**UNDER CONSTRUCTION**
This section is currently under construction.
Coaches:
Jim Criner (1995-2000)
Gene Dahlquist (2001-2003)
Jack Bicknell (2004)
Stadiums:
Murrayfield Stadium (1995-2000, 2004)
Hampden Park (1998-2004)
Record: (43-57)
7-3 (1996)*
5-5 (1997)
2-8 (1998)
4-6 (1999)
6-4 (2000)
4-6 (2001)
5-5 (2002)
6-4 (2003)
2-8 (2004)
* World Bowl Champions
BACKGROUND:
The Scottish Claymores were among the first ‘new breed’ teams to join alongside newcomers Amsterdam and Rhein, in the rebooted World League during 1994. They played initially at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburg- the capital of Scotland when the ‘new generation’ of team’s first season began in 1995. In 1998 they played two contests in Hampden Park, Glasgow- the world’s oldest football stadium, which holds the record for the largest attendance at a sporting event in the British Isles (149,415).
The team’s colors were (royal) blue, navy, and white, with a tinge of silver. The royal blue and white were from the national flag, while the silver represented the color of a claymore, and the navy acted as an accent. The team was named after the unique, great two handed sword employed by many Scottish clans during the medieval era, the claymore.
Much like the two handed sword, the franchise endured many extreme ups and downs throughout its 10 year lifespan in the World League/ NFLE.
Over their time in Scotland, the Claymores were responsible for helping to establish a Scottish Junior Flag Football League and an under 21 developmental league.
1995 (2-8 Jim Cryner)
The franchise had a perfect record in its preseason under head coach Lary Kuharich (5-0) in 1995, but apparently, Kuharich’s practices were ruthlessly at full speed, with half the team on IR at one point. This led to his dismissal days before the franchise’s season opener, due to a near revolt by the players. He’d be replaced by defensive coordinator Jim Criner- but it was too late to salvage the season already as the franchise, slumped to a 2-8 record its first season. The Claymores first win came in Week 3 against the Frankfurt Galaxy.
There were some bright spots that season. Offensively the team had WR Allen DeGraffenreid finish with over 1,000 yards from scrimmage (490 on kick returns, 70 on punt returns, and 624 receiving). His 44 receptions ranked 5th in the league. Former Eagle RB Siran Stacy’s comeback story began with 785 yards rushing- which led the league and set a new benchmark. Stacy’s 43 receptions ranked 6th in the league.
On defense, DE Alan Young paced the team with 7 sacks, (tied for 3rd) and defensive tackle Jerold Jeffcoat chipped in 5. Otherwise DB Jocelyn Borgella finished with 3 interceptions to lead the team, which finished with 12 overall picks.
Unfortunately the team cycled through 4 quarterbacks throughout their maiden season, whether due to injury or ineffectiveness, Matt Blundin saw the majority of the snaps throwing for 1228 yards and 6 TDs, followed by Lee Williamson, Terry Karg, and Jim Ballard. Blundin was the only one who qualified by season’s end, and he accounted for 11 interceptions, on a QB platoon that gave up the rock an overall 17 times.
The Claymores seemed to get bogged down frequently midfield. Their 3 punters finished dead last, and although they accounted for 17 punts inside the 20, they averaged an anemic 34.8 yards per kick.
1996 (7-3 Jim Criner) **WORLD BOWL CHAMPIONS**
1996 was a total reversal of fortunes for the Claymores, as they became the league’s first worst to first story, stunning the small league. The Claymores lost 3 games by a total of 8 points, and cobbled together a few close wins, alongside a punishing 20-0 win over the defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy. The Claymores boasted a 5-0 mark at home, and were second in the league in scoring with 233 points.
The team had a solid draft, going primarily defense throughout the draft, but most notably added WR Yo Murphy in the 3rd round, and Ron Dickerson in the 12th.
At quarterback, the Claymores went with Jim Ballard and NFL allocation Steve Matthews (KC). Although Matthews led the team early on, Ballard proved to have the hot hand after Matthews went down to injury. He’d lead the Claymores through their final 3 games and into World Bowl ’96. The team on offense relied on WR Sean LaChapelle, who grabbed a league best 1,023 yards on 47 catches, while Siran Stacy quickly ascended the league’s career rushing charts, rushing for another 780 yards.
