The München Rangers 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 from
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
(German: ''München''),
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.
The club had its most successful era between 1987 and 1991 when it played in the ''American Football-Bundesliga'', now the
German Football League
The German Football League (GFL) is a professional American football league in Germany. The league was formed in 1979. In 1999, the league changed to its current name from American-Football-Bundesliga. and qualified for the play-offs just once, in 1990. After more than two decades in regional football leagues the club made a return to the national leagues when it won promotion to the
German Football League 2
The German Football League 2 (GFL2) is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the ''2. Bundesliga''.
League structure
The ''GFL2'', formerly the ''2. Bundesliga'', wh ...
, the second tier of league football in Germany, in 2014.
History
The club was formed in 1981 out of the youth team of the
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 Rangers entered league football in 1983 in the ''2. Bundesliga Süd'', now the German Football League 2, where it won a division title in 1986 and promotion to the ''American Football-Bundesliga''.
[München Rangers season by season results]
football-history.de, accessed: 10 October 2014 During these early years the club also reached the
German Junior Bowl on two occasions, in 1983 and 1984, but lost both games.
The club played in the southern division of the ''Bundesliga'' for the next five seasons, a league where their local rival, the Munich Cowboys, also played. With the exception of the 1990 season, when it reached the play-offs and lost to the
Bad Homburg Falken in the first round the Rangers were never a strong side. In 1991 the club came eighth and last in its league and was relegated. The following season, back in the ''2. Bundesliga Süd'', the club suffered another relegation and disappeared into regional football.
Rangers played in the Bavarian league, the ''Bayernliga'', for the following seasons until dropping out of league football altogether at the end of the 1997 season. The club focused on rebuilding in 1999 and 2000 and rejoined league football in 2001, now in the tier five ''Landesliga''. It returned to the ''Bayernliga'' the season after, dropped to the fifth tier once more in 2004 and then played in the ''Bayernliga'' until 2012.
The club enjoyed a revival from 2012 onwards, winning the southern division of the ''Bayernliga'' that year. It was promoted from there to the tier three ''
Regionalliga Süd'' where it finished fourth in its first season. A second place in the league in 2014 allowed the Rangers to participate in the promotion round to the German Football League 2 and, after to wins over the
Albershausen Crusaders
Albershausen is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Göppingen (district), Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
Location
Albershausen is located between the lower Filstal and the Swabian Jura at the Butz ...
, a team previously unbeaten, the club was promoted.
The club finished last in the southern division of the GFL 2 in 2015.
Honours
*
GFL
** League membership: (5) 1987–1991
** Play-off qualification: 1990
*
2. Bundesliga
** Southern Division champions: 1986
*
German Junior Bowl
** Runners-up: 1983, 1984
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the Rangers:
football-aktuell.de, accessed: 10 October 2014
* PR = Promotion round.
* QF = Quarter finals.
* SF = Semi finals.
References
External links
*
Official Website
*
German Football League official website
*
Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munchen Rangers
American football in Bavaria
German Football League teams
American football teams in Germany
American football teams established in 1981
1981 establishments in West Germany
Sport in Munich