1997

January 7, 1997
World League announces that it will field four Japanese players in 1997. Kyoto University defensive coordinator Kiyo Mori will serve as an assistant coach for Amsterdam.
January 16, 1997
Alton Byrd, one of the best known sports figures in Britain, is named as general manager of the Lonson Monarchs.
January 23, 1997
World League announces that all 30 regualr season games will be seen on US television in 1997 on FX and DirecTV. World Bowl '97 will be broadcast on FOX.
January 26, 1997
New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri, formerly of the Amsterdam Admirals, becomes the first World League player to score in the Super Bowl.
February 17, 1997
Defensive End Israel Stanley (Arizona State) is the first player chosen in the 1997 draft, taken by the Rhein Fire.
February 18, 1997
WL announces that a record 112 current NFL roster players from 28 teams have been allocated for the 1997 season.
March 1997
Week long kicking camp held in Orlando, FL with WLAF's kicking guru Doug Blevins
March 1997
Training Camp opens in Carrollton, Georgia

12 April 1997
World League '97 kicks off
May 11, 1997
In an exciting Week 5 where four of the six teams could have hosted the World Bowl, Barcelona beat Amsterdam 28-21 to win the rights to host the championship game. It's their second post-season appearance
June 14, 1997

Barcelona's 46-18 victory against Scotland confirms the Rhein Fire as the visiting team in World Bowl '97. Fire finish with a league best 7-3 record.

June 22, 1997
Barcelona Dragons defeat Rhein Fire by 38 points to 23 in Barcelona. Barcelona came close to having a losing record at the end of the season losing 4 of their last 5 before the World Bowl. Jon Kitna passes for a World Bowl record 401 yards in front of 31,000 fans in the Estadi Olimpic.

August 31, 1997

The NFL kicks off a season in which a record 118 players with World League experience on NFL rosters.

September 8, 1997

Scottish Claymores announce Dick Regan as Managing Director, replacing former general manager Mike Keller. Will Wilson is named assistant general manager. Ken Saunders takes over as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for the league.

October 7, 1997

London Monarchs announce they are to play two home games outside London in 1998 and will be renamed the England Monarchs. Team will play three home games at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, plus games in Bristol and Birmingham.
October 17, 1997

Frankfurt's Waldstadion is named as the site of World Bowl '98. Galaxy name former Dragons offensive coordinator Dick Curl as new head coach, replacing Ernie Stautner.

October 19, 1997
World League President Oliver Luck announces that for the first time the World Bowl will be played at a fixed site rather than the home of the leading site. Frankfurt's Waldstadion is chosen to host World Bowl '98 on 14th June 1998.

November 5, 1997

Miguel Matas, a well-known local businessman, is named as President of the Barcelona Dragons with Marco Fuste as general Manager.

By the end of the 1997 season, there were growing concerns that their markets, except Germany, were not living up to their potential. Radical changes were made to the two British teams. The London Monarchs would become the England Monarchs, and play their home games in London, Birmingham and Bristol. Also, the Scottish Claymores would divide their schedule between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Then, at a press conference in San Diego during Super Bowl XXXII weekend, the league announced it too would be changing: the league would be rebranded as NFL Europe.

