Category: US Armed Forces Football (World)

July 18, 2020

European Theater of Operations (ETO) Football Championship Autumn 1942

Results Autumn 1942

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Game 1		Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast
14.11.1942	Hale Blue Devils	9	Yarvard Crimson Tide	7
	Game 2		Inver Park, Larne
21.11.1942	Yarvard Crimson Tide	14	Tech Fighting Irish	0

European Theater of Operations (ETO) Football Championship Results Autumn 1942 [Ref: 1]

Report

From 1942-1943 the US Army played a series of American Football matches in Northern Ireland, Wales & England in aid of the Red Cross. Teams were named Tech (Engineering), Hale (Infantry) and Yarvard (Artillery).

Irish and British newspaper readers would have been familiar with reports in the papers of US College Football, and the team names reflect this (Yarvard and Hale are not mis-spellings, but the names reflect the Ivy League Colleges of Harvard and Yale, similarly Tech is a nod to the big American Tech Colleges.

Starting in Northern Ireland in 1942, matches were played at the home of Ulster Rugby, Ravenhill (Hale winning 9-7) and Larne (Yarvard getting a 14-0 win over Tech). 8, 000 turned up to see the Ravenhill game, and a full capacity 2,000 for the Larne match.

Yarvard Team at Sandy Bay, Larne, 1942 [14]

References

Websites

[1] Irish American Football Association (2016) Journey to Thirty [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/journeyto-thirty/ [Accessed 08 August 2016]

[2] Irish American Football Association (2016) History of US Teams playing in Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/history-of-us-teams-playing-in-ireland/ [Accessed 22 November 2016]

[3] Irish American Football Association (2016) History [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl/history.htm [Accessed 26 October 2016]

[4] Lucky Show (2016) American Football in Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://www.luckyshow.org/football/Shamrock%20Bowl.htm [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[5] Dublin Town – Article by Gerry Farrell (2016) College Football Classic Ireland’s Relationship with American Football [Internet] Available from: http://www.dublintown.ie/irelands-relationship-with-american-football/ [Accessed 7 May 2018]

Sources.

[6] Anon. (1942) . “Photo caption: American Football att Ravenhill”. Belfast News-Letter. 16 November 1942. pg. 6.

[10] Magee, Damian. “English Beer and American Football: Exporting American Football as a Cultural Commodity to the British Isles.” Irish Journal of American Studies, vol. 7, 1998, pp. 121–148. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30002410.

[11] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 47-82. Published by the author.

Social Media

[12] Belfast Blitzers | Faacebook (2019) Post 22 August 2019: “ So this is the last of the photos in the archive, it’s of the Yarvard team at Sandy Bay, Larne Harbour on the 21st November 1942. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/pcb.2260513057393170/2260507127393763/?type=3&theater [Accessed 23 August 2019]

[13] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Post 22 August 2019: “So this is the last of the photos in the archive, it’s of the Yarvard team at Sandy Bay, Larne Harbour on the 21st November 1942. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/rpp.454643317980162/2260507354060407/?type=3&theater[Accessed 23 August 2019]

Images

[14] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Photo 22 August 2019 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/pcb.2260513057393170/2260507127393763/?type=3&theater [Accessed 23 August 2019]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan, Sondra Maher, Rick Kelley & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 2 November 2019-2020

July 18, 2020

European Theater of Operations (ETO) Football Championship Autumn 1944

ETO Championship Autumn 1944

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Championship		3rd Bombardment Division
03.12.1944	94th Bomb Group Fighting Eagles	3	Helton’s Hellcats	0
	Championship		8th Air Force Command
10.12.1944	Shuttle-Raders	18	3rd Air Depot Liberators	0

References: [1]

Tea Bowl II Autumn 1944

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Bowls
03.12.1944	Air Force Command Warriors	23	Cowboys	0
03.12.1944	Shuttle-Raders	25	Ramblers	0
	Tea Bowl II		White City stadium
31.12.1944	Air Force Command Warriors	13	8th Air Force Shuttle-Raders	0

References: [1]

Army-Navy Grid Classic Autumn 1944

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Army-Navy Grid Classic		White City Stadium
12.11.1944	1st Air Depot Shuttle-Raders	20	Navy Sea Lions	0
	Army-Navy Grid Classic II
17.12.1944	Navy Green Waves	13	Army Red Raiders	7

References: [1]

