Scottish Claymores
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The Scottish Claymores were 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
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The franchise played in the
World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
(later renamed
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games 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 ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and latterly sharing home games with
Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. In ten seasons of
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
play, the Claymores reached the
World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...
on two occasions, with victory 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 ...
but defeat in
World Bowl 2000 World Bowl 2000 (also referred to as World Bowl VIII) was the eighth championship game of the NFL Europe League. It was held at Waldstadion in Frankfurt, Germany on June 25, 2000. The match-up was between the 6–4 Scottish Claymores and the 7–3 ...
. Their name derives from that of the Claymore, a double-edged sword historically used in
Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...
warfare. One notable player was
Gavin Hastings Andrew Gavin Hastings, (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 c ...
, a Scottish rugby international who was used as a place kicker in 1996. The Claymores experienced several notable swings in fortune during their ten years. Their
World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...
-winning season of 1996 was the league's first worst-to-first turnaround: having finished 1995 with a 2–8 record and no wins at home, the 1996 Claymores went 7–3 in the regular season and won all their home games. Equally remarkable was the contrast between their first home games of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. In week 1 of the 2003 season, the Claymores defeated the Berlin Thunder 62–31 – the highest scoring game in NFL Europe history – but in 2004 their home opener was a 3–0 defeat at the hands of the Amsterdam Admirals, tying the record for the league's lowest-scoring game.


History

In 1992, the
World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
was put on hold by the NFL, with the intention of restructuring the league to become completely European-based. As a result, the three existing European teams in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, London and Frankfurt survived to be joined by three new teams, and in 1994 it was announced that Edinburgh had been awarded one of them (along with
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
). The Claymores were assigned former
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
coach
Lary Kuharich Joseph Lawrence "Lary" Kuharich Jr. (December 20, 1945 – November 13, 2016) was an American football Coach (sport), coach who was most recently the offensive coordinator of the Arena Football League's Columbus Destroyers. He was the son of form ...
to be their first head coach, but just days before their first game against Rhein, Kuharich was dismissed and replaced by former Boise State 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 ...
.


1995 season

The Claymores' first roster included five players sent to the club from the NFL, including
quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
s Matt Blundin from the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
and
Lee Williamson Lee Trevor Williamson (born 7 June 1982) is a retired professional footballer. Born in Derby he started his career at Mansfield Town before spending time at Northampton Town, Rotherham United, Watford, Preston North End, Sheffield United and Po ...
from the
Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
; as with all World League teams, it included seven "national" players, including wide-receiver Scott Couper. The Claymores played their first-ever game in Edinburgh on 9 April 1995, a 19–17 loss to the
Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...
(Coincidentally, the Claymores' three worst seasons (1995, 1998 and 2004: all 2–8) would all begin in the same way: with the Claymores falling to week 1 defeat on a missed field goal. In the other 7 seasons, the Claymores started 1–0). The team's first win came two weeks later, 20–14 over the
Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. Six straight defeats followed however, including a 31–0 shutout to the
Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...
and an overtime loss to the Fire, before winning the final game of the regular season 22–9 against British rivals the
London Monarchs The London Monarchs were a professional American football team in NFL Europe and its predecessor league, the World League of American Football (WLAF). The Monarchs played their final season in 1998 as the England Monarchs. In 1999, they were re ...
. The Claymores finished bottom of the six-team division with its 2–8 record. Criner used four quarterbacks over the course of the season; Blundin, Williamson, Terry Karg and a brief outing for
Jim Ballard James Ballard (born April 16, 1972) is a former American football quarterback. College career Ballard was a one-year starter at Wilmington College then transferred after his freshman year to Mount Union College. While at Mount Union, Ballard ...
. The team's offensive leader was
Siran Stacy Siran Stacy (born August 6, 1968) is a former American football running back. Early career Stacy played at the University of Alabama from 1989–91, after spending two years at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas. For the Crim ...
, who rushed for 785 yards and five touchdowns, and caught receptions totalling 324 yards. Allan DeGraffenreid also made 624 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Attendances were around the 10,000 mark to begin, but slumped as low as 6,800 for the final home game of the season.


