Düsseldorf Panther

Düsseldorf Panther
Founded	1978
League	German Football League
Stadium	VfL Benrath Stadium
Based in	Düsseldorf, Germany
Team colors	White, Red and Black
Head coach	James Jenkins
Championships	Eurobowl: 1995 German Bowl: 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1995 Junior Bowl: 1982, 1985–1988, 1991, 1998, 2002–2008, 2010
Division titles	GFL North: 1983–1988, 1990, 1995, 1996
Website	www.duesseldorfpanther.de/

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.^[1]

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.^[2]

History

Düsseldorf Panther game, 2008.

The Panthers were formed on 1 May 1978 and, while not the first American football club in Germany, this honour going to the Frankfurter Löwen^[3] who were formed in 1977 but folded in the mid-1980s, are the oldest still existing club.^[1]

In 1979, the American Football Bundesliga, later to be renamed the German Football League,^[4] was formed, consisting of six clubs, the Düsseldorf Panther, Frankfurter Löwen, Ansbach Grizzlies, Munich Cowboys, Berlin Bears and Bremerhaven Seahawks.^[3] 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.^[5]

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.^[1]

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.^[5]

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.^[5] 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.^[5]

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.^[5]

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.^[5]

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.^[6]

Honours

• Eurobowl
  • Champions: 1995

• German Bowl
  • Champions: 1983, 1984, 1986, 1992, 1994, 1995
  • Runners-up: 1985, 1988, 1996

• EFL
  • Participations: 1993, 1995, 1996

• GFL
  • 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 2
  • Northern Division champions: 2003

• Junior Bowl
  • Champions: (15) 1982, 1985–1988, 1991, 1998, 2002–2008, 2010
  • Runners-up: 1995, 2011

German Bowl appearances

The clubs appearances in the German Bowl:^[2]

Bowl	Date	Champions	Runners-Up	Score	Location	Attendance
V	September 25, 1983	Düsseldorf Panther	Ansbach Grizzlies	22-7	Nuremberg	7,000
VI	October 13, 1984	Düsseldorf Panther	Ansbach Grizzlies	27-13	Essen	10,000
VII	November 12, 1985	Ansbach Grizzlies	Düsseldorf Panther	14-7	Cologne	9,000
VIII	July 27, 1986	Düsseldorf Panther	Ansbach Grizzlies	27-14	Würzburg	10,000
X	October 15, 1988	Red Barons Cologne	Düsseldorf Panther	25-20	Berlin	11,000
XIV	October 3, 1992	Düsseldorf Panther	Munich Cowboys	24-23	Hanover	8,750
XVI	September 17, 1994	Düsseldorf Panther	Berlin Adler	27-17	Hanau	7,862
XVII	September 16, 1995	Düsseldorf Panther	Hamburg Blue Devils	17-10	Braunschweig	12,125
XVIII	October 5, 1996	Hamburg Blue Devils	Düsseldorf Panther	31-12	Hamburg	19,700

• Champions in bold.

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the Panthers:^{[5][7][8][9][6]}

Year	Division	Finish	Points	Pct.	Games	W	D	L	PF	PA	Postseason
2005	GFL (North)	6th	0–24	0.000	12	0	0	12	206	418	Won RR: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (14–13 & 10–7)
2006		6th	8–16	0.333	12	4	0	8	153	364	Lost RR: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (0–30 & 30–27)
2007	GFL 2 (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 (North)	3rd	18–10	0.643	14	9	0	5	351	309	Won QF: Marburg Mercenaries (14–10) Lost SF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (21–45)

• RR = Relegation round.
• QF = Quarter finals.
• SF = Semi finals.
• GB = German Bowl

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} History (German) Panthers website, accessed: 10 January 2010
2. ^ ^{a b} Bowls GFL website, accessed: 1 January 2011
3. ^ ^{a b} Geschichte (German) AFVD website, accessed: 29 December 2010
4. ^ GFL German Football League (German) AFVD website, accessed: 29 December 2010
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Football History (German) Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 2 January 2011
6. ^ ^{a b} GFL 2011 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 18 September 2011
7. ^ GFL 2 2008 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
8. ^ GFL 2 2009 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
9. ^ GFL 2 2010 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011

External links

• (German) Düsseldorf Panther website
• (German) German Football League official website
• (German) Football History Historic American football tables from Germany