Colchester Gladiators (American football)
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| Colchester Gladiators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Established 1983 Play in Wivenhoe (Reformed 2003) |
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| Current uniform | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personnel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Dave Hogarth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head Coach | Matt Roberts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League Championships (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division Championships (1)
1988 |
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| Conference Championships (5)
1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2006 |
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| Playoff Appearances (4)
1985, 1990, 1991, 1994 |
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| Home fields | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Colchester Gladiators are an American Football team currently competing in the South East Conference of British American Football League (BAFL) Division 2. They play their home games at the Broad Lane stadium in Wivenhoe, Essex (which they share with non-league soccer team Wivenhoe Town) and and train at the Sir Charles Lucas Centre for Sport and Art in Colchester. The club was first formed in 1983 and entered senior competition in 1985 where they enjoyed a degree of success, winning the Budweiser League Premier Division playoffs in 1988 and only failing to make the post season playoffs on three occasions before the team folded in 1995. They reformed once again in 2003 after a high-profile charity reunion match which featured TV presenter Dermot O'Leary. The Gladiators entered the BAFL the following year, gaining promotion in 2006 only to be relegated after just one season.
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[edit] History
[edit] The original Gladiators — 1983 to 1995
The Colchester Gladiators were formed in October 1983 by a group of friends at a time when American football first started to attract interest in the United Kingdom.[1] After playing competitive matches during the summer of 1984, they were accepted into the American Football League UK for the 1985 season where they competed in the Southern Division. They finished second in their group, qualifying for the playoffs at their first attempt before losing their wild-card match against the London Ravens, who eventually became the league champions.[2]
They transferred to the Budweiser League the following year, finishing third in their first season before winning the Premier Division Southeast Conference in 1987. After a comfortable win over the Cotswold Bears in the quarter-finals, they lost their semi-final to the Leeds Cougars.[3] For the 1988 season, they competed in the North London & East Conference which they won with a perfect 10-0 record, scoring 526 points in their ten games, the second highest total in the entire league.[4] They continued this form going into the playoffs, shutting out the Portsmouth Warriors in the first round before recording a 29–7 win at the Bristol Packers. They were then drawn at home to the London Capitals, who they narrowly beat by a single point to set up a final clash against the Brighton B-52s. They dominated this match, winning 47–28 to claim the divisional title.[4]
Instead of taking promotion up to the National Division of the Budweiser League, the Gladiators' management decided to transfer to the Combined Gridiron League instead, where they competed in the top Crown National Division. Just as they did the previous season, they topped their conference with a perfect 10-0 record, conceding just 42 points. After defeating the Leicester Huntsmen, they once again faced the Portsmouth Warriors. However, they were unable to reproduce the previous season's result, losing a high-scoring game 36–50 and so ending a 25-game winning streak.[5]
By this time, the Gladiators were attracting interest from local media, with regular radio coverage provided by SGR and BBC Essex.[1] They also attracted large crowds, with a record attendance of 1800 - these figures were rivalling those of local soccer team Colchester United (who at that time were struggling to stay in the English Football League), so much so that they enlisted the help of the police to manage game day traffic and parking.[1][6] They also received television coverage from the BBC and Anglia TV.[1]
In 1990, they played one season in the National Conference Marketing and Management Association (NCMMA), who had taken over operation of the CGL's Crown National Division.[7] They finished second in the Central Conference with a 6-4 record, and lost their first playoff match to the London Capitals.[8]
The following year, they merged with the Chelmsford Cherokee, renaming themselves as the Essex Gladiators, and playing some games at Melbourne Stadium, Chelmsford and some at Gloucester Park, Basildon.[9] They occupied the Cherokee's spot in the NDMA Coca-Cola League Southern Conference, where they finished third in their nine-team group with a 7-3 record, before losing their playoff quarter-final at home to the Nottingham Hoods.[10] The following season saw them struggle, finishing bottom of their group after winning just one match.[11]
At the end of the 1992 season, a merger was proposed between the Essex Gladiators and Kent Mustangs. However, this proposal fell through, and as a result the team name was returned to the original Colchester Gladiators. They transferred over to the British National Gridiron League and competed in the Premier Division Southeast Conference where they finished third out of four teams, thus finishing outside the playoffs.[12] In 1994, they switched leagues once again, this time to the British American Football Association, where they played in the Midlands Conference of Division Three. They finished second in this group with a 7-2-1 record before losing their playoff quarter-final to the Chester Romans.[13]
They were re-aligned to the East Midlands conference the following season, where they finished top with a 9-1 record. After beating their local conference rivals the Southend Sabres in their quarter-final, they were drawn to play away to the Oxford Saints, where they lost by a single point.[14] Despite their success in the leagues, lack of sponsorship money and problems with a permanent home ground put the Gladiator organisation under extreme pressure and the decision was taken to leave the league set up. The club folded soon afterwards.[1]
