Wiesbaden Phantoms
Encyclopedia
The Wiesbaden Phantoms are an American football
team from Wiesbaden
, Germany
.
The team experienced its greatest success in 2010, earning promotion to the German Football League
.
The Wiesbaden Phantoms first entered league football in 1985, when they joined the tier-three Regionalliga Mitte. In this league, the club was instantaneously successful, winning it in 1985 and 1986. The Phantoms earned promotion to the central division of the 2nd Bundesliga on the strength of these titles, a league the club would play in for the next six seasons. The teams best result in this era was a second place in 1991, but a sixth place finish the following season saw the club relegated back to the Regionalliga.
The following four seasons saw the club in decline, so much so that it dropped all the way to the fifth tier Landesliga for 1998, having been unable to field a team in 1997, but it was able to recover and begun its climb back up with a title in this division. By 2000, the club was back in the third division, where it became a top side without quite achieving another promotion until 2003, when the Phantoms once more won their league and returned to the 2nd Bundesliga.
Like in the Regionalliga, the club was a strong side in the southern division of this league, finishing runners-up on five occasions in the next seven seasons. Another runners-up finish in 2010, in a league now renamed German Football League 2
, saw the team qualify for the promotion round because of an enlargement of the GFL from 12 to 14 teams. The Phantoms beat the Weinheim Longhorns convincingly in both promotion games and thereby achieved entry to Germany's elite league for the first time.
The club came fifth in its first season in the GFL in 2011, well clear of the play-off ranks with only three wins and a draw to its name.
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 from Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The team experienced its greatest success in 2010, earning promotion to the German Football League
German Football League
The German Football League is the elite league for American football in Germany. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA....
.
History
The club was formed in 1984, originally as a department of a local association football club and, from 1986, independent as the AFC Wiesbaden Phantoms e.V..The Wiesbaden Phantoms first entered league football in 1985, when they joined the tier-three Regionalliga Mitte. In this league, the club was instantaneously successful, winning it in 1985 and 1986. The Phantoms earned promotion to the central division of the 2nd Bundesliga on the strength of these titles, a league the club would play in for the next six seasons. The teams best result in this era was a second place in 1991, but a sixth place finish the following season saw the club relegated back to the Regionalliga.
The following four seasons saw the club in decline, so much so that it dropped all the way to the fifth tier Landesliga for 1998, having been unable to field a team in 1997, but it was able to recover and begun its climb back up with a title in this division. By 2000, the club was back in the third division, where it became a top side without quite achieving another promotion until 2003, when the Phantoms once more won their league and returned to the 2nd Bundesliga.
Like in the Regionalliga, the club was a strong side in the southern division of this league, finishing runners-up on five occasions in the next seven seasons. Another runners-up finish in 2010, in a league now renamed German Football League 2
German Football League 2
The German Football League 2 is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the 2nd Bundesliga.-League structure:...
, saw the team qualify for the promotion round because of an enlargement of the GFL from 12 to 14 teams. The Phantoms beat the Weinheim Longhorns convincingly in both promotion games and thereby achieved entry to Germany's elite league for the first time.
The club came fifth in its first season in the GFL in 2011, well clear of the play-off ranks with only three wins and a draw to its name.
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the club:| Year | Division | Finish | Points | Pct. | Games | W | D | L | PF | PA | Postseason |
| 2005 | GFL 2 German Football League 2 The German Football League 2 is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League. Until 2007, the league was known as the 2nd Bundesliga.-League structure:... (South) |
2nd | 24–4 | 0.857 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 434 | 268 | — |
| 2006 | 2nd | 24–4 | 0.857 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 385 | 167 | — | |
| 2007 | 4th | 15–13 | 0.536 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 281 | 252 | — | |
| 2008 | 3rd | 23–5 | 0.821 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 512 | 229 | — | |
| 2009 | 2nd | 22–6 | 0.786 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 484 | 129 | — | |
| 2010 | 2nd | 20–8 | 0.714 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 388 | 175 | Won PR: Weinheim Longhorns (45–7 & 30–26) | |
| 2011 | GFL German Football League The German Football League is the elite league for American football in Germany. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA.... (South) |
5th | 7–19 | 0.269 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 241 | 366 | — |
- RR = Relegation round
- PR = Promotion round
- QF = Quarter finals
- SF = Semi finals
- GB = German Bowl
- In the 2011 season, the game against Plattling Black HawksPlattling Black HawksThe Plattling Black Hawks are an American football team from Plattling, Germany. The club was, until 2004, known as the Deggendorf Black Hawks....
was not played.