Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns
Founded | 1983 |
---|---|
League | German Football League |
Based in | Schwäbisch Hall, Germany |
Stadium | Optima Sportpark, 1,180 capacity |
Colors | Green and White |
President | Jürgen Gehrke |
Head coach | Vacant |
Championships | CEFL Bowl: 2021, 2022 German Bowl: 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2022 |
Division titles | GFL South: 2009, 2011–2019, 2021, 2022, 2023 GFL2 Central: 1986, 1987 |
Cheerleaders | UNIXX |
Mascot | Corny |
Website | unicorns.de |
The Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns are an American football team from Schwäbisch Hall, Germany founded in 1983.
The club's greatest successes were winning the southern division title in the
Previously, the only appearance in a national championship game the club has made was in 1997, when it lost the Junior Bowl to the youth team of the Berlin Adler.[2]
History
Early years
The club was founded on 9 November 1983, as the American football department of the
In the following year, the team entered in the central division of the 2nd Bundesliga, the second tier of American football in Germany, now the German Football League 2. At this level, the club quickly acclimatised, winning its division in 1986 and 1987. In 1986, the Stuttgart Scorpions were still the stronger side in the promotion round, winning both games and baring the Unicorns from moving one level up, but the year after the club managed to take up the Scorpions place in the American Football Bundesliga.[1]
The team played at this level for the next three seasons, without ever qualifying for the postseason, before losing its league place in 1990 when the league was reduced from 26 to 16 clubs. The Unicorns found themselves back in the 2nd Bundesliga for the next three seasons, before suffering further relegation.[1]
The side's absolute low came in 1995, when it had dropped to the tier-four Oberliga Baden Württemberg, but it quickly recovered, winning the league that season and earning promotion to the third tier. After another title, now in the Regionalliga Mitte, the team returned to the 2nd Bundesliga once more for the 1997 season.[1]
Back to the first tier
In four seasons at this level, the team finished in the top four each year, culminating in a second place in 2000, which allowed the side to move up again because of two clubs withdrawing from the GFL. For the next seven seasons, the Unicorns reached the play-offs each year, with a semi final appearance in 2005, where it lost to the Braunschweig Lions, as its best result.[1]
The 2008 season was a disappointment to the club, finishing fifth in its division and missing the postseason, but also staying well clear of relegation trouble. In 2009, the Unicorns were much improved, winning the southern division for the first time and missing out on a first-ever German Bowl appearance by a point, losing 21–22 to the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes. In 2010, the club came second in its division but lost to the Dresden Monarchs in the quarterfinals of the play-offs.[1]
Championships and continued success
The team played a flawless regular season in 2011, winning every game, followed by beating the Berlin Adler in the quarter-finals and the Mönchengladbach Mavericks in the semifinals of the play-offs and advancing to the German Bowl for the first time, where they met the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes.[4] The 33rd edition was the highest scoring German Bowl of all time, ending with a 48–44 victory for the Unicorns, which thereby ended an 18-year title drought for the south.[5][6]
In 2012, the club once more won its division, reaching the German Bowl after victories over the Düsseldorf Panther and Berlin Adler in the quarter and semi finals of the play-offs. In a repeat of 2011 the club once more defeated the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes in the German Bowl. The 2013 season saw the club win a third consecutive division title but the team was unable to defend their national championship, being knocked out in the quarter-finals by the Berlin Adler.
The club took out the southern division title of the GFL once more in 2014 and defeated the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 50–24 in the quarter-finals and the Dresden Monarchs 33–27 in the semi-finals of the play-offs to reach the 2014 German Bowl where it lost to the New Yorker Lions in a lopsided 47–9 where they only managed to score a field goal until well into the fourth quarter. The team won the southern division for a fifth consecutive time in 2015 and defeated the Hamburg Huskies in the quarter-finals and the Dresden Monarchs in the semi-finals of the play-offs, facing the New Yorker Lions once more in the German Bowl, which the Unicorns lost 31–41 in a much more closely fought contest than the previous year. 2015 also saw their first appearance in the BIG6 European Football League, where they advanced to the final before losing 24–14 in Eurobowl XXIX to host New Yorker Lions.