[edit] The Gladiators reform — 2003 to present
In October 2003, the decision was made to reform the Colchester Gladiators to mark the 20th anniversary of the team's original formation, and so a charity match was set up against the local university team, the Essex Blades. The team management managed to enlist the services of 50 veteran players, together with local TV presenter Dermot O'Leary, who played in the match as a Punt Returner.[1][15] In front of an estimated crowd of 800 people, together with TV cameras from Sky Sports (who showed highlights of the match with interviews twice during their American Football coverage) and Anglia TV, and cameras from Heat Magazine and the Evening Gazette, the Gladiators dominated the game, winning 50–8 and raising £2,500 for the Barnardo's children's charity.[1][15]
The Gladiators were accepted into the British American Football League, which they entered the South East Conference of Division Two. They finished third with a 4-5-1 record, missing out on a playoff spot to their local rivals the Essex Spartans.[16] The club benefitted from the lifting of signing restrictions, enabling them to register a squad of over 60 players for the 2006 season.[1] As a result, they won Division Two East with a 8-2 record ahead of the Norwich Devils. Unfortunately, the Devils got some measure of revenge by defeating the Gladiators in a wild-card playoff.[17]
Despite this defeat, the Gladiators were promoted to Division One after the BAFL was restructured for 2007. The club appointed a Youth Programme Head Coach as they sought to establish a long-term strategy.[1] Unfortunately, the team struggled at this higher level and they finished the season bottom of their group with a 0-9-1 record, and so they were relegated back to Division Two South East for the 2008 season.[18]
[edit] Team season records
| Season | Division | W | L | T | PF | PA | Final Position | Playoff Record | Notes |
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| 1985 | American Football League UK, Southern Division | 4 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 2 / 5 | Lost 0–66 to the London Ravens in wild-card match. | |
| 1986 | Budweiser League Division One Central | 8 | 2 | 0 | 266 | 124 | 3 / 11 | ||
| 1987 | Budweiser League Premier Division South East | 9 | 1 | 0 | 317 | 103 | 1 / 6 | Beat Cotswold Bear 66–0 in quarter-final. Lost 22–44 to Leeds Cougars in semi-final. |
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| 1988 | Budweiser League Premier Division North London & East | 10 | 0 | 0 | 526 | 101 | 1 / 6 | Beat Portsmouth Warriors 30–0 in first round. Beat Bristol Packers 29–7 in quarter-final. Beat Capital Tigers 34–33 in semi-final. Beat Brighton B-52s 47–28 in final. |
Premier Division champions. |
| 1989 | Combined Gridiron League National Division Central | 10 | 0 | 0 | 344 | 42 | 1 / 6 | Beat Leicester Huntsmen 49–14 in quarter-final. Lost 36–50 to the Portsmouth Warriors in semi-final. |
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| 1990 | NCMMA Central Conference | 6 | 4 | 0 | 355 | 229 | 2 / 5 | Lost 23–35 to London Capitals in quarter-final. | Team merged with Chelmsford Cherokee to form Essex Gladiators. Gladiators took Cherokee's spot in NDMA Southern Conference for 1991 season. |
| 1991 | NDMA Division One South | 7 | 3 | 0 | 268 | 219 | 3 / 9 | Lost 10–61 to Nottingham Hoods in quarter-final. | |
| 1992 | NDMA Division One South | 1 | 9 | 0 | 48 | 402 | 6 / 6 | ||
| 1993 | BNGL Premier Division South East | 4 | 6 | 0 | 80 | 161 | 3 / 4 | ||
| 1994 | BAFA Division Three Midlands | 7 | 2 | 1 | 243 | 132 | 2 / 6 | Lost 14–17 to Chester Romans in quarter-final. | |
| 1995 | BAFA Division Three East Midlands | 9 | 1 | 0 | 326 | 77 | 1 / 5 | Beat Southend Sabres 24–13 in quarter-final. Lost 14–15 to Oxford Saints in semi-final. | |
| 1996 to 2004 | DID NOT COMPETE | ||||||||
| 2005 | BAFL Division Two South East | 4 | 5 | 1 | 124 | 163 | 3 / 4 | ||
| 2006 | BAFL Division Two East | 8 | 2 | 0 | 201 | 185 | 1 / 4 | Lost 14–32 to Norwich Devils in wild-card match. | Promoted to Division One. |
| 2007 | BAFL Division One South | 0 | 9 | 1 | 51 | 283 | 6 / 6 | Relegated to Division Two | |
[edit] Roster
| Colchester Gladiators roster | ||||||
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Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
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Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
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Defensive Backs
Linebackers
Special Teams
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Team History. Colchester Gladiators American Football Club. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ 1985 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2008-02-12). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 1987 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-11-26). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ a b 1988 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-11-14). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 1989 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-08-31). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ Football Club History Database: Colchester United. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ History of British American Football 1988 to 1990. "Britball Now. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ 1990 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ Colchester Gladiators. Britball Now. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ 1991 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 1992 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-11-14). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 1993 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 1994 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 1995 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ a b Colchester Gladiators - 20th Anniversary Reunion Game. Britball Now (2003-10-19). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ 2005 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-01-02). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 2006 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2006-12-20). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
- ^ 2007 League Standings (XLS). Britball Now (2007-11-17). Retrieved on 2008-05-22.