Defensively, the team played lights out. Both George Coghill and James Fuller checked in with 5 picks, while the team overall finished with 19 interceptions and 25 sacks. Their defense was the best in the league, allowing just 190 points.
Paul McCallum pulled double duty as a kicker and punter, going 11/15 on FGs and averaging 35.1 yards per punt. Nationalist Gavin Hastings joined the squad to kick extra points, and became one of the more popular players on the team, thanks to his rugby background, and also as a ham-fisted marketing tool to bring in more fans.
World Bowl ’96 provided an interesting rematch between the defending champion Frankfurt Galaxy and the upstart Claymores in Edinburg. The Claymores were able to power by the Galaxy thanks to an impressive second quarter, led by Jim Ballard and eventual World Bowl MVP Yo Murphy, who caught 2 of his 3 TDs. Later during the 3rd quarter Murphy added a 71 yard TD strike, to add to his impressive totals. Although the Galaxy refused to go away, the Scottish Claymores eventually captured their World Bowl title 32-27. Yo Murphy won the MVP award, catching 3 TDs and accounting for 163 yards. The announced crowd of almost 39,000 fans at the game, remains the largest ever crowd to watch an American football game in Scottish history.
1997
The Claymores experienced some setbacks in 1997 and finished the regular season 5-5. There were some notable players drafted by Scotland including former NFL players Justin Fields, Kevin Scott, and Rickey Brady. Other notables on the squad included RB Mazio Royster, who joined an extremely crowded and talented backfield, and OG Marco Rivera.
A 3 game win streak put the team in pole position to make the playoffs with 2 weeks to go, but with back to back losses, (including an embarrassing shellacking from the runner up Dragons, 46-18,) the Claymores hopes of defending their World Bowl title were doomed. The aforementioned Dragons proved to be Scotland’s worst nightmare, outscoring the Claymores 66-25 in their two meetings.
In previous seasons, the Claymores were able to assemble a semblance of a passing game to keep opposing teams’ defenses relatively honest, to disguise Scotland’s intentions to fuel their offense on the back of their rushing game. -No more in 97, as QBs Dave Barr and Spence Fischer combined for 2000 passing yards and 4 TDs to 10 interceptions.
The QBs did spread the ball around between receivers as Yo Murphy led the way in catches (47) and yards (559) and tied for the team lead in receiving TDs (2). 6 players finished with 17 or more catches, and 5 of those with 200 or more yards.
Siran Stacy ran hard for 785 yards on 199 carries, but just 4 TDs and a long of 31 yards and defenses clamped down on the Claymores’ rushing attack.
The special teams also provided some entertainment, with Eric Smith returning 21 kicks for 552 yards and a 95 yard TD. Wayne Lammie handled punting duties and generally outkicked his coverage with a booming 45.1 yards per punt, but was a woeful 1/8 on field goal attempts outside the 40. National Karl Gronroos hit 5/6 from inside the 40.
While the defense was still solid in 1997, the turnovers were way down,
with the team posting 9 interceptions. DB Kevin Scott led the way with 3, while Jason Simmons led the team in sacks with 6.
The Claymores again boasted an tough scoring defense, allowing 154 points on the season, but their offense was just as bad, posting just 134 points. Attendance was sluggish for the defending World Bowl Champ too, with a high of 16k showing up in Week 9 and a low of just barely over 9k showing up in Week 6. The team needed an answer to their disappointing attendance.
1998
In 1998, the Claymores became more of a national team, as they split time between Murrayfield in Edinburg and Hampden Park in Glasgow. This exposed the team to a different market and hit Scotland’s second largest market. In addition it allowed the franchise to test the waters for a possible move to Glasgow permanently in the future, and to try to improve the team’s lagging attendance numbers.