The 2016 season saw an unthreatened defense of the division championship with the Unicorns compiling a
As of 2016, former Unicorn wide receiver Moritz Böhringer is the first and only European player to be drafted into the National Football League directly out of a European league.[7]
In 2021 the Unicorns met the Tirol Raiders again. Since the BIG6 didn't exist anymore the two teams participated in the
Honours
International
- Central European Football League
- Champions: (2) 2021, 2022
- Eurobowl
- Runners-up: 2015
- BIG6 European Football League
- Participations: (2) 2015–2016
- EFL
- Participations: (2) 2012, 2013
National
- German Bowl
- Champions: (5) 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2022
- Runners-up: (6) 2014–2016, 2019, 2021, 2023
- GFL
- Southern Division champions: (13) 2009, 2011–2019, 2021–2023
- Play-off qualification: (20) 2001–2007, 2009–2019, 2021, 2022
- League membership: (25) 1988–1990, 2001–present
- GFL2
- Central Division champions: 1986, 1987
- Junior Bowl
- Champions: 2016
- Runners-up: 1997
German Bowl appearances
The club's appearances in the German Bowl:[8]
Bowl | Date | Champions | Runners-Up | Score | Location | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XXXIII | October 8, 2011 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | Kiel Baltic Hurricanes | 48–44 | Magdeburg | 11,711 |
XXXIV | October 13, 2012 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | Kiel Baltic Hurricanes | 56–53 | Berlin | 11,242 |
XXXVI |
October 11, 2014 | New Yorker Lions | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 47–9 | Berlin | 12,531 |
XXXVII |
October 10, 2015 | New Yorker Lions | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 41–31 | Berlin | 12,051 |
XXXVIII |
October 8, 2016 | New Yorker Lions | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 31–20 | Berlin | 13,047 |
XXXIX |
October 7, 2017 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | New Yorker Lions | 14–13 | Berlin | 13,502 |
XL | October 13, 2018 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | Frankfurt Universe | 21–19 | Berlin | 15,213 |
XLI | October 12, 2019 | New Yorker Lions | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 10–7 | Frankfurt | 20,382 |
XLII | October 9, 2021 | Dresden Monarchs | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 28–19 | Frankfurt | 14,378 |
XLIII | October 8, 2022 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | Potsdam Royals | 44–27 | Frankfurt | 9,637 |
XLIV | October 14, 2023 | Potsdam Royals | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 34–7 | Essen | 9,516 |
Youth
The Unicorns are well known for their superb youth programmes[9] and a significant number of their top players including national team quarterback Marco Ehrenfried have started playing with the Unicorns for one of their youth teams.[10] The Unicorns also founded the first American Football only Sportinternat (sport focused boarding school) in Germany dubbed the "Unicorns Academy" in cooperation with the Evangelisches Schulzentrum Michelbach in Michelbach an der Bilz near Schwäbisch Hall.[11][12]
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the club:[1][4][13][14][15]
Year | Division | Finish | Points | Pct. | Games | W | D | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
2005 | GFL (South) | 2nd | 13–7 | 0.650 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 292 | 256 | Won QF: Braunschweig Lions (8–33)
|
2006 | 3rd | 15–9 | 0.625 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 383 | 271 | Lost QF: Hamburg Blue Devils (13–34) | |
2007 | 3rd | 17–7 | 0.708 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 398 | 218 | Lost QF: Berlin Adler (3–23) | |
2008 | 5th | 8–16 | 0.333 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 207 | 331 | — | |
2009 | 1st | 17–3 | 0.850 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 326 | 205 | Won QF: Assindia Cardinals (46–25) Lost SF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (21–22) | |
2010 | 2nd | 18–6 | 0.750 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 444 | 198 | Lost QF: Dresden Monarchs (45–56) | |
2011 | 1st | 26–0 | 1.000 | 13† | 13 | 0 | 0 | 617 | 256 | Won QF: Berlin Adler (53–27)Won SF: Mönchengladbach Mavericks (47–21) Won GB: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (48–44) | |
