The Franken Knights are an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

team from

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Between 1995 and 1996 the club played in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

for two seasons but returned to Rothenburg again the following year. The club, originally formed as the Rothenburg Knights, has played in Germany's highest football league, the American Football Bundesliga, now the

German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based on those of the American NCAA. In 1999, the league switched its name from ''American-Football-Bundesliga'' to ''German Foot ...

, on three occasions. In 2011, it won the southern division

German Football League 2 The German Football League 2 (GFL2) is the second tier of American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players ...

for a fifth time and thereby earned the right to compete in the GFL once more in 2012.

History

The club was formed in late 1983 as the Rothenburg Knights.History
Franken Knights website, accessed: 11 December 2011 Th club entered competitive football in 1984 in the tier two 2nd American Football Bundesliga. It won its division in its second year there and earned the right to play in the Bundesliga from 1986. What followed was an unsuccessful spell of two seasons in the league, being relegated again in 1987. It took the Knights five seasons to return to the highest German football league, which it did in 1992, courtesy to another division title. The club qualified for the play-offs in its first season back in the Bundesliga, in 1993, but was knocked out in the quarter-finals by the

Berlin Adler The Berlin Adler ( en, Berlin Eagles) is an American football club based in Berlin, Germany. The club is one of the most successful clubs in the sport in Germany, having won six German Bowls as well as a ten ''Ladies Bowls'' and five ''Junior Bow ...

. In 1994, it failed to make the play-offs. The following season the club changed its name to Franken Knights and moved to

for two seasons, in the hope of better future in a larger city, but it came last in its division and was relegated once more, ending its second spell in the league. The Knights spend another four seasons in the 2nd Bundesliga before their third division title in the league, in 1999, moved them up once more. The club's most successful era was to come, with four play-off qualifications in five seasons there. While the club only missed out on the post season in 2001 in this era, it never managed to reach past the quarter-finals in its four attempts in this time, being knocked out by the

Braunschweig Lions The New Yorker Lions are an American Football team from Braunschweig, Germany. Until late 2010, the team was known as the Braunschweig Lions.

(2000 and 2004),

Hamburg Blue Devils The Hamburg Blue Devils are an American football team in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1992. The Blue Devils are one of the most successful American football clubs in Germany, having won four German Bowls as well as three Eurobowls. Durin ...

(2002) and Berlin Adler (2003). At the end of the 2004 season, despite a fourth place in its division, the club decided to withdraw from the league for financial reasons. The club returned to the second division once more. In the second tier, the Knights generally achieved good results, winning their division in 2009 and coming second in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, their division title earned them a trip to the promotion round but it lost both games against the

Munich Cowboys The Munich Cowboys are an American football team based in Munich, Germany. The club, together with the Düsseldorf Panther and the Ansbach Grizzlies, is one of the oldest in Germany.

and consequently wasn't promoted. It was however their division title in 2011 that won them their fourth promotion, to a GFL that was expanded from 14 to 16 teams. In 2012, the club came fifth in the southern division of the GFL and thereby failed to qualify for the play-off. It failed again in 2013, finishing seventh this time. The club failed to win a game in the GFL in 2014 and came last in the southern division, having to face the Kirchdorf Wildcats in the relegation round. The Knights won both games in this round and retained their GFL place. The team came last again in its division in 2015 but declined to participate in the relegation round against the

Frankfurt Universe The Frankfurt Universe are a German American football team from Frankfurt, Hesse. The club, formed in 2007, won promotion to the German Football League 2, the second tier of league football in Germany, in 2011. The team rebranded itself as "Fran ...

and accepted relegation instead.

Honours

* GFL ** League membership: (14) 1986–1987, 1993–1995, 2000–2004, 2012–2015 ** Play-off qualification: (5) 1993, 2000, 2002–2004 *

GFL 2 The German Football League 2 (GFL2) is the second tier of American football in Germany, below the German Football League The German Football League (GFL) is an American football league in Germany and was formed in 1979. Playing rules are based ...

** Southern Division champions: 1985, 1992, 1999, 2009, 2011 * Junior Bowl ** Runners-up: 2004, 2005

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 11 December 2011GFL 2 2010
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 11 December 2011GFL 2 2011
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 11 December 2011 * SF = Semi finals * LF = League Final * RR = Relegation round * PR = Promotion round

References

External links

*
Official website
*
German Football League official website
*
Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany {{Former German Football League clubs American football teams in Germany German Football League teams American football teams established in 1983 American football in Bavaria 1983 establishments in West Germany Rothenburg ob der Tauber Würzburg