The Barcelona Dragons were a team originally in the World League of American Football

World League of American Football

The World League of American Football was founded in 1990 with support from the National Football League to play professional American football in North America, Europe and later possibly Asia...

 and later in the resurrected NFL Europe

NFL Europe

NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...

. Their home field in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 was the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuic

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 International Exposition in the city , it was renovated in 1989 to be the main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics...

, the 1992 Olympic

1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

 Stadium, and later the Mini Estadi

Mini Estadi

Mini Estadi is a football stadium located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The 15,276 seat stadium is situated across from Camp Nou, the home stadium of FC Barcelona.The stadium was home to FC Barcelona C until July 2007, when they disbanded...

. The Dragons were successful on the field, making it to 4 World Bowl

World Bowl

The World Bowl was the American football Championship game of NFL Europe, similar to the Super Bowl of the National Football League.The World Bowl trophy itself was a globe made of glass measuring 35.5 cm in diameter and weighing 18.6 kg .-World League of American Football:When NFL Europe was...

s (1991

World Bowl 91

World Bowl '91, also commonly referred to as World Bowl I, was the first annual championship game of the World League of American Football. It took place June 9, 1991 at London's Wembley Stadium. The game featured a matchup between the Barcelona Dragons and the London Monarchs...

, 1997

World Bowl V

World Bowl '97 was NFL Europe's 1997 championship game. The game was played at Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic in Barcelona, Spain on June 22, 1997. This World Bowl was played between the 7-3 Rhein Fire and the 5-5 Barcelona Dragons. 31,100 fans were in attendance as the Dragons won their first and...

, 1999

World Bowl VII

World Bowl '99 was NFL Europe's 1999 championship game. It was played in Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 27, 1999. The match-up was between the 6-4 Frankfurt Galaxy and the 7-3 Barcelona Dragons...

, 2001

World Bowl IX

World Bowl IX was the first World Bowl that didn't have the year that it was played in the title. It was the 2001 edition of NFL Europe's championship game. The site was the Amsterdam ArenA in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. On June 30, 2001, the 6-4 Berlin Thunder took on the 8-2 Barcelona Dragons...

) and winning World Bowl V

World Bowl V

World Bowl '97 was NFL Europe's 1997 championship game. The game was played at Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic in Barcelona, Spain on June 22, 1997. This World Bowl was played between the 7-3 Rhein Fire and the 5-5 Barcelona Dragons. 31,100 fans were in attendance as the Dragons won their first and...

 in 1997. The team was made part of the FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

 organization in 2002

2002 in sports

2002 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria-American football:...

 as the FC Barcelona Dragons. Despite these efforts, the franchise's fan support decreased and the team began to struggle financially. After the 2003

2003 in sports

2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...

 season, the Dragons were discontinued and they were replaced in the league by the Cologne Centurions

Cologne Centurions

The Cologne Centurions were an American football team that played in NFL Europe. The Centurions began competing in the league in the 2004 season, having replaced the defunct Barcelona Dragons. They played their home games at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne....

.

For the entire duration of the Dragons' history they had only one head coach, "Cowboy" Jack Bicknell

Jack Bicknell

-Professional:-External links:...

. His nickname was roughly translated by his adoptive city to El Caballero (meaning, literally, "The Knight" or "The Gentleman" in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

). From 1991-2002, Seymour "Red" Kelin was responsible for Defensive Coordinating duties. Bicknell and Kelin had been coaching together since their days at Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

, where they helped lead the Eagles to a Cotton Bowl Classic victory in 1984.

Season-by-season

|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Barcelona Dragons (WLAF)
|-
|1991 || 8 || 2 || 0 || 2nd European Division || Won Round 1
Lost World Bowl I

World Bowl 91

World Bowl '91, also commonly referred to as World Bowl I, was the first annual championship game of the World League of American Football. It took place June 9, 1991 at London's Wembley Stadium. The game featured a matchup between the Barcelona Dragons and the London Monarchs...

 || Barcelona 10, Birmingham

Birmingham Fire

The Birmingham Fire was a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama that played in the World League of American Football in 1991 and 1992. The team played at Legion Field, and it made the playoffs in both seasons....

 3
London

London Monarchs

The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football . The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs...

 21, Barcelona 0
|-
|1992 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 1st European Division || Lost Playoffs || Sacramento

Sacramento Surge

The Sacramento Surge was a professional American football team that played in the World League of American Football in 1991 and 1992. The team played its first season at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, and the second season in Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State University campus. It was owned...

 17, Barcelona 15
|-
|1993 || colspan="5" rowspan="2" valign="middle" align="center" | Did Not Play
|-
|1994
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Barcelona Dragons (World League)
|-
|1995 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 3rd League || --
|-
|1996 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 4th League || --
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe)
|-
|1997 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 4th League || Won World Bowl V

World Bowl V

World Bowl '97 was NFL Europe's 1997 championship game. The game was played at Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic in Barcelona, Spain on June 22, 1997. This World Bowl was played between the 7-3 Rhein Fire and the 5-5 Barcelona Dragons. 31,100 fans were in attendance as the Dragons won their first and...

|-
|1998 || 4 || 6 || 0 || 4th League || --
|-
|1999 || 7 || 3 || 0 || 1st League || Lost World Bowl VII

World Bowl VII

World Bowl '99 was NFL Europe's 1999 championship game. It was played in Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany on June 27, 1999. The match-up was between the 6-4 Frankfurt Galaxy and the 7-3 Barcelona Dragons...

