Leicester Panthers
Encyclopedia
The Leicester Panthers were a British American Football
team, formed in 1984 and disbanded in 1996 who played home games at Saffron Lane sports centre
. In the time they played, they recorded only one losing season, and won the league final in 1996, the year they dissolved the team. The club can boast New Orleans Saints
head coach Sean Payton
as their most famous alumnus, as he was the starting quarterback in 1988.
A number of original players from the Leicester Panthers, including rugby star Martin Johnson, who had played for the team in the early 1990s, Barry Driver, Charles Thompson and Neil Eastoll, reformed in 2007 to play a charity match against the Loughborough Aces for the Matt Hampson
Trust; the Panthers won 20-3.
In 2008 a number of ex-panther players were part of the squad that formed Leicester's current British American Football team, the Leicester Falcons
, who now play in Division 1 of the BAFA Community Leagues
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team, formed in 1984 and disbanded in 1996 who played home games at Saffron Lane sports centre
Saffron Lane sports centre
Saffron Lane sports centre is a large 8 lane 400 metre synthetic floodlight lit running track which includes a steeplechase water jump, in Leicester, England. It is home to the city's top two athletics clubs, the sprint and field specialists Leicester Coritanian A.C. and the middle and long...
. In the time they played, they recorded only one losing season, and won the league final in 1996, the year they dissolved the team. The club can boast New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
head coach Sean Payton
Sean Payton
Patrick Sean Payton is the current head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Payton was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois University and played professionally in 1987 and 1988...
as their most famous alumnus, as he was the starting quarterback in 1988.
A number of original players from the Leicester Panthers, including rugby star Martin Johnson, who had played for the team in the early 1990s, Barry Driver, Charles Thompson and Neil Eastoll, reformed in 2007 to play a charity match against the Loughborough Aces for the Matt Hampson
Matt Hampson
Matt Hampson is a former English rugby union prop who became quadriplegic after a scrummaging practice accident for England under 21 on 15 March 2005....
Trust; the Panthers won 20-3.
In 2008 a number of ex-panther players were part of the squad that formed Leicester's current British American Football team, the Leicester Falcons
Leicester Falcons
The Leicester Falcons are a British American football team based in Leicestershire, England. The Falcons play in Division 1 of the British American Football Association National Leagues.-History:...
, who now play in Division 1 of the BAFA Community Leagues
BAFA Community Leagues
The BAFA National Leagues are the primary American football competition in England, Scotland and Wales. They were formed by the British American Football Association in 2010 to coordinate contact football and flag football across all age ranges...
.