German Junior Bowl

German Junior Bowl
First meetingCologne, 1982
Latest meetingDüsseldorf
Statistics
Meetings total42 (1982-20243)
Most winsDüsseldorf Panther (18, last 2024)

The German Junior Bowl, usually only referred to as Junior Bowl, is the annual national championship game for junior teams in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the GFL Juniors.

It is the second-oldest still existing bowl game in Germany, after the German Bowl, dating back to 1982. Record winners are the Düsseldorf Panther, who celebrated their 18th success and their 23nd Junior Bowl appearance in 2024.[1]

History

[edit]

The first edition of the Junior Bowl was held in 1982 and became a recognised national championship in the following year. Until 2000, regional championships were held rather than a national league. The regional champions then participated in the play-offs to determine the national champion.[2]

In 2001, the GFL Juniors was introduced. The league consisted, for the most part of its existence, of twelve teams, split into three regional divisions, north, central and south, with four teams each. The best eight clubs then took part in the play-offs to determine the two teams that will play in the Junior Bowl.[3]

Like Germany's elite league, the German Football League, the GFL Juniors will be expanded for the 2011 season and play with four regional divisions of five teams each. However, the new western division will play with only four clubs as the Langenfeld Longhorns have withdrawn from the league. In 2012, the divisions will then expand to six teams each, taking the number of elite level junior clubs to 24.[4]

Junior Bowls

[edit]

The Junior Bowls since 1982:[1]

By game

[edit]
Year Champions Runners-up Score Location Attendance
1982 Düsseldorf Panther Cologne Crocodiles 13–6 Cologne
1983 Cologne Crocodiles München Rangers 13–6 Rüsselsheim
1984 Düsseldorf Bulldozer München Rangers 19–0 Düsseldorf
1985 Düsseldorf Panther Noris Rams 50–19 Nuremberg
1986 Düsseldorf Panther Munich Cowboys 22–0 Cologne
1987 Düsseldorf Panther Munich Cowboys 19–14 Mainz
1988 Düsseldorf Panther Würzburg Pumas 27–8 Hanover
1989 Berlin Adler Kempten Comets 36–12 Nuremberg
1990 Berlin Adler Ansbach Grizzlies 28–0 Düsseldorf 400
1991 Düsseldorf Panther Darmstadt Diamonds 22–12 Hamburg
1992 Berlin Rebels Stuttgart Scorpions 38–6 Hanover 2,734
1993 Cologne Crocodiles Regensburg Royals 44–6 Stuttgart
1994 Berlin Adler Frankfurt Gamblers 22–0 Rüsselsheim 1,340
1995 Darmstadt Diamonds Düsseldorf Panther 19–13 Stuttgart 700
1996 Berlin Rebels Munich Cowboys 41–12 Aschaffenburg 500
1997 Berlin Adler Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 33–0 Hamburg 770
1998 Düsseldorf Panther Darmstadt Diamonds 13–9 Braunschweig 1,400
1999 Hamburg Blue Devils Stuttgart Scorpions 43–0 Hanau 832
2000 Berlin Rebels Darmstadt Diamonds 19–14 Hanau 782
2001 Darmstadt Diamonds Stuttgart Scorpions 13–6 Koblenz 700
2002 Düsseldorf Panther Darmstadt Diamonds 61–26 Düsseldorf 700
2003 Düsseldorf Panther Darmstadt Diamonds 40–0 Schwäbisch Hall 583
2004 Düsseldorf Panther Franken Knights 47–7 Düsseldorf 1,200
2005 Düsseldorf Panther Franken Knights 48–10 Düsseldorf 1,050
2006 Düsseldorf Panther Berlin Adler 26–7 Düsseldorf 1,530
2007 Düsseldorf Panther Stuttgart Scorpions 47–26 Mönchengladbach 1,943
2008 Düsseldorf Panther Stuttgart Scorpions 49–30 Mönchengladbach 1,500
2009 Berlin Adler Cologne Falcons 21–14 Mönchengladbach 1,500
2010 Düsseldorf Panther Hamburg Young Huskies 17–7 Berlin 513
2011 Cologne Falcons Düsseldorf Panther 24–18 Cologne 4,362
2012 Cologne Falcons Cologne Crocodiles 40–13 Cologne 2,350
2013 Saarland Hurricanes Cologne Crocodiles 26–25 Düsseldorf 1,900
2014 Cologne Crocodiles Düsseldorf Panther 37–0 Düsseldorf
2015 Cologne Crocodiles Dortmund Giants 36–14 Cologne
2016 Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns Cologne Crocodiles 24–21 Schwäbisch Hall
2017 Paderborn Dolphins Düsseldorf Panther 27–22 Paderborn 1,500[5]
2018 Paderborn Dolphins Düsseldorf Panther 21–14 Stuttgart
2019 Cologne Crocodiles Wiesbaden Phantoms 57–18 Schwäbisch Hall 935[5]
2021 Cologne Crocodiles Fursty Razorbacks 21–7 Cologne
2022 Düsseldorf Panther Berlin Adler 23–6 Düsseldorf 3,000
2023 Düsseldorf Panther Berlin Adler 30–26 Düsseldorf
2024 Düsseldorf Panther Berlin Adler 36–0[a] Berlin
  1. ^ Berlins team refused to play the final and hence was disqualified[6]

By team

[edit]
App. Team Wins Losses Pct. Season(s)†
23 Düsseldorf Panther 18 5 0.783 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024
10 Cologne Crocodiles 6 4 0.600 1982, 1983, 1993, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021
9 Berlin Adler 5 4 0.556 1989, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2022, 2023, 2024
7 Darmstadt Diamonds 2 5 0.286 1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
5 Stuttgart Scorpions 0 5 0.000 1992, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008
3 Berlin Rebels 3 0 1.000 1992, 1996, 2000
Cologne Falcons 2 1 0.666 2009, 2011, 2012
Munich Cowboys 0 3 0.000 1986, 1987, 1996
2 Paderborn Dolphins 2 0 1.000 2017, 2018
Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns 1 1 0.500 1997, 2016
Franken Knights 0 2 0.000 2004, 2005
München Rangers 0 2 0.000 1983, 1984
1 Saarland Hurricanes 1 0 1.000 2013
Hamburg Blue Devils 1 0 1.000 1999
Düsseldorf Bulldozer 1 0 1.000 1984
Fursty Razorbacks 0 1 0.000 2021
Wiesbaden Phantoms 0 1 0.000 2019
Dortmund Giants 0 1 0.000 2015
Hamburg Young Huskies 0 1 0.000 2010
Frankfurt Gamblers 0 1 0.000 1994
Regensburg Royals 0 1 0.000 1993
Ansbach Grizzlies 0 1 0.000 1990
Kempten Comets 0 1 0.000 1989
Würzburg Pumas 0 1 0.000 1988
Noris Rams 0 1 0.000 1985
  • † Bold denotes Junior Bowl victory.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Bowls Archived 2015-09-29 at the Wayback Machine GFL website, accessed: 26 January 2011
  2. ^ GFL Juniors - Die Jugendbundesliga Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine (in German) GFL website, accessed: 26 January 2011
  3. ^ Football History Archived 2017-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 26 January 2011
  4. ^ Spielplan für die erweiterte GFL Juniors veröffentlicht Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine (in German) GFL Juniors website, published: 22 December 2010, accessed: 26 January 2011
  5. ^ a b "GFL Juniors". football-aktuell.de. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Düsseldorf Panther vorzeitig Deutscher Meister der U20". afvd.de (in German). 2024-09-02. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_Junior_Bowl&oldid=1247824382"