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Scottish Claymores
The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh and latterly sharing home games with Hampden Park, Glasgow. In ten seasons of NFL Europe play, the Claymores reached the World Bowl on two occasions, with victory in World Bowl '96 but defeat in World Bowl 2000. Their name derives from that of the Claymore, a double-edged sword historically used in Scottish clan warfare. One notable player was Gavin Hastings, a Scottish rugby international who was used as a place kicker in 1996.
The Claymores experienced several notable swings in fortune during their ten years. Their World Bowl-winning season of 1996 was the league's first worst-to-first turnaround: having finished 1995 with a 2–8 record and no wins at home, the 1996 Claymores went 7–3 in the regular season and won all their home games. Equally remarkable was the contrast between their first home games of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In week 1 of the 2003 season, the Claymores defeated the Berlin Thunder 62–31 – the highest scoring game in NFL Europe history – but in 2004 their home opener was a 3–0 defeat at the hands of the Amsterdam Admirals, tying the record for the league's lowest-scoring game.
In 1992, the World League of American Football was put on hold by the NFL, with the intention of restructuring the league to become completely European-based. As a result, the three existing European teams in Barcelona, London and Frankfurt survived to be joined by three new teams, and in 1994 it was announced that Edinburgh had been awarded one of them (along with Amsterdam and Düsseldorf). The Claymores were assigned former Arena Football League coach Lary Kuharich to be their first head coach, but just days before their first game against Rhein, Kuharich was dismissed and replaced by former Boise State head coach Jim Criner.
The Claymores' first roster included five players sent to the club from the NFL, including quarterbacks Matt Blundin from the Kansas City Chiefs and Lee Williamson from the Houston Oilers; as with all World League teams, it included seven "national" players, including wide-receiver Scott Couper. The Claymores played their first-ever game in Edinburgh on 9 April 1995, a 19–17 loss to the Rhein Fire (Coincidentally, the Claymores' three worst seasons (1995, 1998 and 2004: all 2–8) would all begin in the same way: with the Claymores falling to week 1 defeat on a missed field goal. In the other 7 seasons, the Claymores started 1–0). The team's first win came two weeks later, 20–14 over the Galaxy in Frankfurt. Six straight defeats followed however, including a 31–0 shutout to the Amsterdam Admirals and an overtime loss to the Fire, before winning the final game of the regular season 22–9 against British rivals the London Monarchs.
The Claymores finished bottom of the six-team division with its 2–8 record. Criner used four quarterbacks over the course of the season; Blundin, Williamson, Terry Karg and a brief outing for Jim Ballard. The team's offensive leader was Siran Stacy, who rushed for 785 yards and five touchdowns, and caught receptions totalling 324 yards. Allan DeGraffenreid also made 624 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Attendances were around the 10,000 mark to begin, but slumped as low as 6,800 for the final home game of the season.
The Claymores made an aggressive marketing push for the 1996 campaign under new general manager Mike Keller, which even included bringing in former Scotland Rugby union captain Gavin Hastings as a placekicker. Criner's 1996 roster featured an increased number of signed NFL players. Quarterback Steve Matthews (like Blundin, contracted to the Chiefs) opened the season, but when returnee Jim Ballard showed greater consistency coming off the bench to replace an injured Matthews in week seven, Ballard would get the nod for the remainder of the season. Starting 1996 where they had left off 1995, the Claymores opened with an overtime victory over the London Monarchs, followed up with home wins against the Barcelona Dragons (23–13) and the Amsterdam Admirals (21–14). Despite defeat away to Rhein the 3–1 start propelled the Claymores into a mid-season showdown with the unbeaten Frankfurt Galaxy on 11 May, where under WLAF rules the winner would advance to the World Bowl as hosts. A 20–0 win meant the championship game was coming to Edinburgh. The Claymores ran out the regular season with a 7–3 record to top the division. On 23 June, the Claymores again faced the Galaxy in World Bowl 96 at Murrayfield. The hosts rode three touchdown passes from Ballard to game MVP Yo Murphy and held off a late rally to win 32–27, thus completing the WLAF's first worst-to-first turnaround in front of a crowd of 38,982.
Siran Stacy was again influential in offense, with a nearly identical haul to his previous season's; 780 rushing yards and 317 receiving yards, for nine touchdowns. Sean LaChapelle was a thousand-yard receiver but forced out of the World Bowl with a groin injury, while Yo Murphy managed five touchdowns on the season. On defense, safety George Coghill picked five interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. Coghill also forced a Galaxy fumble from the opening kickoff in the World Bowl, with all-round special teams player Markus Thomas returning the spilled ball for a touchdown; he also led the team in tackles, and caught one pass on offense. Safety James Fuller shared Coghill's total of five interceptions, while defensive tackle Jerold Jeffcoat – brother of the Dallas Cowboys' Jim – had five sacks on the season.
Scotland's 1997 season opened with a 16–3 victory in Amsterdam, followed up by back-to-back defeats and closing out the first half of the season 3–2. Two more straight wins improved World Bowl prospects, but a narrow 10–9 defeat to the Monarchs in the penultimate week left the Claymores needing a victory in Barcelona against the Dragons – however, they were trounced 46–18 and finished the season 5–5, surrendering the second World Bowl spot to Barcelona in the process.