 (Galaxy

Frankfurt Galaxy

The Frankfurt Galaxy was a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called the Waldstadion.-History:In 1991, the...

)
|-
|2000 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 3rd League || --
|-
|2001 || 8 || 2 || 0 || 1st League || Lost World Bowl IX

World Bowl IX

World Bowl IX was the first World Bowl that didn't have the year that it was played in the title. It was the 2001 edition of NFL Europe's championship game. The site was the Amsterdam ArenA in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. On June 30, 2001, the 6-4 Berlin Thunder took on the 8-2 Barcelona Dragons...

 (Thunder

Berlin Thunder

The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe, which was a springtime American football league serving primarily as a developmental league for the National Football League. Most of the players were young American professional players assigned by NFL teams to receive...

)
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | FC Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe)
|-
|2002 || 2 || 8 || 0 || 6th League || --
|-
|2003 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 4th League || --
|-
!Totals || 61 || 55 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)

Notable players

Jesús Angoy

Jesus Angoy

Jesús Mariano Angoy Gil is a retired Spanish association football goalkeeper, who also played as a placekicker in American football....

 (1997-2003) Marco Martos

Marco Martos (American football)

Marco Antonio Martos is a retired Mexican American football wide receiver and kickoff returner, who played eighth seasons in the NFL Europe League for the Barcelona Dragons and Cologne Centurions....

 (1997-2003) Bruce Clark

Bruce Clark (American football)

Bruce Clark is a former American football defensive end who played eight seasons in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs. He was drafted in the 1980 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers, but chose to play in the Canadian Football League. Clark played two...

 (1991) Brian Finneran

Brian Finneran

Brian Finneran is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1998...

 (1999) La'Roi Glover

La'Roi Glover

La'Roi Damon Glover ; born July 4, 1974) is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League who ended his career with the St. Louis Rams. Glover retired from the NFL on June 22, 2009...

 (1997) Tony Graziani

Tony Graziani

Anthony Robert Graziani was an American football quarterback who played for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League, and the Los Angeles Avengers and Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. Graziani played college football at the University of Oregon...

 (2000) Kelly Herndon

Kelly Herndon

Kelly Errin Herndon is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 1999. He played college football at Toledo. Although he entered his first NFL camp in 1999, Herndon waited until 2002 to play in...

 (2000) Kelly Holcomb

Kelly Holcomb

Bryan Kelly Holcomb is a former American football quarterback of the National Football League. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 1995...

 (1996) Jon Kitna

Jon Kitna

Jon K. Kitna is an American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 1996...

 (1997) Matt Lepsis

Matt Lepsis

Matthew Stanley Lepsis is a former American football offensive tackle of the National Football League. He was originally signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 1997 and remained with the team until his retirement following the 2007 season...

 (1999) Isaiah Mustafa

Isaiah Mustafa

Isaiah Mustafa is an American actor and former NFL practice squad wide receiver. Mustafa is widely known as the main character for a series of Old Spice TV commercials, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.-Early life:...

 (1998) Mike Maslowski

Mike Maslowski

Michael John Maslowski is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs. He attended the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.-Amateur career:...

 (1999) Sean Morey (2000-2001,2003) Nick Murphy

Nick Murphy

Nicholas Jon "Nick" Murphy was an American football punter with 4 years spent between the National Football League and NFL Europa. Two of these three years were spent playing in Europe.-Life and career:...

 (2003) Eric Naposki

Eric Naposki

Eric Andrew Naposki is a former American football player who played in the National Football League and World League of American Football between 1988 and 1997. He played two seasons with the New England Patriots, one season with the Indianapolis Colts, and four seasons with the Barcelona Dragons...

 (1991-1993,1995-1997) Brandon Noble

Brandon Noble

Brandon Patrick Noble is a football coach and former National Football League player. He is considered one of NFL Europa's great success stories...

 (1998-1999) Lawrence Phillips

Lawrence Phillips

Lawrence Lamond Phillips is a former professional American football and Canadian football running back. Phillips's trouble with the law and inability to produce in the NFL have led many critics to label him as a bust....

 (1999) Mike Ruth

Mike Ruth

Mike Ruth was an American football player. Ruth was a member of the College Football All-America Team and the winner of the 1985 Outland Trophy as college football's best lineman....

 (1991) Gene Taylor

Gene Taylor (American football)

Gene Taylor is a former professional American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 1987 NFL Draft...

 (1991-1992) Keith Traylor

Keith Traylor

Byron Keith Traylor is an American football nose tackle who is currently retired. He was originally drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1991 NFL Draft...

 (1995) Brad Trout

Brad Trout

Brad Trout or A. Bradley Trout Jr was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He attended Hialeah Miami-Lakes High School where he played safety, served as a captain of the Trojans football team, and was selected go the All State Team...

 (1999) Casey Weldon

Casey Weldon

William Casey Weldon is a former professional American football player. Weldon is best known for being the quarterback for Florida State in the late-1980s and early-1990s. During his senior season in 1991, Weldon finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Desmond Howard of Michigan...

(1995)