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
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
,
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's greatest success came in 1988, when it won its sole German Bowl, followed by a losing appearance in the game in 1989. In 1991, the club disappeared from the German football scene, having been dissolved that year.
History
The Red Barons Cologne made their first appearance on the German football scene in 1982, having been formed on 16 April 1981 by seven studentsFalcons trauern um ihr erstes Ehrenmitglied Cologne Falcons website, published: 6 January 2009, accessed: 23 January 2011 when they joined the tier-two ''2nd Bundesliga''. The following year, the club entered the elite league of German football, the '' American Football Bundesliga'', a league in which local rival
Cologne Crocodiles
The Cologne Crocodiles are an American football team from Cologne, Germany.
The club's greatest success came in 2000, when it won the German Bowl for the first and, so far, only time. Prior to this, the club had made five losing appearances in ...
was already playing.Football History Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 23 January 2010
The ''Red Barons first season in the league was quite successful, finishing third and reaching the play-off semi-finals, where the team was knocked out by the
Düsseldorf Panther
The Düsseldorf Panther are an American football team from Düsseldorf, Germany. The club is the oldest extant American football club in Europe, having been formed on 1 May 1978.
From 1986 onwards, the ''Red Barons'' improved again and would make the play-offs in every season. That year, the ''Panther'' were once more the side to knock the team out in the semi-finals, while the following season saw an early loss in the round of 16 to the Dortmund Giants.
The 1988 season became the club's best. A second-place finish in the league was followed by a strong play-off performance, crowned by a 25-20 German Bowl victory against the ''Panther'', a team that had defeated the ''Red Barons'' twice in the regular season. The 1989 season initially proved even better, with the team winning its division, on equal points with the second placed ''Panther''. The two rivals then met once more in the semi-finals, and the ''Red Barons'' pulled off a 21–20 win to reach the German Bowl for a second time, but lost to the
Berlin Adler
The Berlin Adler () is an American football club based in Berlin, Germany. The club is one of the most successful clubs in the sport in Germany, having won six German Bowls as well as ten ''Ladies Bowls'' and five ''Junior Bowls''.
International ...
in that game.
In the 1990 season, the club finished runners-up to the ''Panther'' again in their division but lost in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Berlin Adler, who went on to beat the other Cologne team, the ''Crocodiles'', in the final.
The 1991 season was to be the club's last. In a now unified and stronger northern division, the ''Red Barons'' came third once more, qualifying for the play-offs for a last time. In the quarter-finals, the Munich Cowboys proved the stronger side and this 17–21 loss was the club's last recorded game. The Red Barons Cologne did not compete at league level again after this, having been dissolved at the end of the season.
Some of the team's players joined the Cologne Bears, which itself went defunct in 1994, while others helped found the Cologne Falcons in 1994.
Former players
Former German international Roland Wolff played for the ''Red Barons'' from 1986 to 1991, joined the ''Bears'' in 1992, and the ''Crocodiles'' in 1994. He also played for the Düsseldorf Panther before finishing his player career with the ''Falcons'' in 2007.Hollywood in Köln www.football-aktuell.de, published: 8 December 2010, accessed: 23 January 2011
Honours
* German Bowl
** Champions: 1988
** Runners-up: 1989
* American Football Bundesliga
** Northern Division champions: 1989
** Play-off qualification: (7) 1983, 1986–1991
** League membership: (9) 1983–1991
German Bowl appearances
The club's appearances in the German Bowl:Bowls GFL website, accessed: 22 January 2011
* Champions in bold.