The London Blitz (formerly known as the London Sillynannies) 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 with ...
team based in
Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
,
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nor ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, who compete
BAFA National Leagues
The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They were formed in 1995 and operate from
Finsbury Park Athletics Stadium. They are one of the Britain's most successful teams and are five-time
BritBowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
winners as well as European Champions following their
EFAF Cup The EFAF Cup was an international competition for European American Football clubs. It was the second highest level of club competition in the European Federation of American Football (EFAF), behind the European Football League (EFL),.
EFAF Cup
...
triumph in 2011. They have also seven divisional titles to their name.
The Blitz also operate a handful of Youth teams as well as fielding a second team in the BAFANL, the London Blitz B were formed in 2015 and are currently members of the SFC 2 South Division, the third level of the British League, Blitz B have made the Play-Offs on several occasions and have won one divisional title.
History
The Blitz field a senior team in the
BAFA National Leagues
The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
Premiership as well as youth teams. The roster has included both local players as well as players from North America, Jamaica, South Africa, Uganda, and Nigeria. The team remained in the Premier division following the
2007 BAFL re-alignment.
The team was formed in 1995 after a merger between pre-existing sides: the Ealing Eagles (1984–1994) and the Woking Generals (1988–1993). The Blitz rose from the lower divisions of the then-British Senior League to the Premier Division. They won the British national championship,
BritBowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
XXI, in 2007, defeating
Coventry Cassidy Jets
The Coventry Jets were an American football team based in Coventry, England.The club ceased to exist in 2018 and dropped out of the BAFA National Leagues with all club assets and teams being moved over to the Etone Jaguars based in Nuneaton, Wa ...
14–6. They returned to defend the title in 2008, missing out to a field goal with 4 seconds left to play losing 32–33 against Coventry Cassidy Jets in a repeat of the 2007 match. In 2009 and 2010 the Blitz have cemented their place as the premier team in the UK by winning back to back BritBowls. In 2009 at the
Keepmoat Stadium
The Eco-Power Stadium (formerly known as Keepmoat Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Doncaster, England, with a capacity of 15,231. It cost approximately £20 million to construct, as part of the wider Lakeside Sports Complex that i ...
in Doncaster they defeated the Coventry Jets 26–7 in BritBowl XXIII, then in 2010 at
Sixways Stadium
Sixways Stadium is a stadium in Worcester, England. It is currently used for rugby union and association football matches and is the home stadium of Premier 15s side Worcester Warriors Women, University of Worcester Warriors and football side ...
in Worcester facing the Coventry Jets for the fourth consecutive final they won 34–20 in BritBowl XXIV.
The team participated in their sixth consecutive BritBowl in September 2011. They defeated the
London Warriors
The London Warriors are an American football club based in Thornton Heath, London, England, they compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Selhurst Sports Arena ...
18 – 0 at
Crystal Palace National Sports Centre
The National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace in south London, England is a large sports centre and outdoor athletics stadium. It was opened in 1964 in Crystal Palace Park, close to the site of the former Crystal Palace Exhibition building which ...
in London. The 2011 double triumph of
EFAF Cup The EFAF Cup was an international competition for European American Football clubs. It was the second highest level of club competition in the European Federation of American Football (EFAF), behind the European Football League (EFL),.
EFAF Cup
...
and
BritBowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
was the most successful season for a British American Football team since the achievements of the
London Olympians
The London Olympians are an American Football, American football team based in Greenwich, London, England, who compete in Division 1, the 2nd tier of British American Football. Formed in 1983 and originally from Streatham the team were known as t ...
in the early nineties.
In 2010, the London Blitz had their first venture into European competition in the
EFAF (European Federation of American Football) Cup (the second highest tier of European Club American Football), the Blitz defeated the
Amsterdam Crusaders
The Amsterdam Crusaders are an American Football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Together with the Rotterdam Trojans and Alphen Eagles, Amsterdam Crusaders are the oldest surviving Dutch American Football club.
Beginnings
The Crusaders start ...
in the Netherlands and Les Cougars de Saint-Ouen L'Aumone (from the outskirts of Paris) at home in the group stage but then lost in the semi-final to the Carlstad Crusaders in Sweden.
In 2011, they again entered the
EFAF Cup The EFAF Cup was an international competition for European American Football clubs. It was the second highest level of club competition in the European Federation of American Football (EFAF), behind the European Football League (EFL),.
EFAF Cup
...
. They won their group matches comfortably, beating the
Amsterdam Crusaders
The Amsterdam Crusaders are an American Football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Together with the Rotterdam Trojans and Alphen Eagles, Amsterdam Crusaders are the oldest surviving Dutch American Football club.
Beginnings
The Crusaders start ...
again, this time at home and then defeated the
Valencia Firebats
The Valencia Firebats are a gridiron team based in Valencia, Valencian Community (Spain).
