Rushmoor Knights

Rushmoor Knights
Team logo
Established1985; 40 years ago (1985)
Based inFarnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire
Home stadiumKing George V playing fields
Head coachCoach Paul "Benny" Wakeford
LeagueBAFA National Leagues
DivisionPremiership South
ColoursScarlet Red, Columbia Blue, Grey, White
       
Franchise record974–340–43 (.734)
League titlesOne (2004)
Division titlesThree (2000, 2007, 2015)
Current uniform
Helmet
Left arm Body Right arm
Trousers
Socks
Home kit

The Rushmoor Knights American Football Club (formerly Southern Seminoles, Personal Assurance Knights/PA Knights, Delonghi Knights, Farnham Knights) are a British American football club based in Rushmoor, Hampshire. The Club has three teams; the Rushmoor Knights (20+), the Rushmoor Knights U19 (16 - 19) and the Rushmoor Knights U16 (14 - 16). The Knights play in the Premiership South of the British American Football Association National Leagues and were the Britbowl champions in 2004.

Origins

Farnham Knights Logo, 1985–2019
Cheerleader's jacket 2015

The team was founded as the Farnham Knights in 1985, under Head Coach Marc Salazar, who was an American service member, serving in the United States Air Force, at RAF Greenham Common. The team played their first friendly in 1985 as the Farnham Knights against the Thames Valley Chargers. The franchise joined the Budweiser League, Div 1, for the league's inaugural season in 1986 and went on to a successful 5 - 5 season. Their second season, 1987, saw the Knights complete their conference schedule undefeated to win their first Conference title.

During 1994 the Farnham Knights merged with the Hampshire Cavaliers and were renamed the Southern Seminoles. Personal Assurance stepped in during 1997 to sponsor the side which led to the return of the Knights moniker, the Personal Assurance Knights. In 2007, MH Football Shop took over the main sponsorship of the club, to rename them the Farnham MH Knights.

In 2008, a new main sponsor, Fast Lane, stepped in with a two-year deal. The team were then known as the Farnham Fast Lane Knights.

League placing and catchment

As the only club in the Blackwater Valley the Knights have drawn players from across Surrey and Hampshire, within 20 miles (32 km) are Woking, Guildford, Farnborough, Aldershot, Bracknell and Basingstoke.

All games were played at Farnham Rugby Club from 2013, the first season in the club's history that it has been based in the town of Farnham itself after only playing 1 game at Farnham Rugby Club's old ground in Wrecclesham.[1] They have since moved to King George V playing fields in Farnborough back in the borough of Rushmoor, leading to the re-naming.

Farnham Knights rebranded to the Rushmoor Knights ahead of the 2021 BAFANL season.

Honours

  • Budweiser League Div 1 Southern League Champions 1986
  • BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 1987
  • BNGL National Bowl Runners-Up 1992
  • National Passball Champions 1993
  • BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 1994
  • BYAFA Youth National Runner-up 1994 (1)
  • BYAFA Youth National Champions 1996 (1)
  • BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 1997
  • BYAFA Youth National Runner-up 1997 (1)
  • BYAFA Youth National Runner-up 1998 (1)
  • BSL Div 2 National Champions 2000
  • BSL Div 2 Conference Champions 2000
  • BSL Div 1 National Championship Runners-Up 2002
  • BYAFA Junior Kitted Champions 2004
  • EFAF Cup Runners Up 2004[2]
  • BSL Div 1 Southern Conference Champions 2004
  • BAFL National Championship Winners 2004
  • BAFL Div 1 Southern Conference Champions 2005[3]
  • BAFL Div 1 National Championship Runners up 2005
  • BAFL Div 1 National Championship Winners 2007
  • BAFL Youth National Championship Runners up 2007 (1)
  • BAFL Youth National Championship Winners 2009 (1)
  • BAFANL Youth South West Conference Champions 2013
  • BAFANL Juniors Southern Conference Champions 2014
  • BAFANL Juniors National Championship Runners up 2014
  • BAFANL Southern Football Conference (Division 1) Champions 2015
  • BAFANL Oak Bowl SFC Division 1 Play Off Final - Winners 2015

(1) Prior to 2011, the term "Youth" was used for 16 to 19 year olds. Since 2011, Youth is for 14 to 17 year olds and Juniors is for 16 to 19 year olds.