1996 season

The Claymores made an aggressive marketing push for the 1996 campaign under new general manager
Mike Keller Michael F. Keller (born December 13, 1949) is a former American football linebacker and football executive in the National Football League. He played professional football for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of M ...
, which even included bringing in former Scotland
Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
captain
Gavin Hastings Andrew Gavin Hastings, (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 c ...
as a
placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...
. Criner's 1996 roster featured an increased number of signed NFL players. Quarterback Steve Matthews (like Blundin, contracted to the Chiefs) opened the season, but when returnee Jim Ballard showed greater consistency coming off the bench to replace an injured Matthews in week seven, Ballard would get the nod for the remainder of the season. Starting 1996 where they had left off 1995, the Claymores opened with an overtime victory over the London Monarchs, followed up with home wins against the Barcelona Dragons (23–13) and the Amsterdam Admirals (21–14). Despite defeat away to Rhein the 3–1 start propelled the Claymores into a mid-season showdown with the unbeaten
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, ...
on 11 May, where under WLAF rules the winner would advance to the
World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...
as hosts. A 20–0 win meant the championship game was coming to Edinburgh. The Claymores ran out the regular season with a 7–3 record to top the division. On 23 June, the Claymores again faced the Galaxy in World Bowl 96 at Murrayfield. The hosts rode three touchdown passes from Ballard to game
MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
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 ...
and held off a late rally to win 32–27, thus completing the WLAF's first worst-to-first turnaround in front of a crowd of 38,982. Siran Stacy was again influential in offense, with a nearly identical haul to his previous season's; 780 rushing yards and 317 receiving yards, for nine touchdowns.
Sean LaChapelle Sean Paul LaChapelle (born July 29, 1970) is a former professional American football wide receiver. He played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. LaChapelle attended Vintage Hig ...
was a thousand-yard receiver but forced out of the World Bowl with a groin injury, while Yo Murphy managed five touchdowns on the season. On defense,
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...
George Coghill George Coghill (born March 3, 1970) is a former American football safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League and the Scottish Claymores (of the World League). He played college football at Wake Forest and high school footbal ...
picked five interceptions, one returned for a touchdown. Coghill also forced a Galaxy fumble from the opening kickoff in the World Bowl, with all-round special teams player Markus Thomas returning the spilled ball for a touchdown; he also led the team in tackles, and caught one pass on offense. Safety James Fuller shared Coghill's total of five interceptions, while
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
Jerold Jeffcoat – brother of the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
'
Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...
– had five sacks on the season.


1997 season

Scotland's 1997 season opened with a 16–3 victory in Amsterdam, followed up by back-to-back defeats and closing out the first half of the season 3–2. Two more straight wins improved World Bowl prospects, but a narrow 10–9 defeat to the Monarchs in the penultimate week left the Claymores needing a victory in Barcelona against the Dragons – however, they were trounced 46–18 and finished the season 5–5, surrendering the second World Bowl spot to Barcelona in the process. Quarterback time was shared between the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
' Dave Barr and the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
' Spence Fischer (who doubled as occasional punter). However, they managed just four touchdown passes combined while throwing 10 interceptions and sharing 31 sacks. Siran Stacy completed another 785-yard rushing season with four touchdowns;
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 the leading receiver with 559 yards and two touchdowns; only he, Scott Couper and Allan DeGraffenreid completed touchdown passes on the season. George Coghill again led the defense in tackles.


1998 season

A much-changed 1998 roster saw World Bowl-winning quarterback Jim Ballard back in Scotland after missing 1997; however, two of the team's offensive leaders from the previous year, Siran Stacy, and Yo Murphy, did not return. Jim Criner led his team into the opening game in Barcelona, where kicker Gary Parker missed what would have been a game-winning field goal from 31 yards, the Claymores losing out 19-18. Three more defeats followed in Amsterdam (26-3), at home to the Fire (20-10) and at the now-England Monarchs (14-10), with the first win of the season only coming in Week 5, 30-10 over the Dragons. Their 1-4 start made World Bowl qualification very unlikely; their week 6 defeat to the Fire (perfect to this point in the season) sealed their fate. The side slumped to bottom of the division, finishing 2-8. The new-lock backs and receivers failed to match previous seasons' yardage figures; leading rusher Carey Bender made 441 yards, while Chris Miller topped the receiving statistics with 34 receptions for 527 yards. In total the Claymores managed just twelve offensive touchdowns in ten games, punting the ball 53 times. Off the field, it was a troubled season for Scotland in the now rebranded NFL Europe League, where leaked information that a third German team was to be founded to add to the already successful Fire and Galaxy sparked concerns the Claymores may be closed down: eventually however, it would be the England Monarchs who would be replaced by the
Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...
, ending the ''Battle of Britain'' rivalry series tied at 4-4. It was also during the 1998 season the Claymores played at Hampden Park in Glasgow for the first time, a week 8 loss to the Galaxy (originally, the Glasgow game was scheduled to be the week 10 visit of the Amsterdam Admirals at
Firhill Stadium Firhill Stadium is a football and former rugby union, rugby league and greyhound racing stadium located in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland which has been the home of Partick Thistle since 1909. The stadium is commonly referred to as s ...
). Four home games played in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.


