| 1991 WLAF season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 23, 1991 – May 27, 1991 |
| World Bowl '91 | |
| Date | June 9, 1991 |
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London |
| Champions | London Monarchs |
The 1991 WLAF season was the inaugural season of the World League of American Football and was the first transatlantic sports league. The regular season began on March 23, and concluded on May 27. The postseason ran from June 1 until June 9, when the London Monarchs defeated the Barcelona Dragons 21–0 in World Bowl '91 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Attendances
Average game attendance was 25,361.[1] At London, Barcelona, Frankfurt and Montreal, attendances surpassed early expectations.[2] The Monarchs' home attendance led the league, with an average of 40,481 in the regular season.[3] The dress rehearsal for the World Bowl, London v Barcelona at Wembley in week 10, attracted 50,835 fans,[4] while the same week Frankfurt v Sacramento received a bigger crowd, 51,653,[4][3] with around 10,000 more fans turned away.[3] The World Bowl was attended by 61,108.[4]
Regular season
Week 1
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, March 23 | London Monarchs | 24–11 | Frankfurt Galaxy |
| Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | 3–9 | Sacramento Surge | |
| Montreal Machine | 20–5 | Birmingham Fire | |
| Sunday, March 24 | New York/New Jersey Knights | 7–19 | Barcelona Dragons |
| Monday, March 25 | San Antonio Riders | 34–35 | Orlando Thunder |
Week 2
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, March 30 | Sacramento Surge | 10–17 | Birmingham Fire |
| Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | 20–58 | Orlando Thunder | |
| Sunday, March 31 | New York/New Jersey Knights | 18–22 | London Monarchs |
| Monday, April 1 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 10–3 | San Antonio Riders |
| Barcelona Dragons | 34–10 | Montreal Machine |
Week 3
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 6 | Orlando Thunder | 12–35 | London Monarchs |
| Barcelona Dragons | 26–14 | Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | |
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 27–17 | New York/New Jersey Knights | |
| Sunday, April 7 | Sacramento Surge | 3–10 | San Antonio Riders |
| Monday, April 8 | Birmingham Fire | 10–23 | Montreal Machine |
Week 4
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 13 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 10–16 | Sacramento Surge |
| New York/New Jersey Knights | 44–0 | Montreal Machine | |
| Sunday, April 14 | Orlando Thunder | 13–33 | Barcelona Dragons |
| Monday, April 15 | San Antonio Riders | 37–15 | Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks |
| London Monarchs | 27–0 | Birmingham Fire |
Week 5
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 20 | Montreal Machine | 7–45 | London Monarchs |
| Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | 28–30 | Frankfurt Galaxy | |
| Barcelona Dragons | 14–22 | San Antonio Riders | |
| Sunday, April 21 | Birmingham Fire | 31–6 | Orlando Thunder |
| Monday, April 22 | Sacramento Surge | 20–28 | New York/New Jersey Knights |
Week 6
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, April 27 | Montreal Machine | 7–17 | Frankfurt Galaxy |
| Barcelona Dragons | 29–20 | Sacramento Surge | |
| Orlando Thunder | 6–42 | New York/New Jersey Knights | |
| Sunday, April 28 | Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | 10–35 | London Monarchs |
| Monday, April 29 | San Antonio Riders | 12–16 | Birmingham Fire |
Week 7
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, May 4 | Birmingham Fire | 6–11 | Barcelona Dragons |
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 17–14 | Orlando Thunder | |
| Montreal Machine | 26–23 | Sacramento Surge | |
| Sunday, May 5 | New York/New Jersey Knights | 42–6 | Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks |
| Monday, May 6 | London Monarchs | 38–15 | San Antonio Riders |
Week 8
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, May 11 | San Antonio Riders | 7–17 | Barcelona Dragons |
| London Monarchs | 22–7 | New York/New Jersey Knights | |
| Sacramento Surge | 33–45 | Orlando Thunder | |
| Sunday, May 12 | Birmingham Fire | 3–10 | Frankfurt Galaxy |
| Monday, May 13 | Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | 6–15 | Montreal Machine |
Week 9
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, May 18 | Montreal Machine | 10–27 | San Antonio Riders |
| London Monarchs | 45–21 | Sacramento Surge | |
| Sunday, May 19 | Frankfurt Galaxy | 10–3 | Barcelona Dragons |
| Monday, May 20 | Orlando Thunder | 20–14 | Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks |
| New York/New Jersey Knights | 14–24 | Birmingham Fire |
