Hull Hornets were a British

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 based in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

. Formed in 2005, they competed for five seasons before ending their membership in BAFA in 2010. The City of Hull remained without a BAFA League team until 2015, when the Humber Warhawks were accepted into the league.

History

Background

The area has a long history of American football and traces its roots back to the early eighties when a team was formed under the name of the Hull Kingston Liberators. The team underwent some name changes through the eighties, becoming the Kingston Liberators and then the Humberside Liberators before they disbanded in the early nineties. After the Liberators, the Hull Pirates Youth Squad were formed to fill the gap and they notched up a third overall place in the national league in their first and only season. The Hull Rockets was the next development of the sport in the area; they came to an end after only a few years, leaving the only remaining American football team in the area, the Kingston Barbarians, who entered the British Senior League in 2001 but pulled out after just two games.

Team formation

The Hornets were formed in August 2005 by Graham McCoid and Chris Evers, who were both involved with teams in Hull throughout the years and ended up at the Doncaster (now the South Yorkshire) Mustangs. They both wanted to see American football come back to Hull and so the Hornets were formed. As they wanted to encourage growth of the sport within the area, the decision was also made to develop a youth side associated with the senior team that would play in their own league and act as a feeder for the senior team. The youth team is a work in progress but it still remains a goal of the club. On 5 November 2006, the team acquired full member status of BAFL. The Hornets finished the 2008 season with a record of three wins, four defeats and three draws, with a total of 94 points scored and 143 points conceded, finishing the season in fourth place out of six teams. The Hornets' season finished on a sour note as they were unable to complete two of their games, against

Tamworth Phoenix The Tamworth Phoenix are an American football team based in Coleshill, Warwickshire, England, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division North, the highest level of British American football. They operate from Pack Meadow in Co ...

and

Leicester Falcons The Leicester Falcons are an American football team based in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, that competes in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 South, the second level of British American football. The club currently operate from the Leicester ...

. The Tamworth home game had been cancelled due to a lack of officials and the fixture could not be re-arranged, whereas the Leicester away game was postponed due to the emergency services not being present. Therefore, the Hornets only actually played eight league games and their slight playoff chances faded when the League awarded draws in both of those two games. Hull Hornets

Senior team season records

2008 results

2008; pre-season; South Yorkshire Mustangs scrimmage at home. W 21–7?

2009 results

Locations

Home games

The team have moved to Brantingham Park in Elloughton just outside Hull; this change of venue gives the Hornets a top-flight pitch with grandstand facilities including clubhouse and bar serving drinks and food during the game. Most games are played on Sundays, although some are played on Saturdays. The usual kick-off time is 2.30 pm. For the 2010 season, training was moved to Oak Dene playing fields, Beverley Road opposite the Cross Keys pub. Training is Thursday nights 6 pm till 8 pm and Sundays 10:30 am to 1 pm.

References

External links

Hull Hornets official website
{{Sport in Hull Sport in Kingston upon Hull BAFA National League teams American football teams in England American football teams established in 2005 American football teams disestablished in 2010 2005 establishments in England 2010 disestablishments in England