The bottom truly fell out on the franchise, with the team posting a 2-8 record. After a draft that only netted one notable in future CFL ironman Paul McCallum (K), the team saw the crippling departures of RB Siran Stacy, and WRs Yo Murphy and Allen DeGraffenreid. There were some interesting notable names that passed through the franchise, with Vernon Turner at RB, and OLs Joe Andruzzi and Barry Stokes stopping in.
Scotland got off to a particularly bad start, losing its first 4 games, before finally notching a decisive win over the Barcelona dragons in week 5, but the team was essentially eliminated from the playoffs the following week against the Fire. The Claymores would force another solid win against the England Monarchs in week 7, 27-4, but that would be mercifully it for the franchise in 1998.
With the Claymores searching for an offensive identity primarily due to the departure of their bell cow, Stacy, the team relied on Carey Bender and Vernon Turner to carry the way. They’d combine for 674 yards rushing.
Jim Ballard returned at QB after a year away from the franchise. He’d post modest passing yards (1425), but notably throw 8 interceptions to 4 TDs. His best receiving option was WR Chris Miller who accounted for 527 yards on 34 receptions.
Defensively the team struggled, intercepting 7 passes, while forcing 8 fumbles. Brad Keeney led the team in sacks with 5.5, but this team was built to break hearts, allowing 72 points in the 4th quarter, while scoring just a infantile 28. The team also self destructed mentally committing 66 penalties for 524 yards. To top it all off injuries crippled the Claymores out of the gate.
Attendance continued to drain out, even with the addition of Glasgow to the team’s venues as all games varied from roughly 8-9k per contest. Hampden Park in Glasgow didn’t have the initial hoped for effect, as 8762 showed up for the franchise’s 26-23 loss to Amsterdam in the season finale.
1999
The franchise entered a new era as Dameyune Craig took over at QB for the Claymores in 1999. Truly abandoning their run first approach that Scotland had taken since its inception, Craig set franchise records across the board throwing for 2932 yards (8.6 yards per attempt), 21 TDs to just 12 interceptions, and an impressive 92.7 QBR. What he couldn’t get done in the air, he did on the ground rushing 53 times for 276 yards and 3 TDs. Craig led the franchise to 3 wins in their first 4 contests- including a NFLE record 611 yards passing in a dramatic 42-35 win over Frankfurt.
Yo Murphy returned at WR with 45 receptions and 752 yards, but he’d be overshadowed by Don Sellers who accounted for 58 catches for 931 yards and 7 TDs.
Unheralded Jesse Haynes led the RB corps with 384 yards, and a particular nose for the endzone, checking in with 7 TDs.
While the team did find an exciting new offensive identity, the defense splintered, and down the stretch couldn’t find the consistency to keep winning, dropping their last 4 to finish 4 and 6.
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
THE END
The Claymores were doomed by the greener pastures in Germany, as the NFLE managing director, Jim Connelly, felt that the Claymores attendance was not sufficient enough to, “Sustain the economics of the league”. It was extremely disappointing to those involved in the Claymores front office, who felt given a few more years, would have built a grass roots presence and the crowds to sustain the franchise- however, the NFLE wanted a turnaround sooner. The Claymores’ blueprints for social engagement had become a model around the league, and had been duplicated by many franchises in assisting in growing their fanbases, sponsorships and partnerships, despite their middling record.
NOTES:
The team had coaching sessions at schools across the city to build support across the community and Scotland. (It also helped that they gave away free tickets.) Proudly the city hosted World Bowl 2003, where nearly 30,000 showed up to watch the Rhein Fire play the Frankfurt Galaxy, but typically attendance ranged between 12-16,000 fans.
The cheerleaders were also considered top notch and performed and appeared at many community outreach and charitable events across Scotland. Shuggie Bear was the team’s mascot and was an anthropomorphic bear with a helmet, jersey and kilt on.
LEGACY:
HC: Jack Bicknell
Other Coaches: Doug Williams
QB: Marcus Crandell, Kevin Daft
RB: Siran Stacy, Ben Snell, Aaron Stecker
WR: JJ Moses, Tim Barnett, Deon Mitchell, Sean LaChapelle, Kevin Drake
LB: Brian Jones
DB: Corris Ervin, Blaine McElmurry, Duane Hawthorne