1997 Results & Standings

Week 1
Teams 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Final Date Attendance Time / Day
BARCELONA DRAGONS
@ Rhein Fire 7
3 14
3 6
3 0
3 27
12 04-12-97 17,112 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
SCOTTISH CLAYMORES
@ Amsterdam Admirals 0
0 6
0 0
0 10
3 16
3 04-12-97 16,185 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
Frankfurt Galaxy
@ LONDON MONARCHS 7
0 0
6 0
6 0
2 7
14 04-13-97 10,719 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 2
Amsterdam Admirals
@ FRANKFURT GALAXY 0
10 3
3 7
3 0
3 10
19 04-19-97 31,729 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
BARCELONA DRAGONS
@ Scottish Claymores 3
0 7
0 0
0 10
7 20
7 04-20-97 14,877 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
London Monarchs
@ RHEIN FIRE 0
0 0
0 0
14 6
14 6
28 04-20-97 14,876 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 3
FRANKFURT GALAXY
@ Barcelona Dragons 0
7 3
0 3
0 11
3 17
10 04-26-97 18,800 7:30 P.M. / Saturday
London Monarchs
@ AMSTERDAM ADMIRALS 0
7 6
13 0
0 0
14 6
34 04-26-97 13,767 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
RHEIN FIRE
@ Scottish Claymores 13
0 0
0 7
3 3
7 23
10 04-27-97 11,166 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 4
Rhein Fire
@ AMSTERDAM ADMIRALS 0
10 6
0 7
0 7
13 20
23 05-03-97 10,698 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
SCOTTISH CLAYMORES
@ Frankfurt Galaxy 3
0 0
3 0
0 6
0 9
3 05-03-97 32,690 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
BARCELONA DRAGONS
@ London Monarchs 0
17 7
13 15
2 15
0 37
32 05-04-97 10,110 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 5
Frankfurt Galaxy
@ RHEIN FIRE 0
0 7
0 0
7 0
3 7
10 05-10-97 32,140 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
Scottish Claymores
@ LONDON MONARCHS 0
3 0
10 0
3 8
0 8
16 05-11-97 11,210 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Amsterdam Admirals
@ BARCELONA DRAGONS 0
14 0
7 14
0 7
7 21
28 05-11-97 14,152 7:30 P.M. / Sunday
Week 6
RHEIN FIRE
@ Frankfurt Galaxy 0
3 14
7 0
7 7
3 21
20 05-17-97 39,182 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
LONDON MONARCHS
@ Barcelona Dragons 0
0 6
7 0
0 3
0 9
7 05-17-97 13,514 7:30 P.M. / Saturday
Amsterdam Admirals
@ SCOTTISH CLAYMORES 0
3 3
0 0
0 3
7 6
10 05-18-97 9,021 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 7
Barcelona Dragons
@ AMSTERDAM ADMIRALS 7
0 0
17 14
0 0
9 21
26 05-24-97 13,289 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
London Monarchs
@ FRANKFURT GALAXY 0
6 7
11 0
0 0
14 7
31 05-24-97 30,723 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
SCOTTISH CLAYMORES
@ Rhein Fire 7
3 0
10 0
7 16
0 23
20 05-25-97 20,498 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 8
RHEIN FIRE
@ Barcelona Dragons 7
0 14
9 7
7 10
7 38
23 05-31-97 13,670 7:30 P.M. / Saturday
AMSTERDAM ADMIRALS
@ London Monarchs 7
0 0
0 0
3 6
6 13
9 06-01-97 9,150 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Frankfurt Galaxy
@ SCOTTISH CLAYMORES 0
0 0
3 0
14 7
7 7
24 06-01-97 11,618 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 9
Amsterdam Admirals
@ RHEIN FIRE 0
7 0
10 0
0 0
7 0
24 06-07-97 23,697 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
Barcelona Dragons
@ FRANKFURT GALAXY 10
0 0
21 0
2 7
6 17
29 06-07-97 40,743 3:00 P.M. / Saturday
LONDON MONARCHS
@ Scottish Claymores 7
0 3
6 0
3 0
0 10
9 06-08-97 16,115 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
Week 10
Frankfurt Galaxy
@ AMSTERDAM ADMIRALS 0
0 7
7 0
13 0
0 7
20 06-14-97 19,486 7:00 P.M. / Saturday
Scottish Claymores
@ BARCELONA DRAGONS 3
7 7
24 8
7 0
8 18
46 06-14-97 15,034 7:30 P.M. / Saturday
RHEIN FIRE
@ London Monarchs 0
0 3
7 7
0 0
0 10
7 06-15-97 10,462 3:00 P.M. / Sunday
WORLD BOWL 1997 at Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic - Barcelona
Rhein Fire
@ BARCELONA DRAGONS 3
14 14
14 0
7 7
3 24
38 06-22-97 31,100 1PM ET / Sunday

http://www.hworth.net/nflel/scores1997.html

Note: The team that leads the standings after week 5 earns a bid and the right to host the World Bowl. The team which has the best overall record at the end of the season also qualifies for the World Bowl. If the host team also leads the standings after the second half of the season, the club with the second-best overall record qualifies for the World Bowl.