1999 season

For 1999, Scotland were allocated
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
quarterback
Dameyune Craig Dameyune Vashon Craig (born April 19, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the Quarterbacks coach at the Texas A&M University. Craig played professionally as quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) f ...
, who opened the season with a narrow 21-20 win over the Rhein Fire, rushing for the winning touchdown himself late in the fourth quarter. The Claymores then hammered the league's newest team, the
Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...
, 48-14, Shon Bell catching two touchdown passes from tight-end. An overtime loss to Frankfurt followed; but by the time Scotland had returned to Frankfurt in Week 6, winning with a reverse of the 42-35 scoreline that the Galaxy had earned in Week 3, Scotland were 4-2 and in contention to reach World Bowl VII. However, the team then collapsed to four consecutive defeats, two of them back-to-back against Amsterdam, and finished ahead of only Berlin in the final standings. The side's leading rusher in 1999 was Jesse Haynes, with quarterback Craig contributing 50 rushing attempts and 3 touchdowns. Haynes totalled eleven touchdowns, seven rushing and four receiving.
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 ...
returned to the Claymores with four touchdown catches (and an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown) but the leading wide receiver was
Donald Sellers Donald Ray Sellers (December 30, 1974 – February 11, 2001) was an American football player, playing professionally at wide receiver for the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe. Sellers attended Ellison High School in Killeen, Texas and was a tw ...
, who totalled 931 receiving yards for seven touchdowns. Although the Claymores finished the 1999 season with a losing record, there would still be a historical moment: Craig would throw for 611 yards in the road victory in Frankfurt, a record passing total in professional American football. The helmet and number 2 jersey Craig wore that night are on display in the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
in
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...
. Three home games played in Edinburgh and two in Glasgow.


2000 season

The 2000 Claymores were fronted primarily by Kevin Daft; a 32-year-old Siran Stacy was on the roster for 2000 but had very little playing time. Like previous seasons, the Claymores opened positively with opening wins against Amsterdam and in Frankfurt. A 42-3 demolition of the Berlin Thunder sent the Claymores to 3-1, but with World Bowl qualification in the balance, the Claymores strung together three big late-season wins; with defeat over the Fire at Hampden on 10 June secured a World Bowl finale between those teams. Scotland led 7-3 when Aaron Stecker went over with a 36-yard first-quarter rush, exchanging field-goals for a 10-6 halftime lead. Pepe Pearson scored the second half's only touchdown for the Fire, leaving Rob Hart to attempt a game-tying field goal with eight seconds left; it sailed left, and Scotland lost World Bowl VIII in what turned out to be Criner's last game as head coach as he would depart for the
XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...
2000 was much more successful offensively for Scotland; Aaron Stecker, an allocation from the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
, was the first Scotland running back to near Stacy's early-season figures with 774 rushing yards, 276 receiving yards and 11 total touchdowns. Sellers again led Scotland in receiving yards (353, 5 touchdowns). Scott Couper caught three touchdown passes; in total, the Claymores outscored their opponents by 37 touchdowns to 18. Three Claymores shared a season-leading total of seven sacks;
Antonio Dingle Antonio Demetric Dingle (born October 7, 1976) is an American football defensive tackle for the Cape Fear Heroes of the American Arena League (AAL). He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panth ...
, Michael Mason and Jabbar Threats. Three home games played in Edinburgh and two in Glasgow.


2001 season

For 2001 – the first season under Criner's replacement, Gene Dahlquist and the first home campaign that would be played entirely in Glasgow – the new Scotland quarterback was the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
'
Clint Stoerner Clinton Jacob Stoerner (born December 29, 1977) is a former American football quarterback, who played in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins. He also played in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe. He p ...
; however offensive leaders of 2000 like Stecker failed to return. Close games were the nature of Scotland's early season, trading wins for losses over the opening six games, never by a margin of more than ten points. With the Claymores at 3-3 as the season entered its crucial period in June, the 2001 Claymores lost three games on the bounce as their predecessors had won them. A consolation victory against the Fire completed another losing season, the third in five years, 4-and-6. Stoerner completed around 55% of passes on the season and threw 10 touchdowns, compared to Daft's previous-season tally of 24. His primary target was tight-end James Whalen, a fellow Cowboys recruit, while
Dante Hall Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978) is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is nicknamed the "Human Joystick" and the "X-Factor". Hall was a ...
provided five touchdown catches; the only other Claymores to catch a touchdown pass were Scott Couper and Gerald Williams. Anothony Gray led the Claymores in rushing at 445 yards and half of the franchise's four rushing touchdowns on the year.


