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 ...
'91 (also referred to as World Bowl I) was the first annual championship game of 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 ...
. It took place on June 9, 1991 at
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
's
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. The game featured a matchup between the
Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons:
* Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2003;
* Barcelona Dragons (ELF)
The Barcelona Dragons are an American football team based in ...
and 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 Monarchs won 21–0 in front of 61,108 fans.
Background
The teams finished the 1991 season with the two best records in the WLAF. The Monarchs' 9–1 mark qualified them for the playoffs as European division champions, while the Dragons finished 8–2 and qualified as a wildcard. The Monarchs' only blemish on their record came at the hands of the Dragons, 20–17, at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in the last week of the regular season.
For both of the Europe-based finalists, the road to the World Bowl went through North America. The Dragons travelled to Birmingham and knocked off the
Birmingham Fire
The Birmingham Fire were a professional American football team based in Birmingham, Alabama. They were a member of the North American West division of the World League of American Football (WLAF) and played their home games at Legion Field. The cl ...
(North American West champions), 10–3, while the Monarchs stopped North American East champion
New York-New Jersey, 42–26. (Despite having a better record than the Knights, the semifinal game was held at
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...
due to a scheduling conflict with an association football match at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
).
The two starting quarterbacks, Barcelona's Scott Erney and London's Stan Gelbaugh, knew each other well: they played high school football less than five minutes away from each other, at
Mechanicsburg Area Senior High
Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School is a secondary school located on 500 South Broad Street in the borough of Mechanicsburg, west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The school is part of the Mechanicsburg Area School District.
Communities
Mechani ...
and
Cumberland Valley High School
Cumberland Valley High School (CV) is a public high school founded in 1954. It is located in the Cumberland Valley School District of Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. In the 2019–2020 school year, according to the National Cente ...
, respectively.
Game summary
Barcelona started the game with excellent field position, as London
wide receiver Dana Brinson
Dana Brinson (born April 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the eighth round of the 1989 NFL Draft. He played ...
fumbled the opening kickoff, and the Dragons took over on the Monarchs 18-yard line. However, the Monarchs defense shut down the Dragons offense, and London recovered a muffed field goal attempt (the first of 6 Dragon turnovers on the day). The teams traded possessions, with London taking over just before the end of the first quarter. Monarchs
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 ...
Stan Gelbaugh, who had finished the season as the league's offensive
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 ...
, hit Jon Horton with a 59-yard touchdown pass to give the Monarchs a 7–0 lead at the close of the 1st quarter. On the Dragons' next possession, quarterback Scott Erney was intercepted by
Dan Crossman, who returned his second pick of the game for a
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
. Crossman would add another interception later in the second quarter, setting up a 14-yard pass from Gelbaugh to
Judd Garrett
Judd Garrett (born June 25, 1967) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He also was a member of the Las Vegas Posse in the Canadian Football League and the London Monarchs in the World ...
, giving London a 21–0 lead and all the offense it would need.
Barcelona tried, but could not come back in the second half, as the hometown Monarchs won in front of a raucous London crowd. The crowd was also treated late in the game by the entry of
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
Victor Ebubedike
Victor Ebubedike (born February 1, 1966), also known as Victor X Ebubedike and Victor Muhammad, is an English former American football player who played as a running back for London Ravens, from 1983-1990, then onto the NFL Europe's London Mona ...
, born in London and a member of the Monarchs as per WLAF rules; he would gain 3 yards on his only carry of the game.
The Monarchs' win turned out to be the only shutout in
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 ...
history. Judd Garrett finished the day with 13 receptions, a World Bowl record that would never be surpassed. Dan Crossman's 3 interceptions easily earned him the World Bowl MVP award, the only time a defensive player would be so honored.
References
{{NFL on ABC
World Bowl
1991 in American football
1991 in London
June 1991 sports events in the United Kingdom
American football in London