Düsseldorf Panther
Encyclopedia
The Düsseldorf Panther are an American football
team from Düsseldorf
, Germany
. The club is the oldest still existing American football club in Europe
, having been formed on 1 May 1978.
The Panthers are one of the most successful American football clubs in Germany, having won six German Bowls
as well as becoming the first-ever German team to win the Eurobowl
in 1995. Having won its 15th Junior Bowl
in 2010, the club has the most successful youth department in the sport in Germany.
who were formed in 1977 but folded in the mid-1980s, are the oldest still existing club.
In 1979, the American Football Bundesliga, later to be renamed the German Football League, was formed, consisting of six clubs, the Düsseldorf Panther, Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies
, Munich Cowboys
, Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks
. Of those six, the top two teams would contest the first ever German Bowl
on 10 November 1979, however, the Panthers were a long shot from this game, finishing last without a win or point.
The team did not take part in the second or third season of the league, instead forming a rival league with a number of other clubs. The Panthers won this league, the Nordwestdeutsche Football-Liga, the NFL, in 1980 and 1981. Those two titles are however not recognised as national championships and the club, like all others in the league, soon returned to the Bundesliga.
From 1982 to 1986, the league stood under the dominance of the Panthers and the Ansbach Grizzlies, who played each other in four consecutive German Bowls, with the Panthers winning all but the 1985 one. The team remained a strong side after this but was only able to win one more championship, in 1988, in the following four years.
After a 1991 season when the club couldn't qualify for the play-offs, the Panthers returned to their former strength from 1992 onwards, the club experiencing a second golden era until 1996. Three German championships were won, in 1992, 1994 and 1995. In between, in 1993, the club only reached the semi finals while in 1996, it lost the final. Additionally, the Panthers became the first German side to win the Eurobowl in 1995. From 1995 onwards, the Panthers also had some local competition, with the Rhein Fire
, based at Düsseldorf, playing in the NFL Europe
until the league folded in 2007.
From the late 1990s, the club suffered from financial trouble and was unable to maintain its high standard. After three seasons of missing the play-offs altogether, the Panthers reached the semi finals once more in 2000 and the quarter finals the year after. The year 2001 however saw the club drop out of the league and, for financial reasons, restart in the tier-three Regionalliga West. Success quickly returned, the Panthers won their league and the 2nd Bundesliga in the following year, returning to the GFL by 2004.
Unlike in the past, the Panthers were not a play-off contender anymore, struggling against relegation instead. In 2004, a fifth place was still enough not to have to enter the relegation round, the following two years this was not the case. The team was unable to win a league match in 2005, but was saved in the relegation round when it defeated the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
there. The following season, its league performance was much improved but it could nevertheless only finish last, faced Kiel again in the relegation round and, this time lost.
The Panthers played four seasons at the second level after that, from 2007 to 2010, finishing in mid-table in the first three. In 2010, a second place entitled the club to play in the promotion round courtesy to the expansion of the GFL from 12 to 14 teams. The Panthers were then able to earn promotion to the GFL by narrowly overcoming the Berlin Rebels by a point on aggregate, winning 43-41 in Berlin
and losing 33-34 at home.
The Panther's made a successful return to Germany's highest league in 2011, finishing third and qualifying for the play-offs where they met and defeated the Marburg Mercenaries
in the quarter finals and advanced to the semi finals, where they lost to the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team from Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The club is the oldest still existing American football club in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, having been formed on 1 May 1978.
The Panthers are one of the most successful American football clubs in Germany, having won six German Bowls
German Bowl
The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League....
as well as becoming the first-ever German team to win the Eurobowl
Eurobowl
The Eurobowl is both the final game and the trophy of the European Football League , a European American football contest.-Eurobowls:-Champions:...
in 1995. Having won its 15th Junior Bowl
German Junior Bowl
The German Junior Bowl, usually only referred to as Junior Bowl, is the annual national championship game for junior teams in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the GFL Juniors....
in 2010, the club has the most successful youth department in the sport in Germany.
History
The Panthers were formed on 1 May 1978 and, while not the first American football club in Germany, this honour going to the Frankfurter LöwenFrankfurter Löwen
The Frankfurter Löwen were an American football team from Frankfurt, Germany.The Löwen were the first American football club to be formed in Germany. The club, a founding member of the American Football Bundesliga, was also the winner of the first two editions of the German Bowl...
who were formed in 1977 but folded in the mid-1980s, are the oldest still existing club.
