The 1996 WLAF season was the fourth World League of American Football (WLAF) season, and its second season under a six-team all-European format. The

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, E ...

, led by head coach

Jim Criner Jim Criner (born March 30, 1940) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Boise State University from 1976 to 1982 and at Iowa State University from 1983 to 1986, compiling a career record of as a college footbal ...

in his second year, finished the regular season in first place with a 7–3 winning record, and beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 32–27 in

World Bowl '96 World Bowl '96 (also referred to as World Bowl IV) was the fourth championship game of the World League of American Football (WLAF). It took place at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday, June 23, 1996. The 7–3 Scottish Claymor ...

. The victory marked Scotland's first World Bowl championship, in its second active season.

Season

The Claymores had gained the right to play as home team in the World Bowl in week 5. They beat the Galaxy 20–0 at the Waldstadion, taking the World Bowl berth as the midseason leaders. This ended an eight-game winning streak from

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

–96 for the Galaxy. The Galaxy finished the regular season in second place with a record of six wins and four losses. Amsterdam and Barcelona were next highest with 50% win–loss records.

World Bowl '96

World Bowl '96 was the fourth championship game of the World League of American Football (WLAF). It took place at

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest sta ...

in Edinburgh, Scotland on Sunday, June 23, 1996. The 7–3

defeated the 6–4

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

(the defending champions) 32–27 and, led by head coach

, completed the league's first ever worst to first turnaround. Claymores wide receiver

Yo Murphy Llewellyn "Yo" Murphy (born May 11, 1971) is a former gridiron football player of multiple professional leagues. He was originally signed by the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an undrafted free agent in 1993; he played colle ...

was voted MVP for his 163 receiving yards and three touchdowns. 38,982 fans were in attendance that day, the highest in Claymores history and the largest crowd ever assembled for an American football game in Scotland. The Claymores won the regular season series against the Galaxy, 20–0 in Frankfurt and 20–17 in Edinburgh.

References

NFL Europe (WLAF) seasons WLAF {{Americanfootball-season-stub