The München Rangers are an
American football team from
Munich (German: ''München'')
Germany.
The club had its most successful era between 1987 and 1991 when it played in the ''American Football-Bundesliga'', now the
German Football League and qualified for the play-offs just once, in 1990. After more than two decades in regional football leagues the club made a return to the national leagues when it won promotion to the
German Football League 2, the second tier of league football in Germany, in 2014.
History
The club was formed in 1981 out of the youth team of the
Munich Cowboys.
The Rangers entered league football in 1983 in the ''2. Bundesliga Süd'', now the German Football League 2, where it won a division title in 1986 and promotion to the ''American Football-Bundesliga''.
[München Rangers season by season results]
football-history.de, accessed: 10 October 2014 During these early years the club also reached the
German Junior Bowl on two occasions, in 1983 and 1984, but lost both games.
The club played in the southern division of the ''Bundesliga'' for the next five seasons, a league where their local rival, the Munich Cowboys, also played. With the exception of the 1990 season, when it reached the play-offs and lost to the
Bad Homburg Falken in the first round the Rangers were never a strong side. In 1991 the club came eighth and last in its league and was relegated. The following season, back in the ''2. Bundesliga Süd'', the club suffered another relegation and disappeared into regional football.
Rangers played in the Bavarian league, the ''Bayernliga'', for the following seasons until dropping out of league football altogether at the end of the 1997 season. The club focused on rebuilding in 1999 and 2000 and rejoined league football in 2001, now in the tier five ''Landesliga''. It returned to the ''Bayernliga'' the season after, dropped to the fifth tier once more in 2004 and then played in the ''Bayernliga'' until 2012.
The club enjoyed a revival from 2012 onwards, winning the southern division of the ''Bayernliga'' that year. It was promoted from there to the tier three ''
Regionalliga Süd'' where it finished fourth in its first season. A second place in the league in 2014 allowed the Rangers to participate in the promotion round to the German Football League 2 and, after to wins over the
Albershausen Crusaders, a team previously unbeaten, the club was promoted.
The club finished last in the southern division of the GFL 2 in 2015.
Honours
*
GFL
** League membership: (5) 1987–1991
** Play-off qualification: 1990
*
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
** Southern Division champions: 1986
*
German Junior Bowl
** Runners-up: 1983, 1984
Recent seasons
Recent seasons of the Rangers:
football-aktuell.de, accessed: 10 October 2014
* PR = Promotion round.
* QF = Quarter finals.
* SF = Semi finals.
References
External links
*
Official Website
*
German Football League official website
*
Football History
Historic American football tables from Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munchen Rangers
American football in Bavaria
German Football League teams
American football teams in Germany
American football teams established in 1981
1981 establishments in West Germany
Sport in Munich