In 1979, the American Football Bundesliga, later to be renamed the German Football League, was formed, consisting of six clubs, the Düsseldorf Panther, Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies
Ansbach Grizzlies
The Ansbach Grizzlies are an American football team based in Ansbach, Germany. The club, together with the Düsseldorf Panther and the Munich Cowboys, is one of the oldest in Germany...
, Munich Cowboys
Munich Cowboys
The Munich Cowboys are an American football team based in Munich, Germany. The club, together with the Düsseldorf Panther and the Ansbach Grizzlies, is one of the oldest in Germany. The team refers to itself as The Grand Old Team of the South....
, Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks
Bremerhaven Seahawks
The Bremerhaven Seahawks are an American football club from Bremerhaven, Germany.The club is one of the six founding members of the American Football Bundesliga, alongside the Düsseldorf Panther, Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies, Munich Cowboys and Berlin Bears, but has not played at this level...
. Of those six, the top two teams would contest the first ever German Bowl
German Bowl
The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League....
on 10 November 1979, however, the Panthers were a long shot from this game, finishing last without a win or point.
The team did not take part in the second or third season of the league, instead forming a rival league with a number of other clubs. The Panthers won this league, the Nordwestdeutsche Football-Liga, the NFL, in 1980 and 1981. Those two titles are however not recognised as national championships and the club, like all others in the league, soon returned to the Bundesliga.
From 1982 to 1986, the league stood under the dominance of the Panthers and the Ansbach Grizzlies, who played each other in four consecutive German Bowls, with the Panthers winning all but the 1985 one. The team remained a strong side after this but was only able to win one more championship, in 1988, in the following four years.
After a 1991 season when the club couldn't qualify for the play-offs, the Panthers returned to their former strength from 1992 onwards, the club experiencing a second golden era until 1996. Three German championships were won, in 1992, 1994 and 1995. In between, in 1993, the club only reached the semi finals while in 1996, it lost the final. Additionally, the Panthers became the first German side to win the Eurobowl in 1995. From 1995 onwards, the Panthers also had some local competition, with the Rhein Fire
Rhein Fire
The Rhein Fire was a professional American football team in NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Germany in 1995, the franchise resurrected the name of the former Birmingham Fire team which was active during the 1991-1992 WLAF seasons.-History:The team was...
, based at Düsseldorf, playing in the 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...
until the league folded in 2007.
From the late 1990s, the club suffered from financial trouble and was unable to maintain its high standard. After three seasons of missing the play-offs altogether, the Panthers reached the semi finals once more in 2000 and the quarter finals the year after. The year 2001 however saw the club drop out of the league and, for financial reasons, restart in the tier-three Regionalliga West. Success quickly returned, the Panthers won their league and the 2nd Bundesliga in the following year, returning to the GFL by 2004.
Unlike in the past, the Panthers were not a play-off contender anymore, struggling against relegation instead. In 2004, a fifth place was still enough not to have to enter the relegation round, the following two years this was not the case. The team was unable to win a league match in 2005, but was saved in the relegation round when it defeated the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany.The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in four consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2011, losing the first two, winning the third and losing the fourth.The club is part of the...
there. The following season, its league performance was much improved but it could nevertheless only finish last, faced Kiel again in the relegation round and, this time lost.
The Panthers played four seasons at the second level after that, from 2007 to 2010, finishing in mid-table in the first three. In 2010, a second place entitled the club to play in the promotion round courtesy to the expansion of the GFL from 12 to 14 teams. The Panthers were then able to earn promotion to the GFL by narrowly overcoming the Berlin Rebels by a point on aggregate, winning 43-41 in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and losing 33-34 at home.
The Panther's made a successful return to Germany's highest league in 2011, finishing third and qualifying for the play-offs where they met and defeated the Marburg Mercenaries
Marburg Mercenaries
The Marburg Mercenaries are an American football team from Marburg, Germany.Internationally, the clubs greatest success came in 2005, when it won the EFAF Cup, followed by a losing appearance in the Eurobowl in 2007...
in the quarter finals and advanced to the semi finals, where they lost to the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
Kiel Baltic Hurricanes
The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany.The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in four consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2011, losing the first two, winning the third and losing the fourth.The club is part of the...
.
Honours
- EurobowlEurobowlThe Eurobowl is both the final game and the trophy of the European Football League , a European American football contest.-Eurobowls:-Champions:...
- Champions: 1995
- German BowlGerman BowlThe German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League....