“Turkey Bowls” Autumn 1944

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Thanksgiving Bowls
23.11.1944	348th Bomb Group Kiwis	0	445th Bomb Group	0
23.11.1944	Berger’s Bouncers	6	Henley’s Hurricanes	0
23.11.1944	Moore’s Maulers	6	Bearcats	0
23.11.1944	78th Fighter Group Greyhounds	6	434th Troop Carrier Command Greyhounds	0
26.11.1944	Shuttle-Raders	33	398th Bomb Group Blue Blazers	0
26.11.1944	Helton’s Hellcats	14	356th Fighter Group Tukey’s Terrors	6
26.11.1944	Air Force Command Warriors	28	Photo Lightnings	0
	“Turkey” Bowls
10.12.1944	Air Force Command	40	Berger’s Bouncers	0
10.12.1944	Moore’s Maulers	0	Doughter’s Fighting Eagles	0

References: [1]

Note: Only Major “Turkey Bowl” Style games played in Stadiums in front of the British & Irish Public in aid of the Red Cross are shown above. From Autumn 1943-Autumn 1944 there were Championships organised in various Divisions, with teams playing as many as 10 games before the playoffs.

Report

94th Bomb Group Fighting Eagles won the 3rd Bombardment Division Bowl in Autumn 1944, and Shuttle-Raders the 8th Air Force Command Championship.

There was also a repeat of the “Tea Bowl” won by Air Force Command Warriors, as well as a second Army-Navy Grid Classic series, with the Army team and Navy team winning one each, as in Winter (Spring) 1944.

References

Bibliography

[1] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 47-82. Published by the author.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 18 July 2020

July 18, 2020

European Theater of Operations (ETO) Football Championship Autumn 1943

ETO Autumn 1943

Date	Venue	Winners		Runners-Up
10.10.1943		Podhs		Ball Toters
17.10.1943	Elm Park, Reading	Red Tornado	14	Gremlins	0
24.10.1943	Wellingborough	Engineering Bulldozers	0	Ball Toters	0
31.10.1943	Elm Park, Reading	Skytrain	0	Red Tornado	0
28.11.1943	Oxford University	Army Blues	0	Army Greens	0
05.12.1943	White City Stadium	Central Base Pirates	8	8th Air Force Commandos	0
12.12.1943	St. Helen’s Stadium, Swansea	101st Screaming Eagles	6	Invaders	6

European Theater of Operations (ETO) Football Championship Autumn 1943 [Ref: 1]

Report

The Autumn 1943 European Theater of Operations (ETO) Football Championshp, among American soldiers in World war II, is notable for the appearance of the Bulldozers, an African-American Engineering team. The Championship was a series of “Turkey Bowl” style games, named after Thanksgiving, around which most games were played.

References

Bibliography

[1] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 47-82. Published by the author.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan, Sondra Maher, Rick Kelley & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 18 July 2020

July 18, 2020

European Theater of Operations (ETO) Football Championship Spring 1943

Final Standings

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
Yarvard Crimson Tide	3	3	0	0	73	6	1.000
Tech Fighting Irish	1	0	1	0	6	19	.000
Hale Blue Devils	2	0	2	0	0	54	.000

ETO Championship Spring Final Standings 1943 [Ref: 1]

Results

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Game 1		White City Stadium, London
08.05.1943	Yarvard Crimson Tide	19	Tech Fighting Irish	6
	Game 2		Ninian Park, Cardiff
10.06.1943	Yarvard Crimson Tide	14	Hale Blue Devils	0
	Championship		Eastville Stadium, Bristol
26.06.1943	Yarvard Crimson Tide	40	Hale Blue Devils	0

ETO Championship Spring Results 1943 [Ref: 1]

Report

After the ETO Championship in Northern Ireland in 1942, in spring the following year (1943), the European Theater of Operations Championship was organised in England & Wales, with the teams given the nicknames Fighting Irish (Tech – a nod to Notre Dame), Blue Devils (Hale – after Duke University) and Crimson Tide (Yarvard – in honour of Alabama University).

The Crimson Tide won all three matches played in front of the public, attracting crowds of 25,000 (London), 7, 000 (Cardiff), and 6, 000 (Bristol).