2002 season

Another year, another quarterback for Scotland; their fifth starter in five years was the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
' Scott Driesbach. His season opened well with a 45-17 demolition of Barcelona; Driesbach's first play in a Claymores uniform was a touchdown pass to
Scott McCready Scott McCready (born February 1, 1977) is a British former wide receiver in American football. Previously he played for the Scottish Claymores from 2002–2004, and was named to the All-League team on multiple occasions. McCready was the firs ...
. The win was the only victory of Scotland's first four games, as they slumped to defeats of less than a touchdown to Rhein and Frankfurt (twice). Scotland did not contest a game decided by less than ten points throughout the season's remainder; three straight wins took them back to a promising 4-3, but back-to-back defeats against the Berlin Thunder ended World Bowl hopes. Victory in Barcelona – for the first time ever – ended a .500 season. Driesbach completed just 95 passes all season, and was replaced with
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
; totalling just 1518 offensive yards were top receivers McCready and
Dondre Gilliam Dondre A. Gilliam (born February 9, 1977) is a former American football wide receiver who played two seasons with the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He has also been a member of the Scottish Claymores and Hamilton Tiger- ...
. Scotland's rushing game was a one-man show, with #29
Herbert Goodman Herbert Goodman (born August 31, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist and former NFL running back for the Green Bay Packers. A professional competitor from 2007 until 2011, Goodman competed for Bellator, M-1 Global and ...
making 873 yards and every one of Scotland's six rushing touchdowns. To sixteen offensive touchdowns were added three interception returns, including a 69-yarder by James Rooths. Rob Hart was a perfect 10-10 in field goals, sharing kicking time with Scottish-born kicker
Lawrence Tynes Lawrence James Henry Tynes (born May 3, 1978) is a Scottish-born former American football placekicker. After playing soccer for Milton High School a coach suggested he try out for the football team as a kicker. He played college football at Troy ...
. Four home games played in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh.


2003 season

For 2003,
Craig Nall Craig Matthew Nall (born April 21, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football for LSU Tigers ...
was recruited from the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
to play at quarterback; Scott McCready was one of few players to return for a second Claymores season. An NFL Europe scoring record came with Scotland's opening 62-31 defeat of the World Bowl champion Thunder. There were four rushing touchdowns for
Ken Simonton Ken Simonton III (born June 7, 1979) is a former American football running back who last played in the CFL for the Calgary Stampeders after a brief career in the NFL and the NFL Europe. Early life Simonton's family has a history of baseball. H ...
and a TD catch on return from "retirement" for Scott Couper. Over the next five games, Scotland added just one victory however, and were all but out of World Bowl contention by mid-May Shutting out the Rhein Fire 33-0 rekindled hopes, and strong victories over Barcelona and Amsterdam twice brought around a 6-4 conclusion, matching the season's best; however, they were denied a spot in
World Bowl XI World Bowl XI was NFL Europe's 2003 championship game. It was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on June 14, 2003. The crowd were entertained pre-match by Scottish rock legend Fish performing a rousing rendition of “Caledonia”. Hal ...
on the tie-breaker of net results with the Frankfurt Galaxy and Rhein Fire, which was increasingly unfortunate as the World Bowl was to be staged at Hampden Park.
Ken Simonton Ken Simonton III (born June 7, 1979) is a former American football running back who last played in the CFL for the Calgary Stampeders after a brief career in the NFL and the NFL Europe. Early life Simonton's family has a history of baseball. H ...
resprised Herbert Goodman's rushing role, totalling just two yards (and two touchdowns) less than Goodman's tally.
Maurice Hicks Maurice Hicks (born July 22, 1978) is a former American football running back. He was originally signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at North Carolina A&T. Hicks has also played for the ...
received 74 handoffs as well, scoring four rushing touchdowns, including a 93-yarder. Through the air, Nall's best receivers were Edell Shepherd (518 yards, 4 touchdowns) and John Minardi (470 yards, 5 touchdowns). Ten Claymores caught touchdown passes on the season. TJ Bingham took seven sacks on defense. Dahlquist was fired after the 2003 season, and after the Barcelona Dragons became the second NFL Europe team to be relocated to Germany (becoming the Cologne Centurions) their head coach
Jack Bicknell Jack Bicknell (born February 20, 1938) is a retired American football coach, most recently known for his long involvement in NFL Europa and its predecessor, the World League of American Football (WLAF). He served as the head football coach at t ...
stepped into the vacancy. In his single season in charge, the Claymores finished 2-8.


