NDMA Standings and Playoffs 1991

NDMA Division One Standings 1991

NDMA Division One 1991	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	PCT
Northern Conference
* Birmingham Bulls	10	9	1	0	461	127	0.900
* Nottingham Hoods	10	9	1	0	474	145	0.900
* Glasgow Lions	10	9	1	0	481	236	0.900
* Leicester Panthers	10	5	5	0	277	218	0.500
Leeds Cougars	10	5	5	0	168	400	0.500
Manchester Spartans	10	2	8	0	151	354	0.200
Blackpool Falcons	10	2	8	0	170	306	0.200
Gateshead Senators	10	2	8	0	245	464	0.200
Southern Conference
* London Olympians	10	10	0	0	432	76	1.000
* Northants Storm	10	8	2	0	393	254	0.800
* Essex Gladiators	10	7	3	0	268	219	0.700
(R-D) Bournemouth Bobcat	10	6	4	0	353	227	0.600
* Thames Valley Chargers	10	5	5	0	119	271	0.500
Brighton B-52’s	10	3	7	0	145	255	0.300
(R-D) London Ravens	10	2	7	1	104	249	0.250
(R) Solent Warriors	10	1	9	0	26	377	0.100
(R-D) Bristol Packers	10	0	9	1	49	192	0.050

NDMA Division One Playoffs 1991

Quarter-Finals,		Sunday 14 July 1991
London Olympians	72	Thames Valley Chargers	0
Northants Storm	44	Glasgow Lions	12
Birmingham Bulls	32	Leicester Panthers	18
Nottingham Hoods	61	Essex Gladiators	10
Semi-Finals,		Sunday 21 July 1991
Birmingham Bulls	37	Nottingham Hoods	24
London Olympians	34	Northants Storm	12
NDMA Coke Bowl II		Sunday 4 August 1991
Birmingham Bulls	39	London Olympians	38

Notes

NDMA is an orphaned acronym for National Division Management Agency

NDMA created a new NDMA Super League for 1992 featuring top 12 teams from 1991.

* Qualify for Playoff Quarter-Finals

(R) Relegated to new NDMA Division One for 1992,

(D) Disbanded after season

(Name or Division Changes for 1992 in Brackets after Team Record)

Report

1991 was the eighth season of organised Gridiron Football in Britain featuring British-based teams and British-born players. It was also the second season of the NDMA, and the Coke Bowl, after Budweiser pulled sponsorship for the Budweiser League and Coca-Cola replaced them.

Birmingham Bulls won their third BritBowl, as the Bowl Games were unofficially known, by defeating London Olympians for the second time in four years in the Finale by a single point, 39-38. The Bulls had also previously defeated Glasgow Lions 23-2 in Summer Bowl II (1986) and lost to Manchester Spartans 21-14 in Bud Bowl IV (1989).

For the Olympians it was a heart-breaking fourth loss in four Bowl appearances, having lost twice to the London Ravens (45-7 in Summer Bowl I in 1985 and 20-12 in Bud Bowl I in 1986) as well as the previous 30-6 defeat to the Bulls in Brit Bowl III in 1988.

Defending Champions Manchester Spartans failed to make it three titles in a row as they slumped to a 2-8 record. 1990’s runners-up Northants Storm finished the season 8-2 but lost out in the Semi-Finals by 34-12 to the Olympians.

In all it was a disappointing season despite the close end to the Bowl Game, as a number of long-term top Britball teams disbanded after the season: London Ravens, champions and undefeated 1984 to 1987, folded after a dismal 2-7-1 record by their standards, and Bristol Packers and Bournemouth Bobcat both disbanded leaving no team in top Division in the South West for 1992.

The NDMA created a new Super League for 1992 featuring the top 12 teams from 1991, with another 12 teams making up the second level. For the Olympians, despite defeat again, it was to be the start of a new era of dominance, as the Streatham-based team emerged from the Ravens’ shadow to dominate British Gridiron Football for the next 15 years.

REFERENCES

Newspapers

[1] Anon. (1991) “Results – Tables – Fixtures” First Down. July 13, 1991. pg. 20. Mediawatch Ltd. Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

[2] Anon. (1991) “Results – Tables – Fixtures” First Down. July 20, 1991. pg. 20-21. Mediawatch Ltd. Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

[3] Anon. (1991) “Results – Tables – Fixtures” First Down. July 27, 1991. pg. 21. Mediawatch Ltd. Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

[4] (1991) “Coke Bowl: Spider Man’s A Super Hero” First Down. August 10, 1991. pg. 21. Mediawatch Ltd. Charlbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK.

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

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Last Updated: 2 March 2024

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