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Scottish Claymores
The Scottish Claymores, were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh and latterly sharing home games with Hampden Park, Glasgow. In ten seasons of NFL Europe play, the Claymores reached the World Bowl on two occasions, with victory in World Bowl '96 but defeat in World Bowl 2000. Their name derives from that of the Claymore, a double-edged sword historically used in Scottish clan warfare. One notable player was Gavin Hastings, a Scottish rugby international who was used as a place kicker in 1996.
The Claymores experienced several notable swings in fortune during their ten years. Their World Bowl-winning season of 1996 was the league's first worst-to-first turnaround: having finished 1995 with a 2–8 record and no wins at home, the 1996 Claymores went 7–3 in the regular season and won all their home games. Equally remarkable was the contrast between their first home games of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In week 1 of the 2003 season, the Claymores defeated the Berlin Thunder 62–31 – the highest scoring game in NFL Europe history – but in 2004 their home opener was a 3–0 defeat at the hands of the Amsterdam Admirals, tying the record for the league's lowest-scoring game.
In 1992, the World League of American Football was put on hold by the NFL, with the intention of restructuring the league to become completely European-based. As a result, the three existing European teams in Barcelona, London and Frankfurt survived to be joined by three new teams, and in 1994 it was announced that Edinburgh had been awarded one of them (along with Amsterdam and Düsseldorf). The Claymores were assigned former Arena Football League coach Lary Kuharich to be their first head coach, but just days before their first game against Rhein, Kuharich was dismissed and replaced by former Boise State head coach Jim Criner.
The Claymores' first roster included five players sent to the club from the NFL, including quarterbacks Matt Blundin from the Kansas City Chiefs and Lee Williamson from the Houston Oilers; as with all World League teams, it included seven "national" players, including wide-receiver Scott Couper. The Claymores played their first-ever game in Edinburgh on 9 April 1995, a 19–17 loss to the Rhein Fire (Coincidentally, the Claymores' three worst seasons (1995, 1998 and 2004: all 2–8) would all begin in the same way: with the Claymores falling to week 1 defeat on a missed field goal. In the other 7 seasons, the Claymores started 1–0). The team's first win came two weeks later, 20–14 over the Galaxy in Frankfurt. Six straight defeats followed however, including a 31–0 shutout to the Amsterdam Admirals and an overtime loss to the Fire, before winning the final game of the regular season 22–9 against British rivals the London Monarchs.
The Claymores finished bottom of the six-team division with its 2–8 record. Criner used four quarterbacks over the course of the season; Blundin, Williamson, Terry Karg and a brief outing for Jim Ballard. The team's offensive leader was Siran Stacy, who rushed for 785 yards and five touchdowns, and caught receptions totalling 324 yards. Allan DeGraffenreid also made 624 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Attendances were around the 10,000 mark to begin, but slumped as low as 6,800 for the final home game of the season.
The Claymores made an aggressive marketing push for the 1996 campaign under new general manager Mike Keller, which even included bringing in former Scotland Rugby union captain Gavin Hastings as a placekicker. Criner's 1996 roster featured an increased number of signed NFL players. Quarterback Steve Matthews (like Blundin, contracted to the Chiefs) opened the season, but when returnee Jim Ballard showed greater consistency coming off the bench to replace an injured Matthews in week seven, Ballard would get the nod for the remainder of the season. Starting 1996 where they had left off 1995, the Claymores opened with an overtime victory over the London Monarchs, followed up with home wins against the Barcelona Dragons (23–13) and the Amsterdam Admirals (21–14). Despite defeat away to Rhein the 3–1 start propelled the Claymores into a mid-season showdown with the unbeaten Frankfurt Galaxy on 11 May, where under WLAF rules the winner would advance to the World Bowl as hosts. A 20–0 win meant the championship game was coming to Edinburgh. The Claymores ran out the regular season with a 7–3 record to top the division. On 23 June, the Claymores again faced the Galaxy in World Bowl 96 at Murrayfield. The hosts rode three touchdown passes from Ballard to game MVP Yo Murphy and held off a late rally to win 32–27, thus completing the WLAF's first worst-to-first turnaround in front of a crowd of 38,982.
Siran Stacy was again influential in offense, with a nearly identical haul to his previous season's; 780 rushing yards and 317 receiving yards, for nine touchdowns. Sean LaChapelle was a thousand-yard receiver but forced out of the World Bowl with a groin injury, while Yo Murphy managed five touchdowns on the season. On defense, safety George Coghill picked five interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. Coghill also forced a Galaxy fumble from the opening kickoff in the World Bowl, with all-round special teams player Markus Thomas returning the spilled ball for a touchdown; he also led the team in tackles, and caught one pass on offense. Safety James Fuller shared Coghill's total of five interceptions, while defensive tackle Jerold Jeffcoat – brother of the Dallas Cowboys' Jim – had five sacks on the season.
Scotland's 1997 season opened with a 16–3 victory in Amsterdam, followed up by back-to-back defeats and closing out the first half of the season 3–2. Two more straight wins improved World Bowl prospects, but a narrow 10–9 defeat to the Monarchs in the penultimate week left the Claymores needing a victory in Barcelona against the Dragons – however, they were trounced 46–18 and finished the season 5–5, surrendering the second World Bowl spot to Barcelona in the process.