References

Bibliography

[1] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 47-82. Published by the author.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan, Sondra Maher, Rick Kelley & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 18 July 2020

July 18, 2020

American Expeditionary Force Football League (AEFFL) 1919

AEFFL Playoffs

Date	Winners		Runners-Up
	Quarter-Finals
14.03.1919	89th (Rolling W) Division	13	Saint-Nazaire	0
15.03.1919	SOS Tours	25	GHQ Chaumont	0
15.03.1919	36th (Panther) Division	13	HQ Le Mans	0
	Semi-Finals
21.03.1919	36th (Panther) Division	7	7th (Hourglass) Division	0
22.03.1919	89th (Rolling W) Division	17	SOS Tours	3
	AEFFL Championship		Velodrome Parc des Princes, Paris
29.03.1919	89th (Rolling W) Division	14	36th (Panther) Division	6

American Expeditionary Force Football League (AEFFL) Qualifiers 1919 [Ref: 1]

AEFFL Qualifiers

*Date*	*Winners*		*Runners-Up*
	First Army Final Replay
1919	36th (Panther) Division	3	First Armey Corps	0
	Second Army Final
1919	7th (Houglass) Division	YG*	28th (Keystone) Division	L
	Third Army Final
1919	89th (Rolling W) division	14	4th (Ivy) Division	0
	S.O.S. Base Sections
1919	St. Nazaire		bye – 1918 Champions
	S.O.S. Intermediate Sections
1919	SOS Tours	19	SOS Base Section 2	0
	General Headquarters
1919	GHQ Chaumont / GHQ Le Mans		Both Qualified with little opposition

American Expeditionary Force Football League (AEFFL) Qualifiers 1919 [Ref: 1]

Report

The American Expeditionary Force, before heading home from World War I, played a series of morale-boosting games at the end of 1918 and first half of 1919.

In Spring 1919, the remaining Army men in France were not due to return home until July, so the General of the Armed Expeditionary Force, General John J. Persching, gave General Order 241, which stipulated the formation of sports Championships in American Football, Baseball, Basketball, Soccer, Track & Field and Boxing. No one could not participate and the slogan was “Everybody in the game!”.

A budget of $1 Million (doubled to $2 Million by Washington) was made for uniforms – the Equivalent of $27 Million in 2014.

The Championships were organised in Qualifying Rounds for the Various Armies and Divisions, with Playoffs from Quarter-Finals onwards played at large Stadiums in Paris. A Total of 1, 335, 732 Football Players and Spectators took part in the Football Section, making it the Most popular, just ahead of boxing.

The Championship was won by the 89th (Rolling W) Division 14-6 over the 36th (Panther) Division.

These were among the earliest documented Football games in Europe, of the American Code.

References

Bibliography

[11] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 21-34. Published by the author.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan, Sondra Maher, Rick Kelley & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 18 July 2020

July 18, 2020

American Expeditionary Force Football League (AEFFL) 1918

AEFFL Playoffs 1918-19

Date	Winning Team		Runners-Up
	First Army Division Playoff		Tonnerre (Fra)
25.12.1918	Panther (36th) Division	38	Lightning (78th) Division	0
	SOS Football Championship		Saint-Pierre-des-Corps (Fra)
25.12.1918	Saint-Nazaire	17	Bordeaux	0
	First Army Division Championship		Tonnerre (Fra)
31.12.1918	Panther (36th) Division	20	Blue Ridge (80th) Division	0
	AEF Championship		Colombes Stadium (Fra)
19.01.1919	Saint-Nazaire	12	Panther (36th) Division	0

Reference: [1]

Report

The American Expeditionary Force, before heading home from World War I, played a series of morale-boosting games at the end of 1918 and first half of 1919.

In the Unofficial 1918 Championship, matches were played on Christmas Day & New Year’s Day deciding the Service of Supplies (SOS) and First Army Divisions Championships, with a Final following this on the 19th January 1919, which was won 12-0 by SOS Saint-Nazaire.

