- Wrekin Giants
The Wrekin Giants, later the Shropshire Giants, and, subsequently, the Cannock Chase Giants were an
American football team based inTelford ,Shropshire , inEngland , in theUnited Kingdom . They were formed in1985 . [http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/Britball%20Teams/WrekinGiants.htm Wrekin Giants profile] , BritballNow.]History
1985-1989
Their home stadium was the GKN Sankey stadium in Telford and their colours were Black/Black/Black.
They were Conference champions in
1986 and were for a time Shropshire's only American Football team.They were surprise Budweiser Bowl quarter-finalists in
1986 and also played in the Budweiser Leagues in1987 and1988 . However, they did not manage to make the Premier Division playoffs. The Youth Two Touch side played for one season in 1988.Their career record, senior kitted only, was 27-14-0.
Senior Kitted
*1988 Budweiser League Premier Division North Midlands Conference 7-3-0
*1987 Budweiser League Premier Division Northern Conference 5-5-0
*1986 Budweiser League Atlantic Division One South 10-0-0*
*1985 UKAFA Central Conference 4-4-0*Youth Two Touch
*1988 JAFL Midlands Conference 7-1-0* Defeated Rotherham Braves (18-6), Lincoln Bombers (19-7) en-route to quarter-finals. Wrekin’s pitch was unplayable and the win awarded to the Northants Storm Jnrs.
1989 as Shropshire Giants
In
1989 they becameShropshire Giants which had a career record of 11-1-0.They were JAFL Youth Two Touch runners-up
1989 and conference champions in1989 also. Their 1989 JAFL West Midlands Conference record was 8-0-0.They then beat Derby 26-8 in the first round, and then the Luton Jnr Flyers in the quarter-finals. They won their semi-final 6-0 against the Rotherham Braves but lost the final 28-0 against the Kent Rams at
Alexander Stadium inBirmingham . [http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/Britball%20Teams/ShropshireGiants.htm Shropshire Giants profile] Britballnow.]1989-1993/4 as Cannock Chase Giants
At the end of 1989 they had a re-building year as they moved to Cannock in the CGL and became the
Cannock Chase Giants .Their stadium was Cannock Festival Stadium in
Cannock with a Career Record of 5-15-0 and colours Black/Black/Silver.They were the NPL runners in
1993 ,1992 ,1989 .In the
BAFA Leagues in 1990 (BNGL National Division Northern Conference 4-6-0) and 1989 (CGL Crown National Division Northern Conference 1-9-0).Their record for the National Passball League was:
*1993 NPL Northern Conference champions*
*1992 NPL Northern Conference champions*
*1991 NPL Northern Conference 4-1-0*
*1990 NPL Northern Conference 3-1-0*
*1989 NPL Central Conference 6-0-2*They progressed moderately as they posted a 4-6-0 record in their final year. Lost the NPL final in 1989 38-20 to the Thames Valley Thunderbolts. [http://www.britballnow.co.uk/History/Britball%20Teams/CannockChaseGiants.htm Cannock Chase Giants profile] , Britballnow.]
The Cannock Chase Giants then disbanded/merged with the
Wolverhampton Outlaws in 1993/1994. [ [http://www.nfluk.com/usersession_new.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=15367 American football in Shropshire] , nfluk.]References
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