The Graz Giants are an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

founded in 1981. The Giants play in the

Austrian Football League The Austrian Football League (AFL) is a professional American football league in Austria. The league comprises six teams, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation. It plays by rules based on those of the U.S. National Collegiate Athl ...

and are ten time Austrian Bowl champions. The Giants home games are at ASKÖ Stadium in the Eggenberg district of Graz.

History

Inspired by a March 1981 broadcast of the first Austrian football team, the Vienna Ramblocks, Stefan Herdey decided to found an American football team. After an advertisement was placed in a local newspaper, a dozen potential players attended the first meeting and founded the Graz Football Team. That team would be renamed the Graz Giants. The Giants took part in the first game between two Austrian teams, in which they lost 44–12 to the Ramblocks. With the dissolution of the Ramblocks, the Graz Giants are the oldest existing American football team in Austria. The Giants were the first known team from Europe to win a match against a US college team. In 1991, the Giants defeated

Albany State University Albany State University is a Public university, public Historically Black College and University, historically black university in Albany, Georgia, United States. In 2017, Darton State College and Albany State University consolidated to become ...

32-23 in an exhibition game played August 31, 1991 in the USA.

Championships

Austrian Bowl

The Giants are ten-time Austrian Bowl Champions having won the championship in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2008.

Central European Football League

In 2016, the Giants won the International Central European Football League CEFL Bowl championship final defeating the Belgrade Vukovi 52-49.

EFAF Cup

The Giants are three-time winners of the

EFAF Cup The EFAF Cup was an international competition for European American Football clubs. It was the second highest level of club competition in the European Federation of American Football (EFAF), behind the European Football League (EFL),. EFAF Cup ...

. In the 2002 season, the Giants won the EFAF Cup with a 37–20 victory over the

Badalona Dracs The Badalona Dracs (, "Badalona Dragons") are a gridiron football team based in Badalona, Catalonia. History Three American football enthusiasts got together in Badalona on a December 1987's evening to found the team. They were Pere Moliner, fir ...

, which made the club the first European Cup winner in Austrian football history. This was repeated in 2006 with a 37–20 victory against the Eidsvoll 1814s from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. In 2007, the Giants won the EFAF Cup for the third time with a 28–26 victory over the Cineplexx Blue Devils from

Hohenems Hohenems (High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Ems'') is a town in the Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg in the Dornbirn (district), Dornbirn district. It lies in the middle of the Austrian part of the Rhine valley. With a populat ...

Eurobowl

The Giants competed in the

European Football League The European Football League (EFL) established in 1986, was a tournament for the best European American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a ...

playoffs several times. They failed to reach the

Eurobowl The Eurobowl, first played in 1986, was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each country ...

championship final game.

Notable Alumni

* Eric Beavers, QB 1991-93 *

Doug Wilkerson Douglas Wilkerson (March 27, 1947 – February 21, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and San Diego Chargers. Named to the Pro Bowl three times, he wa ...

, OL 1987 (former NFL All Pro) *Paul Kujawa, RB/LB 1994-1996 (former

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

) * Rick Rhoades, Head Coach 2007-2011 * Dave Dunn, DT 1991-92 *Chris Gunn, QB 2008-2012

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official site
American football teams established in 1981 1981 establishments in Austria Sport in Graz Austrian Football League teams