References

Bibliography

[11] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 21-34. Published by the author.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Todd Zboyan, Sondra Maher, Rick Kelley & Tim Leadingham.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 18 July 2020

July 18, 2020

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League Continental Sports Conference 1956-1960

USAFE Continental SC France District 1956

	P	W	L	T
Toul Tigers	10	9	1	0
Etain Pioneers	9	7	1	1
Evreux Normans	10	6	4	0
Dreux Plainsmen	10	6	4	0
Laon Rangers	10	6	4	0
SHAPE Indians	9	5	4	0
Chaumont Mudhens	9	3	5	1
Chambley Desert Rats	10	3	7	0
Chateuroux Sabres	9	1	7	1
Bordeaux Cardinals	9	1	8	0

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League France Sports Conference 1956 [Ref: 1]

USAFE Continental SC France District 1957

	P	W	L	T
Toul Tigers	10	10	0	0
Etain Pioneers	9	7	2	0
SHAPE Indians	10	7	3	0
Laon Rangers	9	6	3	0
Dreux Plainsmen	10	6	4	0
Chambley Desert Rats	9	5	4	0
Evreux Normans	11	4	6	1
Chaumont Mudhens	9	3	5	1
Phalsbourg Falcons	9	3	6	0
Chateauroux Sabres	9	1	7	1

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League France Sports Conference 1957 [Ref: 1]

USAFE Continental SC France District 1958

	P	W	L	T
Laon Rangers	10	9	1	0
Toul Tigers	11	8	3	0
Evreux Normans	8	4	3	1
SHAPE Indians	8	4	3	1
Chateauroux Sabres	9	3	5	1
Phalsbourg Falcons	8	2	5	1
Chaumont Mudhens	8	1	6	1
Dreux Plainsmen ##	7	0	7	0

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League France Sports Conference 1958 [Ref: 1]

Note: # Withdrew after fifth loss, remaining two games forfeited.

USAFE Continental SC France District 1959

	P	W	L	T
SHAPE Indians	10	9	1	0
Laon Rangers	11	8	2	1
Toul Tigers	7	4	2	1
Chateauroux Sabres	7	3	4	0
Evreux Normans	8	3	5	0
Phalsbourg Falcons	8	3	5	0
Dreux Plainsmen	8	1	7	0

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League France Sports Conference 1959 [Ref: 1]

USAFE Continental SC France District 1960

	P	W	L	T
SHAPE Indians	12	11	1	0
Laon Rangers	10	8	2	0
Chateauroux Sabres	10	4	6	0
Dreux Plainsmen	9	1	8	0
Toul Tigers	8	0	8	0

United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Football League France Sports Conference 1960 [Ref: 1]

Report

The United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) Continental Sports Conference France District title was won by Toul Tigers (1956 to 1957), Laon Rangers again (1958) and SHAPE Indians (1959 to 1960), after which the France District was merged into the Continental Sports Conference along with the teams based in Germany.

The United States Air Force in Europe Football League (USAFE – pronounced “You-Safe”) was the League for Air Force Personnel stationed at Cold War Military Bases in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy & Greece.

There were three Conferences: UK Sports Conference, Continental Sports Conference (Germany & France) and Mediterranean Sports Conference (Italy & Greece). While the MSC was a competitive Conference, the Finals were usually played between the Winners of the UKSC and the CSC.

Following the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, the USAFE Football League was discontinued and the only US Military Football now played in the UK is High School Football at Lakenheath, London Central (High Wycombe), Alconbury & Menwith Hill. [1]

The United States ARmy EURope played a separate League (USAREUR). [6]

The Ramstein Rams, Alconbury Spartans, Burtonwood Bullets & Weathersfield Raiders of the UK Sports Conference except the RamsteinR Rams (Continental Sports Conference) all played matches in Ireland, including one at Croke Park in aid of the Irish Red Cross. [3-7]

Continental Sports Conference Sports Patch [Ref: 9]

References

Bibliography

[1] Crawford, Russ (2016) “Le Football: A History of American Football in France”. pg. 87-110. Published by University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln & Lincoln.

[2] Foglio, Massimo & Ford, Mark L. (2017) Touchdown in Europe – How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 103-105. Published by the author.

[3] Lensmen Photographic Archive (2012) . “The 1950s Ireland in Pictures”. pg. 36. The O’Brien Press Ltd. Dublin, Ireland.

Newspapers

[4] Anon. (1966) . “Rams bring 45 ‘Rough Scrappers”. Belfast Telegraph. 1 September 1966. pg. 18.

[5] Anon. (1954) . “Photo caption”. Northern Whig. 18 November 1954. pg. 6.

[6] Anon. (1966) . “Rams bring 45 ‘Rough Scrappers”. Belfast Telegraph. 1 September 1966. pg. 18.

Articles

[7] Magee, Damian. “English Beer and American Football: Exporting American Football as a Cultural Commodity to the British Isles.” Irish Journal of American Studies, vol. 7, 1998, pp. 121–148. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30002410.