2012 | 1st | 24–4 | 0.857 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 654 | 302 | Won QF: Düsseldorf Panther (41–25) Won SF: Berlin Adler (38–21) Won GB: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (56–53) | |
2013 | 1st | 23–5 | 0.821 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 548 | 223 | Lost QF: Berlin Adler (13–42) | |
2014 | 1st | 24–4 | 0.857 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 653 | 357 | Won QF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (50–24) Won SF: Dresden Monarchs (33–27) Lost GB: New Yorker Lions (9–47) | |
2015 | 1st | 26–2 | 0.929 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 685 | 234 | Won QF: Hamburg Huskies (61–13) Won SF: Dresden Monarchs (41–34) Lost GB: New Yorker Lions (31–41) | |
2016 | 1st | 28–0 | 1.000 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 694 | 282 | Won QF: Berlin Rebels (24–14) Won SF: Dresden Monarchs (35–26) Lost GB: New Yorker Lions (20–31) | |
2017 | 1st | 28–0 | 1.000 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 561 | 250 | Won QF: Berlin Rebels (31–24) Won SF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (33–11) Won GB: New Yorker Lions (14–13) | |
2018 | 1st | 28–0 | 1.000 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 558 | 163 | Won QF: Cologne Crocodiles (37–14) Won SF: Dresden Monarchs (23–7) Won GB: Frankfurt Universe (21–19) | |
2019 | 1st | 28–0 | 1.000 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 680 | 176 | Won QF: Berlin Rebels (45–24) Won SF: Dresden Monarchs (30–13) Lost GB: New Yorker Lions (7–10) | |
2020 | No season played because of the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||||||
2021 | 1st | 20–0 | 1.000 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 512 | 90 | Won QF: New Yorker Lions (38–13) Won SF: Potsdam Royals (28–18) Lost GB: Dresden Monarchs (19–28) | |
2022 | 1st | 20–0 | 1.000 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 437 | 148 | Won QF: Berlin Adler (35–21) Won SF: Allgäu Comets (33–8) Won GB: Potsdam Royals (44–27) | |
2023 | 1st | 18–6 | 0.750 | 12 | 9 | – | 3 | 397 | 244 | Won QF: Berlin Rebels (17–7) Won SF: Dresden Monarchs (36–30) Lost GB: Potsdam Royals (7–34) |
- QF = Quarter finals.
- SF = Semi finals.
- GB = German Bowl
- † The final game of the 2011 season against the Marburg Mercenaries was not played because of heavy rain on game day.[16]
Notable players
The team is notable for the long bonds between (former) players and the team with import players such as Nick Alfieri (who also runs a YouTube channel about his experiences in Germany) returning year after year and many members of the coaching staff - including head coach Jordan Neuman being former Unicorns players.
- Washington Football Team in 2020 as a member of the International Player Pathway Program.
- 2016 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. Played for the Unicorns before and after his NFL stints.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Football History (in German) Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 2 January 2010
- ^ Junior Bowl GFL-Juniors website, accessed: 15 May 2018
- ^ VEREIN (in German) Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns - Club info, accessed: 17 January 2011
- ^ a b GFL 2011 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 18 September 2011
- ^ Unicorns gewinnen German Bowl XXXIII (in German) GFL website, published: 8 October 2011, accessed: 12 October 2011
- Sueddeutsche Zeitung, published: 10 October 2011, accessed: 12 October 2011
- ^ "Moritz Boehringer Going from Unicorn to Vikings Gjallarhorn". Retrieved 30 April 2016.
- ^ German Bowl German Bowl website, accessed: 15 May 2018
- ^ https://www.football-aktuell.de/cgi-bin/mnews.php?redir=1&artikel=134989257450101115&rubrik=&leseprobe=&basics=&part=
- ^ "Vierter Titel für Unicorns – Football-Fan.de". footballfan.de. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26.
- ^ "Konzept".
- ^ "Unicorns Academy".
- ^ GFL 2008 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
- ^ GFL 2009 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
- ^ GFL 2010 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011
- ^ Heimspiel fällt den Fluten zum Opfer (in German) Marburg Mercenaries website, published: 11 September 2011, accessed: 16 September 2011
External links
- (in German) Official website
- (in German) German Football League official website
- (in German) Football History Historic American football tables from Germany