2004 season

2004 opened very poorly for Scotland, with four consecutive losses to open up the season. Only a 13–12 win over the Rhein Fire prevented a first-half shut-out. The same 1–4 record was posted for the second half of the season, completing a 2–8 season for the third time (equal worst in the team's history) and failure to qualify for
World Bowl XII World Bowl XII was NFL Europe's 2004 championship game. The game was played at Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on June 12, 2004. In this game, the defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy returned to try to protect their title after going th ...
.


Closure

On 21 October 2004, NFL Europe announced that the Scottish Claymores would be discontinued in favour of a franchise in a more competitive German market. While Scotland's attendance average over their 10-season history of 11,306 was comparable to some
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
clubs, teams in Germany were able to consistently bring in more support. Scotland were ultimately replaced by the Hamburg Sea Devils on 24 November for the 2005 NFL Europe season. Despite closing, the Scottish Claymores identity is being maintained to induct players to their Hall of Fame, and as a means for promoting amateur American football in Scotland. The team played a total of 26 regular season home games in Edinburgh and 24 regular season home games in Glasgow. One World Bowl was played in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.


Season-by-season


Head coaches


Hall of Fame

The Scottish Claymores Hall of Fame inducted new members every year from 1999 to 2006, except 2005.Scottish Claymores: Hall of Fame
*1999:
Siran Stacy Siran Stacy (born August 6, 1968) is a former American football running back. Early career Stacy played at the University of Alabama from 1989–91, after spending two years at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas. For the Crim ...
,
George Coghill George Coghill (born March 3, 1970) is a former American football safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League and the Scottish Claymores (of the World League). He played college football at Wake Forest and high school footbal ...
*2000:
Sean LaChapelle Sean Paul LaChapelle (born July 29, 1970) is a former professional American football wide receiver. He played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. LaChapelle attended Vintage Hig ...
, Mark Sander *2001:
Jim Ballard James Ballard (born April 16, 1972) is a former American football quarterback. College career Ballard was a one-year starter at Wilmington College then transferred after his freshman year to Mount Union College. While at Mount Union, Ballard ...
, Purvis Hunt,
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 ...
(head coach) *2002:
Dameyune Craig Dameyune Vashon Craig (born April 19, 1974) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the Quarterbacks coach at the Texas A&M University. Craig played professionally as quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) f ...
,
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 ...
*2003:
Marco Rivera Marco Anthony Rivera (born April 26, 1972) is a former American football guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Penn State University. Early years Rivera attended E ...
, Aaron Stecker *2004:
Joe Andruzzi Joseph Dominick Andruzzi (born August 23, 1975) is a former American football offensive guard. College career Andruzzi played college football at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he majored in special educat ...
, James Fuller,
Dante Hall Damieon Dante Hall (born September 20, 1978) is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is nicknamed the "Human Joystick" and the "X-Factor". Hall was a ...
, Duane Hawthorne, Paul McCallum,
Barry Sims Barry Sims (born December 1, 1974) is a former American football offensive lineman. He was drafted by the Scottish Claymores in the 17th round of the NFL Europe Draft in 1999. He played college football at Utah. Sims played nine seasons for ...
, Barry Stokes and non-playing staff including the fans in general *2006: Scott Couper, Robert Flickinger,
Rob Hart Rob Hart (born 4 November 1974) is an English former American football placekicker in NFL Europe. He played for the England Monarchs in 1998 and Scottish Claymores from 1999–2004. He played college football at Murray State University in Kentu ...
,
Craig Nall Craig Matthew Nall (born April 21, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football for LSU Tigers ...
,
Scott McCready Scott McCready (born February 1, 1977) is a British former wide receiver in American football. Previously he played for the Scottish Claymores from 2002–2004, and was named to the All-League team on multiple occasions. McCready was the firs ...
, Chris Ward,
Steve Livingstone Stephen Carl Livingstone (born 8 September 1969) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward and makeshift defender from 1986 to 2004. He began his career at Coventry City in 1986, though had little impact at the clu ...
(general manager)


References

{{British American Football Defunct American football teams in Scotland NFL Europe (WLAF) teams Sports teams in Edinburgh Sports teams in Glasgow American football teams established in 1995 American football teams disestablished in 2004 1995 establishments in Scotland 2004 disestablishments in Scotland