Final Standings
WLAF World League of American Football European Division 1992
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Barcelona Dragons | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.500 | 104 | 161 | -57 | L4 |
| 2 |  Frankfurt Galaxy | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0.300 | 150 | 257 | -107 | W1 |
| 3 |  London Monarchs | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0.200 | 178 | 203 | -25 | L1 |
WLAF World League of American Football North American East Division 1992
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Orlando Thunder | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0.800 | 247 | 127 | 120 | W1 |
| 2 |  New York Knights | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0.600 | 284 | 188 | 96 | W6 |
| 3 |  Montreal Machine | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0.200 | 175 | 274 | -99 | L6 |
| 4 |  Ohio Glory | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0.100 | 132 | 230 | -98 | L3 |
WLAF World League of American Football North American West Division 1992
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sacramento Surge | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0.800 | 250 | 152 | 98 | W5 |
| 2 |  Birmingham Fire | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0.700 | 192 | 165 | 27 | W4 |
| 3 |  San Antonio Riders | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.700 | 195 | 150 | 45 | L1 |
Playoff Schedule
WLAF World League of American Football Playoffs 1992
| Match Day Playoffs |
|---|
|
(Playoffs)
45 - 7Orlando Thunder vs Birmingham Fire |
|
(Playoffs)
17 - 15Sacramento Surge vs Barcelona Dragons |
| Match Day World Bowl '92 |
|
(World Bowl '92)
17 - 21Orlando Thunder vs Sacramento Surge |
Regular Season Schedule
WLAF World League of American Football 1992
1992 WLAF Season Recap
With the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks having moved to Columbus, Ohio and renamed the Ohio Glory, and the New York / New Jersey Knights becoming simply the New York Knights, there was little change in franchises for the second season of the WLAF. The big surprise in 1992 was the struggling fortunes of the three European teams, so dominant in 1991.
Barcelona Dragons, despite starting strong with a 5-1 record after six weeks, then lost four in a row to finish off the season 5-5, but still European Champions after the London Monarchs and Frankfurt Galaxy posted dismal 2-7-1 and 3-7 records respectively. Defending Champions London in particular were a disappointment to their fans.
The WLAF North American East Division was won comfortably by Orlando Thunder on an 8-2 record despite a strong finish by the New York Knights who won their last six games after starting 0-4. Montreal Machine (2-8) disappointed their fans who had hoped to see the team at the World Bowl which was to be held at the Olympic Stadium in the Quebec city. Ohio Glory managed one win, which was one more than the team they replaced, the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks.
The North American West Division, however, took over from the European Division as the dominant division, with all three teams posting a winning record: Sacramento Surge (8-2), Birmingham Fire (7-2-1) and San Antonio Riders (7-3).
Only the top two could make the playoffs however, and Sacramento took a five-game winning streak into the playoffs where they met the Dragons who were on a four-game losing streak. In the Playoffs Barcelona Dragons almost pulled off a shock, going down 15-17 to Sacramento Surge, while Orlando Thunder went into the World Bowl as favourites after a 45-7 demolition of Birmingham Fire in the other Playoff game.
The World Bowl itself provided an exciting end to the first era of the WLAF, as Sacramento Surge came from 17-6 down at halftime to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to stun Orlando Thunder 21-17. Orlando Thunder’s Quarterback, the Irish-named Mitchell, himself threw two touchdowns in the game.(For a Scoring Summary and Match report of the World Bowl ’92 please click on the game itself in the Playoff Schedule to be brought to the game recap).
About the World League of American Football
The World League of American Football was started by the National Football League in 1991 as a Development League, one level below the NFL itself. The WLAF’s first two seasons (1991 and 1992) featured 10 teams – Six in the United States of America, one in Canada (Montreal Machine) and three in Europe (Spain’s Barcelona Dragons, Germany’s Frankfurt Galaxy) and England’s London Monarchs). The League was divided into three Divisions: European, North American East and North American West, with the three division winners and one Wild-Card team (the runner-up with the next best record) qualifying for the playoffs which culminated in the World Bowl. After two seasons the NFL shelved the League and brought it back in 1995 as a six team Europe-only League.
REFERENCES
Logos
[1] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (20) WLAFlogo [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20210521072425im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/WLAFlogo.gif Accessed 23 April 2018]
[LNFLE-2] World League Wayback Machine (2000) crest1 [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20000917192327im_/http://www.worldleague.com/images/dragons/crest1.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-3] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) BiringhamFire [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/BiringhamFire.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-4] World League Wayback Machine (1997) crest1 [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20000917192344im_/http://www.worldleague.com/images/galaxy/crest1.gif [Accessed 9 April 2023]
[LNFLE-5] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) LondonMonarchs [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/LondonMonarchs.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-6] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) 5611 [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/5611.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-7] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) YNJKnights [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/YNJKnights.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-8] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) Ohio_Glory [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/Ohio_Glory.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-9] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) OrlandoThunder [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/OrlandoThunder.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-10] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) SacramentoSurge [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/SacramentoSurge.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
[LNFLE-11] World League of American Football Wayback Machine (2011) SanAntonioRiders [Internet] Available from: http://web.archive.org/web/20111023235135im_/http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/SanAntonioRiders.gif [Accessed 6 October 2021]
Scoreboard References
[2] Anon. (1992) “Your Week-by-Week Fixture Guide to the 1992 World League Season” First Down. March 21, 1992. Pg. 12-13. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
[3] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. March 28, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[4] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. April 5, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[5] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. April 12, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[6] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. April 19, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[7] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. April 26, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[8] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. May 2, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[9] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. May 9, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[10] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. May 16, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[11] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. May 23, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom
[12] Anon. (1992) “Scoreline” First Down. May 30, 1992. Pg. 5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
[13] Anon. (1992) “What a Drag On!” First Down, June 6, 1992, pg. 4-5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
[14] Anglesey, Steve (1992) “Ace Arch has a ball in Montreal” First Down, June 13, 1992, pg. 4-5. Published by Mediawatch, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
Magazines
[15] Anon. (1992) “WLAF Stats…Standings upto and including week 4” Touchdown. Volume 9, Issue 12. May 1992. pg. 48-52. published by AFCC Ltd. London. England, United Kingdom.
WEBSITES
[16] World League of American Football (2018) WLAF History: 1992 [Internet] Available from: http://www.worldleagueofamericanfootball.com/id166.html [Accessed 23 April 2018]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Rose McCabe, Ann Hanley, Gabriel McCloyne, Emerson Callender, Peter Lemass, Gerry Tully & Ciaran Simms
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 9 April 2023
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2021-2023
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved. The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only.