World Bowl '97

June 22, 1997 at Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic, Barcelona

(Att: 31,100)

Rhein (7-3)	3	14	0	7 —	24
Barcelona (5-5)	14	14	7	3 —	38

MVP: Jon Kitna, Barcelona, QB (23 for 31, 401 yards and 2 TDs.)

Passing Efficiency

	Att	Cmp	Cmp Pct	Yds	Avg Gain	TD	TD Pct	Long	Int	Int Pct	Rating
Jon Kitna, Bar	317	171	53.9	2448	7.72	22	6.9	96-td	15	4.7	82.6
Dave Barr, Scot	164	98	59.8	1118	6.82	3	1.8	50-td	4	2.4	76.2
T.J. Rubley, Rhe	218	117	53.7	1473	6.76	12	5.5	73-td	9	4.1	76.1
Chad May, Fran	184	86	46.7	1016	5.52	4	2.2	47-td	3	1.6	64.5
Spence Fischer, Scot	148	78	52.7	839	5.67	1	0.7	46-td	6	4.1	55.0

Scoring

Touchdowns	TD	Rus	Rec	Ret	Pts
Sheddrick Wilson, Bar	9	0	9	0	54
Derrick Clark, Rhe	9	9	0	0	54
Tyree Davis, Bar	7	0	6	1	42
Bobby Phillips, Fran	6	6	0	0	36
Bill Schroeder, Rhe	6	0	6	0	36

Kicking	PAT	FG/FGA	Lg	Pts
Ralf Kleinmann, Fran	12/13	13/21	47	51
Manfred Burgsmuller, Rhe	23/25	7/9	28	44
Jess Angoy, Bar	26/28	5/9	35	41
Oliver Quass, Ams	0/0	9/13	35	27
Kari Gronroos, Scot	2/2	8/10	35	26

Receptions	No	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Yo Murphy, Sco	47	559	11.9	50-td	2
Tyree Davis, Bar	43	738	17.2	55	6
Bill Schroeder, Rhe	43	702	16.3	73-td	6
Sheddrick Wilson, Bar	41	633	15.4	53	9
Bryce Burnett, Bar	35	357	10.2	36	2

Rushing	Car	Yards	Avg	Long	TD
Siran Stacy, Sco	199	785	3.9	31	4
Bobby Phillips, Fran	144	760	5.3	65-td	6
Ontiwaun Carter, Rhe	120	587	4.9	50	2
Derrick Clark, Rhe	107	510	4.8	27	9
Terry Wilburn, Bar	107	429	4.0	24	1

Other Individual Leaders

Yards from Scrimmage	864	Siran Stacy, Sco
Punting Average	45.1	Wayne Lammle, Sco
Interceptions	6	Carlos Brooks, Bar
Sacks	9	Malcolm Showell, Lon & Herman Smith, Lon.
Punt Return Avg.	12.4	Vernon Turner, Fran
Kickoff Return Avg.	26.3	Eric Smith, Sco

Annual Awards

Offensive MVP	T.J. Rubley, Rhein, QB
Defensive MVP	Jason Simmons, Scotland,. DE
Coach of the Year	Galen Hall, Rhein

All-World League Team

The All-World League Team as selected by members of the World League media.

Pos	Player	Pos	Player
QB	T.J. Rubley, Rhein	DE	Malcolm Showell, London
RB	Bobby Phillips, Frankfurt	DT	La'Roi Glover, Barcelona
RB	Siran Stacy, Scotland	DT	Troy Ridgley, Amsterdam
WR	Bill Schroeder, Rhein	DE	Jason Simmons, Scotland
WR	Sheddrick Wilson, Barcelona	LB	Hillary Butler, Frankfurt
TE	Bryce Burnett, Barcelona	LB	Richard Newbill, London
TE	Ethan Brooks, Rhein	LB	Shawn Banks, Frankfurt
G	Mike Sheldon, Rhein	CB	Jack Kellogg, Frankfurt
C	Bob Kronenberg, Rhein	S	Johnny Dixon, Frankfurt
G	Tom Robsock, Barcelona	S	George Coghill, Scotland
T	Spence Folau, Rhein	CB	Cecil Doggette, Frankfurt