England Monarchs
1998	3	7	0	5th League	--
Totals	28	33	1	(including playoffs)

WORLD LEAGUE OF AMERICAN FOOTBALL

1991 Results

Week 1: London 24, Frankfurt Galaxy 11

Week 2: London 22, New York/New Jersey Knights 18

Week 3: London 35, Orlando Thunder 12

Week 4: London 27, Birmingham Fire 0

Week 5: London 45, Montreal Machine 7

Week 6: London 35, Raleigh-Durham 10

Week 7: London 38, San Antonio Riders 15

Week 8: London 22, New York/New Jersey Knights 7

Week 9: London 45, Sacramento Surge 21

Week 10: Barcelona Dragons 20, London 17

Semifinals: London 42, New York/New Jersey Knights 26

World Bowl: London 21, Barcelona Dragons 0 (at London)

1992 Results

Week 1: London 26, New York/New Jersey Knights 20 (OT)

Week 2: Frankfurt Galaxy 31, London 28

Week 3: Barcelona Dragons 13, London 7

Week 4: Birmingham Fire 17, London 17 (OT)

Week 5: Barcelona Dragons 9, London 0

Week 6: Sacramento Surge 31, London 26

Week 7: New York/New Jersey Knights 41, London 13

Week 8: Orlando Thunder 9, London 0

Week 9: London 45, Montreal Machine 13

Week 10: Frankfurt Galaxy 19, London 16

[edit] Trivia

The London Monarchs and the Birmingham Fire were the first two teams in WLAF/NFL Europe history to end a game in a tie (17-17 in Week 4 of the '92 season). The Berlin Thunder, the team that replaced London in the league in 1999, and Hamburg Sea Devils (who replaced the Scottish Claymores in 2005) repeated not only the feat of a tied game, but also the exact same score, on April 1, 2006 of all days.