- Champions: 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1995
- Runners-up: 1985, 1988, 1996
- EFLEuropean Football LeagueThe European Football League is a European Cup style tournament for European American Football teams affiliated to EFAF...
- Participations: 1993, 1995, 1996
- GFLGerman Football LeagueThe German Football League is the elite league for American football in Germany. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA....
- Northern Division champions: (9) 1983–1988, 1990, 1995, 1996
- Play-off qualification : (17) 1982–1990, 1992–1996, 2000, 2001, 2011
- League membership : (26) 1979, 1982–2001, 2004–2006, 2011
- GFL 2German Football League 2The German Football League 2 is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the 2nd Bundesliga.-League structure:...
- Northern Division champions: 2003
- Junior BowlGerman Junior BowlThe German Junior Bowl, usually only referred to as Junior Bowl, is the annual national championship game for junior teams in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the GFL Juniors....
- Champions: (15) 1982, 1985–1988, 1991, 1998, 2002–2008, 2010
- Runners-up: 1995, 2011
German Bowl appearances
The clubs appearances in the German Bowl:| Bowl | Date | Champions | Runners-Up | Score | Location | Attendance |
| V | September 25, 1983 | Düsseldorf Panther | Ansbach Grizzlies | 22-7 | Nuremberg Nuremberg Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664... |
7,000 |
| VI | October 13, 1984 | Düsseldorf Panther | Ansbach Grizzlies | 27-13 | Essen Essen - Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of... |
10,000 |
| VII | November 12, 1985 | Ansbach Grizzlies | Düsseldorf Panther | 14-7 | Cologne Cologne Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the... |
9,000 |
| VIII | July 27, 1986 | Düsseldorf Panther | Ansbach Grizzlies | 27-14 | Würzburg Würzburg Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian.... |
10,000 |
| X | October 15, 1988 | Red Barons Cologne | Düsseldorf Panther | 25-20 | Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... |
11,000 |
| XIV | October 3, 1992 | Düsseldorf Panther | Munich Cowboys | 24-23 | Hanover Hanover Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg... |
8,750 |
| XVI | September 17, 1994 | Düsseldorf Panther | Berlin Adler | 27-17 | Hanau Hanau Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :... |
7,862 |
| XVII | September 16, 1995 | Düsseldorf Panther | Hamburg Blue Devils | 17-10 | Braunschweig Braunschweig Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser.... |
12,125 |
| XVIII | October 5, 1996 | Hamburg Blue Devils | Düsseldorf Panther | 31-12 | Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808... |
19,700 |
- Champions in bold.
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the Panthers:| Year | Division | Finish | Points | Pct. | Games | W | D | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
| 2005 | GFL German Football League The German Football League is the elite league for American football in Germany. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA.... (North) |
6th | 0–24 | 0.000 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 206 | 418 | Won RR: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes Kiel Baltic Hurricanes The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany.The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in four consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2011, losing the first two, winning the third and losing the fourth.The club is part of the... (14–13 & 10–7) |
| 2006 | 6th | 8–16 | 0.333 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 153 | 364 | Lost RR: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes Kiel Baltic Hurricanes The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany.The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in four consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2011, losing the first two, winning the third and losing the fourth.The club is part of the... (0–30 & 30–27) |
|
| 2007 | GFL 2 German Football League 2 The German Football League 2 is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the 2nd Bundesliga.-League structure:... (North) |
4th | 13–15 | 0.464 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 291 | 264 | — |
| 2008 | 4th | 17–11 | 0.607 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 418 | 343 | — | |
| 2009 | 5th | 17–11 | 0.607 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 375 | 321 | — | |
| 2010 | 2nd | 23–5 | 0.821 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 485 | 259 | Won RR: Berlin Rebels (43–41 & 33–34) | |
| 2011 | GFL German Football League The German Football League is the elite league for American football in Germany. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA.... (North) |
3rd | 18–10 | 0.643 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 351 | 309 | Won QF: Marburg Mercenaries Marburg Mercenaries The Marburg Mercenaries are an American football team from Marburg, Germany.Internationally, the clubs greatest success came in 2005, when it won the EFAF Cup, followed by a losing appearance in the Eurobowl in 2007... (14–10) Lost SF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes Kiel Baltic Hurricanes The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany.The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in four consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2011, losing the first two, winning the third and losing the fourth.The club is part of the... (21–45) |
- RR = Relegation round.
- QF = Quarter finals.
- SF = Semi finals.
- GB = German Bowl