The Stuttgart Scorpions 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 Stuttgart,

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 ...

. The club's greatest success came in 2007, when it reached the

German Bowl The German Bowl is the annual national championship game in the sport of American football in Germany. It is contested by the two best teams of the German Football League. The New Yorker Lions, from Braunschweig, are the record winners of the Ger ...

but lost to 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.

History

The Stuttgart Scorpions were formed in December 1982. The new club spent its first couple of seasons in the ''2nd Bundesliga'', now the

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 ...

, where it played until 1985. The club, after having earned promotion, spent the 1986 and 1987 season in the central division of 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 ...

, but was only able to win one game in two years and found itself relegated back to the second tier for 1988. At this league, the team once more was a top performer and won two division titles in 1990 and 1991, with the later also earning promotion to the ''Bundesliga'' once more. The Scorpions once more struggled at top level and were immediately relegated again. After coming second in 1993 and winning its division the following year, the Scorpions were able to defeat the Franken Knights 47–0 in the promotion round and moved up for a third time in their history. The club was now much improved at the top level and reached the quarter finals in its first two seasons back, 1995 and 1996. After a difficult 1997 season, when survival was only assured in the relegation round against the

Saarland Hurricanes The Saarland Hurricanes are an American football team from Saarbrücken, Germany. Saarbrücken is the capital of the federal German state of Saarland, which the club is named after. The club was formed in 1996 in a merger of the two local sides S ...

, the Scorpions would finally be able to deliver constant top-level performances. From 1998 onwards, the team was to reach the play-offs every season. The Stuttgart Scorpions won the southern division of the ''Bundesliga'' in 1998 and were able to reach the semi finals of the German championship for the first time. In 2001, 2002 and 2006, this play-off performance was repeated, in between, the club was knocked out in the semi finals. The 2007 season was to be the club's best-ever, first winning the southern division of the GFL for only the second time and then progressing all the way to the

. In this game, the Scorpions were defeated 27–6 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.

, despite playing at home in Stuttgart. Since then, the team's performances have fallen off, only being able to reach the quarter finals of the championship in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2011, the side finished third in its division, qualifying for the play-offs once more, where they lost to the

Mönchengladbach Mavericks The Mönchengladbach Mavericks were an American football team from Mönchengladbach, Germany. The club won promotion to the German Football League in 2010, and qualified for the semi finals of the play-offs the following year, its greatest succes ...

. In 2012, the club came fourth in the southern division of the GFL and qualified for the play-off where it was knocked out by

Kiel Baltic Hurricanes The Kiel Baltic Hurricanes are an American football team based in Kiel, Germany. The club has been, of recent, a strong force in the sport in Germany, playing in five consecutive German Bowls from 2008 to 2012, losing the first two, winning the t ...

in the quarter finals. After 15 consecutive play-off qualifications the club came only sixth in 2013 and missed the finals for the first time since 1997. In 2014, the club finished second in the southern division of the GFL but lost 28–33 to the Cologne Falcons in the quarter finals of the play-offs. After a third-place finish in 2015 the club lost to the

Dresden Monarchs The Dresden Monarchs are an American football team from Dresden, Germany. They have been a member of the first tier German Football League since 2002 and play in its Northern Division. They are the reigning champion after having won German Bowl XL ...

in the quarter finals of the play-offs. In 2021, the Scorpions received an offer to become a franchise of the newly established European League of Football ELF which sees itself as a continuation of World League of American Football WLAF and NFL Europe. A 2/3 majority of the member base rejected the offer, but management and coaching staff decided to join the Stuttgart ELF franchise. Since the Scorpions rejected an ELF cooperation, the WLAF "Sacracmento Surge" (1992 World Bowl champion) was revived as "Stuttgart Surge". The Scorpions remain a constituent of the GFL.

Honours

** Runners-up: 2007 * EFL ** Participations: 2008 * GFL ** Southern Division champions: (2) 1998, 2007 ** Play-off qualification: (20) 1995, 1996, 1998–2012, 2014, 2015, 2019 ** League membership: (29) 1986–1987, 1992, 1995–2021 * GFL2 ** Central Division champions: 1985, 1990, 1991, 1994 * Junior Bowl ** Runners-up: 1992, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008

German Bowl appearances

The club has only appeared once in the German Bowl:Bowls
GFL website, accessed: 1 January 2011 * Champions in bold.

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the Scorpions:Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 2 January 2010GFL 2011
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 18 September 2011GFL 2010
www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 2 January 2011 * RR = Relegation round. * QF = Quarter finals. * SF = Semi finals. * GB = German Bowl

References

External links

*
Official website
*
German Football League official website
*
Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany {{Authority control American football teams in Germany German Football League teams American football teams established in 1982 Sport in Stuttgart 1982 establishments in West Germany