Week 10
| Date | Visiting team | Final score | Home team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, May 25 | Sacramento Surge | 24–13 | Frankfurt Galaxy |
| Birmingham Fire | 28–7 | Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | |
| San Antonio Riders | 9–38 | New York/New Jersey Knights | |
| Monday, May 27 | Barcelona Dragons | 20–17 | London Monarchs |
| Orlando Thunder | 33–27 | Montreal Machine |
Standings
| European Division | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | STK |
| London Monarchs | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | 310 | 121 | 1–1 | L1 |
| Barcelona Dragons | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 206 | 126 | 1–1 | W1 |
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 155 | 139 | 1–1 | L1 |
| North American East Division | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | STK |
| New York/New Jersey Knights | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 257 | 155 | 3–0 | W1 |
| Orlando Thunder | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 242 | 286 | 3–1 | W3 |
| Montreal Machine | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 145 | 244 | 1–2 | L2 |
| Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 | 123 | 300 | 0–4 | L10 |
| North American West Division | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | DIV | STK |
| Birmingham Fire | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 140 | 140 | 2–0 | W2 |
| San Antonio Riders | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 176 | 196 | 1–1 | L1 |
| Sacramento Surge | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 179 | 226 | 0–2 | W1 |
Postseason
Bracket
| Semifinals | World Bowl '91 | ||||||||
| 1 | London Monarchs | 42 | |||||||
| 4 | New York/New Jersey Knights | 26 | |||||||
| London Monarchs | 21 | ||||||||
| Barcelona Dragons | 0 | ||||||||
| 3 | Barcelona Dragons | 10 | |||||||
| 2 | Birmingham Fire | 3 | |||||||
All-World League team
Offense
| Position | First team | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Wide receiver | Jon Horton, London Gene Taylor, Barcelona Byron Williams, Orlando |
Dana Brinson, London Monty Gilbreath, NY/NJ Carl Parker, Sacramento |
| Tackle | Steve Gabbard, London Mike Withycombe, Orlando |
Scott Adams, Barcelona Theo Adams, London |
| Guard | Paul Berardelli, London Gary Frank, Frankfurt |
John Guerrero, Orlando Barry Voorhees, Barcelona |
| Center | Doug Marrone, London | Curtis Wilson, Sacramento |
| Quarterback | Stan Gelbaugh, London | Scott Erney, Barcelona |
| Running back | Tony Baker, Frankfurt Ricky Blake, San Antonio |
Judd Garrett, London Eric Mitchell, Orlando Eric Wilkerson, NY/NJ |
Defense
| Position | First team | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | Bruce Clark, Barcelona Mark Mraz, Frankfurt |
Donnie Gardner, San Antonio Shawn Knight, Sacramento |
| Nose tackle | Roy Hart, London | Darrell Phillips, Birmingham Mike Teeter, Frankfurt |
| Outside linebacker | Danny Lockett, London Tracy Simien, Montreal |
Marlon Brown, London Ron Sancho, NY/NJ |
| Inside linebacker | John Brantley, Birmingham Tim Walton, San Antonio |
Ron Goetz, Barcelona Pete Najarian, Sacramento Ken Sale, London |
| Cornerback | Anthony Parker, NY/NJ Corris Ervin, London |
John Holland, Birmingham Richard Shelton, Montreal |
| Strong safety | Greg Coauette, Sacramento | Tim Broady, Frankfurt |
| Free safety | John Miller, Birmingham | Dedrick Dodge, London |
Specialists
| Position | First team | Second team |
|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Phil Alexander, London | Björn Nittmo, Montreal |
| Punter | Chris Mohr, Montreal | Kirk Maggio, Birmingham |
| Special teams | Erroll Tucker, Orlando (PR) | Richard Shelton, Montreal (PR) |
| Operation Discovery | Phil Alexander, London | Victor Ebubedike, London |
References
- ↑ "League History". WLAF. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ↑ Stellino, Vito (April 7, 1991). "WLAF attendance surpassing early hopes in Europe and Canada". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- 1 2 3 Eichel, Larry (June 8, 1991). "In Europe, WLAF's Game Was More Than Football". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- 1 2 3 "WLAF History: 1991". WLAF. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ↑ Associated Press (May 28, 1991). "WLAF standings". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. p. 4B. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
- ↑ "1991 WLAF Standings". The Football Database. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- 1 2 3 "1991 All-World League Team". The News. Boca Raton, Florida. May 25, 1991. p. 5D. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
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