History
The team was established in April, 1993, as Valencia Bats, joining the defunct ''American Football League (AFL)'' for the 1994 season. The following ...
in Spain. The Blitz hosted the Danish Champions the
Søllerød Gold Diggers
The Søllerød Gold Diggers are an american football team from Rudersdal, Denmark. The club was founded in 2003.
Søllerød Gold Diggers are members of the Danish American Football Federation (DAFF) and compete in the National Ligaen, the highes ...
in the semi-final beating them 23–7. The final was held at Finsbury Park on 2 July 2011. In front of a crowd of nearly 2,000 people the London Blitz won the EFAF Cup by beating the Serbian Champions, the
Kragujevac Wild Boars
The Kragujevac Wild Boars are an American football team from Kragujevac, Serbia.
As a team, Wild Boars arose from friendly tossing on the field. Organized play began in the winter of 2002–03 and culminated with first ever game in Serbia in s ...
29–7.
2012 saw the Blitz lose games in both Europe and in the domestic league for the first time in a few years. In Europe they took part in the
EFL Eurobowl
The Eurobowl was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each countries top league that was cal ...
for the first time in the club's history. Group wins in Paris against the
La Courneuve Flash
The La Courneuve Flash are a French American football team based in La Courneuve, France. The team plays in Ligue Élite de Football Américain
The Championnat Élite Division 1 () is the top-level American football league of France. The league ...
and at home to
L'Hospitalet Pioners
The L'Hospitalet Pioners (; "L'Hospitalet Pioneers") are a gridiron football team based in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia (Spain).
History
Their nickname recalls the history of the team, as they are one of the pioneering teams to play gridir ...
from Spain led to a quarter final in Berlin against 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 ...
. The Blitz dominated most of the game and led late on but eventually lost 21–15. In the re-aligned domestic BAFANL Premiership South league they lost twice during the season to the
London Warriors
The London Warriors are an American football club based in Thornton Heath, London, England, they compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Selhurst Sports Arena ...
. The first time the Blitz had lost regular season games since 2008. However, they reached their 7th consecutive
BritBowl
The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitut ...
at
Don Valley Stadium
Don Valley Stadium was a sports stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The venue, which was completed in September 1990, hosted the 1991 World Student Games. It was designed by Sheffield City Council's Design & Building Services and nam ...
in Sheffield where they faced the
London Warriors
The London Warriors are an American football club based in Thornton Heath, London, England, they compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division South, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Selhurst Sports Arena ...
again and this time the Blitz finished as winners when it mattered. The final score was 37–21 making the London Blitz national champions for the fourth consecutive year.
Former team captain
Roderick Bradley
Rod Bradley (born 29 March 1983) is an English player of American football, as well an artist and entrepreneur.
Education
Roderick Bradley was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire in 1983. He attended Oakham School between 1994 and 2001 before going ...
appeared on television as Spartan in the 2008–2009 series of ''
Gladiators
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
''. Bradley joined the Blitz in 2005 after attending
Loughborough University. After a long and successful career he has since retired from playing. Ex quarterback and Britbowl MVP Fred Boyle joined the Blitz in 2009 after leading the Hertfordshire Hurricanes for four years at the
University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...
. He too has since retired from playing after Blitz lost out to the Warriors in Britbwol XXVIII. The club chairman is Ed Morgan who joined the Blitz in 2006 after attending
Leeds University
, mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased
, established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds
, ...
. Bradley, Boyle and Morgan have represented Great Britain in the sport along with many other Blitz players.
[ ]
Current team captain and wide receiver Charlie Joseph has come up through the ranks from the Blitz Junior program and GB Juniors.
Blitz B Team
In 2015 London Blitz entered a development team 'London Blitz B' into the BAFA National League SFC2 East. The team is led by head coach Anthony Coverdale. The team has reached the Division Two play-offs on three occasions and has one Divisional title.
Stadium
The Blitz and B Team both operate from
Finsbury Park Athletics Stadum.
Team colours
London Blitz play in white helmets (with navy blue oval logo), navy blue jerseys with white numbers, white shorts, and navy blue socks. Their alternative kit is white jerseys with navy blue numbers, navy blue shorts and white socks.
Head coaches
* 1995–96 – Chris Williams
* 1997–99 – Damon Kirby
* 2000–03 – Adrian Klemens
* 2003–05 – Nick Rockell
* 2006–15 – Mark Moss
* 2016– – Damian Anderson
Results – domestic and European competition
See also
*
British American Football League
The British American Football League (BAFL) was the United Kingdom's primary American football league from 1998 until 2010. It was formerly known as the British Senior League (BSL) until 2005. BAFL was the trading name for Gridiron Football Lea ...
*
BAFA National Leagues
The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
References
External links
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Blitz
BAFA National League teams
American football teams in England
American football teams in London
American football teams established in 1995
1995 establishments in England