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 ...

'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 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 ...

, Scotland on Sunday, June 23, 1996. The 7–3

Scottish Claymores The Scottish Claymores were an American football team based in Scotland. The franchise played in the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe) between 1995 and 2004, initially playing all home games at Murrayfield Stadium, E ...

defeated the 7–3

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, ...

(the defending champions) 32–27 and, led by 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 ...

, completed the league's first ever worst to first turnaround. Claymores wide receiver

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 voted MVP for his 163 receiving yards and three

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 ...

s. 38,982 fans were in attendance that day, the highest in Claymores history and the largest crowd ever assembled for 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 ...

game in Scotland.

Background

The Claymores won the regular season series against the Galaxy, 20–0 in Frankfurt and 20–17 in Edinburgh.

Game summary

The game got off to a fast start as Claymore safety

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 ...

, on the opening kickoff, stripped the ball from

Mario Bailey Mario Bailey (born November 30, 1970) is a retired American football wide receiver who is the all-time reception leader in NFL Europe. He played for the Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), Frankfurt Galaxy from 1995 through 2000 and was a favorite play ...

's arms. After the ball came out, running back Markus Thomas returned the ball 25 yards for a touchdown, allowing former

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 ...

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 ...

player Gavin Hastings to kick the successful point after touchdown. However, the Galaxy would respond to the Claymores challenge, by having an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Jay Kearney running 16 yards on a reverse play for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Galaxy quarterback

Steve Pelluer Steven Carl Pelluer (born July 29, 1962) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 5th round of the 1984 NFL ...

would develop a 6-play, 30-yard drive that concluded with a two-yard touchdown pass to Mario Bailey. For the first time in the game, the Galaxy led the Claymores, but Scotland refused to enter halftime trailing. Claymore quarterback

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 ...

would lead two successful drives, late in the half. First, a two-play, 39-yard would set up a six-yard pass to eventual MVP Yo Murphy. The point after touchdown failed. Then, a three-play, 15-yard drive would set the stage for a 16-yard pass to Murphy, but the two-point try failed, due to the Galaxy's pass rush. Still, the Claymores regained their lead, being ahead 19–14 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Claymores increased their lead by adding Paul McCallum's 46-yard field goal to their score. However, the Galaxy would respond with a four-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 32-yard pass to Mario Bailey, but failed on the two-point conversion. The Claymores would respond with a 71-yard touchdown pass from Ballard to Murphy. The point after touchdown failed. In the fourth quarter, the Claymores would get four points on a 50-yard field goal by McCallum. With the Galaxy down 32–20, they needed points and they needed them fast. They would manage a seven-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a five-yard pass from Steve Pelluer to

Mike Bellamy Michael Sinclair Bellamy II (born June 28, 1966) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1990] to 1991. He is currently the running backs coach for the Illinoi ...

. After the Galaxy managed to get the ball back, they had less than a minute to get a touchdown and defend their title. Some quick passes helped Frankfurt get past midfield, but when the Galaxy reached a fourth and short situation, the mood throughout Murrayfield Stadium was tension. When the ball was snapped, the hand-off to Ingo Seibert was fumbled. Steve Pelluer managed to recover the ball and pick up the first down, but then, a flag was thrown. The referees stated that the fourth down rule was in effect. Since another player recovered the ball, the play was blown dead. It was that play and that rule that preserved the Claymores lead, giving them their 1996 World Bowl title.

References

{{NFL on Fox World Bowl 1996 in American football June 1996 sports events in the United Kingdom 1996 in Scottish sport International sports competitions in Edinburgh 1990s in Edinburgh