NIFL 1976
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| Blue Knights Vicenza | |||||||
| Eagles Aviano | |||||||
| Geronimos Vicenza | |||||||
| Rangers Tirennia | |||||||
| Red Machine Aviano |
Reference: [1]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Geronimos | W |
Reference: [1]
NIFL 1977
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| Red Machine Aviano | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | ||
| *Geronimos Vicenza | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | .722 | ||
| Eagles Aviano | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | ||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | .500 | ||
| Rangers Tirennia | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | ||
| Bosco Rocks Verona | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .000 |
Reference: [1]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Geronimos | W |
Reference: [2]
NIFL 1978
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| *Geronimos Vicenza | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | ||
| *Red Machine Aviano | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | ||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | ||
| Rangers Tirrenia | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | ||
| Eagles Aviano | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | ||
| Rhinos Milano | 10 | 1 | 9 | 0 | .100 |
Reference: [1]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Geronimos Vicenza | L | Red Machine Aviano | W |
Reference: [3]
NIFL 1979
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| *Geronimos Vicenza | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | .700 | ||
| Eagles Aviano | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | .700 | ||
| Rangers Tirrenia | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | ||
| Bosco Rocks Verona | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | .200 | ||
| Rhinos Milano | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | .000 |
Reference: [4]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Geronimos Vicenza | W |
Reference: [4]
NIFL 1980
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| *Blue Knights Vicenza | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | ||
| Geronimos Vicenza | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | ||
| Eagles Aviano | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | ||
| Rangers Tirrenia | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | ||
| Rhinos Milano | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | ||
| Frogs Gallarate | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | ||
| Rams Milano | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 |
Reference: [5]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | W |
Reference: [5]
NIFL 1981
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| Blue Knights Vicenza | |||||||
| Eagles Aviano | |||||||
| *Geronimos Vicenza | |||||||
| Rangers Tirrenia | |||||||
| Rhinos Milano |
Reference: [6]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Geronimos Vicenza | W |
Reference: [6]
NIFL 1982
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| *Geronimos Vicenza | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 308 | 13 | 1.000 |
| *Blue Knights Vicenza | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 278 | 28 | .857 |
| *Rangers Tirrenia | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 104 | 80 | .714 |
| *Rhinos Milano | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 83 | 174 | .571 |
| Giaguari Torino | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 66 | 161 | .429 |
| Warriors Bologna | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 195 | .143 |
| Frogs Gallarate | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 | ||
| Crusaders Brindisi / Eagles Aviano (&) |
Reference: [7] (&) Eagles Aviano excluded from the Championship and replaced by Crusaders Brindisi – Other information unavailable [7]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semifinale | ||||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 27 | Rangers Tirrenia | 14 | |
| Geronimos Vicenza | 35 | Rhinos Milano | 0 | |
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 6 | Geronimos Vicenza | 32 |
Reference: [7]
NIFL 1983
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| *Geronimos Vicenza | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 297 | 28 | 1.000 |
| *Blue Knights Vicenza | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 169 | 91 | .833 |
| Frogs Busto Arsizio | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 83 | .667 |
| Rangers Tirrenia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 95 | 87 | .500 |
| Warriors Bologna | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 55 | 168 | .333 |
| Giaguari Torino | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 91 | 151 | .167 |
| Seamen Milano | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 210 | .000 |
Reference: [8]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semifinale | ||||
| Geronimos Vicenza | 20 | Rangers Tirrenia | 0 | |
| Frogs Busto Arsizio | 20 | Blue Knights Vicenza | 36 | |
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 26 | Geronimos Vicenza | 21 |
Reference: [8]
NIFL 1984
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| *Blue Knights Vicenza | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 129 | 27 | .800 |
| *Geronimos Vicenza | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 23 | .800 |
| *Rangers Tirrenia | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 41 | .400 |
| *Eagles Aviano | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 52 | .400 |
| Wildcats Napoli | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 119 | .400 |
| Crusaders Brindisi | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 70 | .200 |
Reference: [9]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semifinale | ||||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 36 | Rangers Tirrenia | 0 | |
| Geronimos Vicenza | 8 | Eagles Aviano | 0 ot | |
| Finale | ||||
| Blue Knights Vicenza | 7 | Geronimos Vicenza | 14 |
Reference: [9]
NIFL 1985
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| *Geronimos Vicenza | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| *Rangers Tirrenia | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | ||
| *Blue Knights Vicenza | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | ||
| Red Raiders Aviano | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | ||
| Mustangs Napoli | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
Reference: [10]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semifinale | ||||
| Geronimos Vicenza | 14 | Red Raiders Aviano | 7 | |
| Rangers Tirrenia | 19 | Blue Knights Vicenza | 12 | |
| Spaghetti Bowl | ||||
| Geronimos Vicenza | 30 | Rangers Tirrenia | 14 |
Reference: [10]
NIFL 1986
| P | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pct | |
| Black Knights Vicenza | |||||||
| Blue Falcons Vicenza | |||||||
| Eagles Aviano | |||||||
| Mustangs Napoli | |||||||
| Rangers Tirrenia | |||||||
| Warriors Bologna | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 163 | .000 |
Reference: [11]
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semifinale | ||||
| ?? | ?? | |||
| ?? | ?? | |||
| Gold Bowl | ||||
| ?? | ?? |
Reference: [11]
Report
The first domestic Italian American Football League was the Northern Italian Football League , started in 1976, following the first unsuccessful attempts at introducing Pro American Football to Europe in 1973-1975, with the Intercontinental Football League, which was to feature NFL players, and six teams in Europe, including the Rome Gladiators in Italy.
The FIFA (Federazione Italiano Football Americano) association was set up the following year, in 1977, with a four-team National Playoff.
The Northern Italian Football League was started in 1976, with Vicenza teams Geronimos & Blue Knights dominating play, winning all the Spaghetti Bowls between them and finishing in the top two spots in the Regular Season most years.
The NIFL was merged into the Associazione Italiana Football Americano after the 1986 season.
The Italian League was the first domestic American Football League in Europe, with the game being restricted to US Army men playing at Air Force bases in Europe prior to that. The film M*A*S*H had popularised American Football in Europe in 1970, the first time the game had been seen on screen in Europe in a Major Film. See the Intercontinental Football League 1972-1975: Intercontinental Football League 1970-1975
References
Websites
[1] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1976 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1976_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[2] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1977 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1977_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[3] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1978 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1978_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[4] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1979 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1979_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[5] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1980 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1980_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[6] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1981 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1981_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[7] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1982 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1982_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[8] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1983 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1983_nifl.pdf[Accessed 15 October 2019]
[9] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1984 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1984_nifl.pdf [Accessed 24 October 2019]
[10] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1985 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1985_nifl.pdf [Accessed 24 October 2019]
[11] Enciclopedia del Football Italiano (2018) Northern Italian Football League 1986 http://www.warriorsbologna.it/public/Enciclopedia/PDF/1986_nifl.pdfAccessed 24 October 2019]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Santina Farrinella.
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 24 October 2019
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.
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