Season-by-season Records

1980s
Head Coach Season League Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
Marc Salazar 1985 — 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 —
Marc Salazar 1986 Budweiser League 5 5 0 .500 — 0 0 .000 —
Marc Salazar 1987 Budweiser League 10 0 0 1.00 — 0 1 .000 Lost to the Ashton Oilers in the postseason.
Marc Salazar 1988 NGL (Premiership) 5 5 0 .000 3rd 0 0 .000 —
Frank Snyder 1989 CGL (Premiership) 7 3 0 .700 — 0 1 .000 Lost to the Rockingham Rebels in the postseason.
1990s
Head Coach Season League Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
Mike Hassett 1990 BNGL (Premiership) 3 6 1 .350 — 0 0 .000 —
John Archer 1991 BNGL (Premiership) 7 3 0 .700 — 1 1 .500 —
Richard Foster 1992 BNGL (Premiership) 6 2 0 .750 — 1 1 .500 Lost to Colts 30-26 in the BNGL Championship.
Mike Reeves 1993 BNGL (Premiership) 6 2 0 .750 — 1 1 .500 Lost to the Bournemouth Buccanears in the Semi-finals.
Phil Maltby 1994 BNGL (Premiership) 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 Merged with the Hampshire Cavaliers, and played as a Southern Seminoles.
Phil Maltby 1995 BNGL (Premiership) 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 Played as the Southern Seminoles
Steve Rains 1997 BNGL (Premiership) 10 0 0 1.00 — 1 1 .500 Renamed to the Farnham Knights
Steve Rains 1998 BNGL (Premiership) 4 6 0 .400 — 0 0 .000 —
Steve Rains 1999 BNGL (Premiership) 1 8 1 .150 — 0 0 .000 Relegated to Division 2.
2000s
Head Coach Season League Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
Steve Rains 2000 Division 2 8 0 0 1.00 — 3 0 .000 Won the Division 2 National Championship vs Ipswich Cardinals 41-7. Promoted to Premiership.
Steve Rains 2001 Premiership 5 3 0 .625 — 0 1 .000 —
Steve Rains 2002 Premiership 8 2 0 .800 — 2 1 .667 Lost to London Olympians in the Championship.
Steve Rains 2003 Premiership 8 2 0 .800 — 0 1 .000 —
Steve Rains 2004 Premiership 9 0 1 .955 — 1 1 .500 Won the National Championship vs London Olympians 28-14. Qualified for the EFAF Cup. 1-2 in EFAF Play.
Steve Rains 2005 Premiership 9 1 0 .900 — 1 1 .500 Lost to London Olympians in Division 1 Championship 22-21. Qualified for the EFAF Cup. 1-1 in EFAF Play.
Steve Rains 2006 Premiership 5 5 0 .500 — 0 0 .000 Qualified for the EFAF Cup. 1-2 in EFAF Play. Relegated due to league reorganisation.
Steve Rains 2007 Division 1 10 0 0 1.00 — 2 0 1.00 Won the Division 1 National Championship vs Ipswich Cardinals 47-7. [4]
Ian Ellis 2008 — 0 0 0 0.00 — — — — —
Ian Ellis 2009 — 0 0 0 0.00 — — — — —
2010s
Head Coach Season League Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
Ian Ellis 2010 — 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 —
Ian Ellis 2011 — 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 —
2012 — 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 Team withdrew from play for the 2012 Season.
Shaun Gray 2013 Division 1 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 —
Steve Rains 2014 — 9 1 0 .900 — 0 1 .000 —
Steve Rains 2015 — 8 1 1 .855 — 2 0 1.00 —
Steve Rains/Tango Lockwood 2016 Premiership 0 0 0 .000 4th 0 0 .000 —
Tango Lockwood 2017 Premiership 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 —
Tango Lockwood 2018 Premiership 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 —
Tango Lockwood 2019 Premiership 1 9 0 .100 — 0 0 .000 Relegated to Division 1 for 2020 Season
2020s
Head Coach Season League Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
Pete Fields 2020 Division 1 0 0 0 .000 — 0 0 .000 Season cancelled due to COVID-19.
Pete Fields 2021 Division 1 4 4 0 .500 2nd (League) 1 1 .500 Lost to Solent Thrashers in Division 1 Championship 34-14.
Pete Fields 2022 Division 1 8 2 0 .800 3rd (League) 0 1 .000 Lost to Hertfordshire Cheetahs in Divisional Round 21-12.
Paul Wakeford 2023 Division 1 6 4 0 .600 5th (League) 0 1 .000 Lost to London Olympians in Wildcard Round 24-21.
Paul Wakeford 2024 Division 1 8 0 0 1.00 1st (League) 2 1 .667 Lost to Nottingham Caesars in Division 1 Championship 49-9. Earned promotion to the Premiership for the 2025 season.

Rushmoor Knights Hall of Fame

The Rushmoor Knights honor their most influential players, coaches, and contributors through their Hall of Fame.

Name Time at Rushmoor Position Inducted
Non-Playing
John Burrow Executive Sponsor 2016
David Ferebee 2016
Roger Hart 2016
Clive Jacobs 2016
Mark "Tango" Lockwood Head Coach 2016
Terry Milward 2016
Marc Salazar 1985-1988 Knights co-founder, First Head Coach 2016
Frank Snyder Head Coach 2016
Andy Soltysiak 2016
Linda Soltysiak 2016
Steve Rains 1997-2016 Head Coach 2016
Youth/Junior
Graham Jessett 2016
Christine Reeves 2016
John Williams Snr 2016
Players
Phil Alexander 2016
Adedayo Ashaye 2016
Bill Baker 2016
Paul "Bubba" Biscombe 2016
Dave Carpenter 1992-Present Offensive Lineman 2016
Jay Cashman 2016
Harvey Culver 2016
Mick Clancy 2016
Gary Edwards 2016
Kingsley Ejiogu 2016
Pete "Too Tall" Fields 2016
Alan Finlay 2016
Rich Foster 2016
Gareth Davies 2016
Steve Harrison 2016
Ashley Heath Quarterback 2016
Adam Heirons 2016
Stephen Hollingdale 2016
Troy Lee 2016
Kenny Lettman 2016
Jez McLees 2016
Chris McIver 2016
Peter Oliver 2016
Michael Reeves 2016
Duncan Reynolds 2016
Cameron Saylor 2016
Paul Setterfield 2016
Joe St. Louis 2016
Tony Stitt Running Back 2016
Keith Theobald Running Back 2016
Stuart Timms 2016
Paul Wakeford 2016
Paul Westwood 2016
Stephen Whittaker 2016
Jon Williams Jr. 2016
Jon Wyse 2003-2004, 2007 Running Back 2016

Notable Players

Olympic sprinter Dwain Chambers, 2006. [5]

References

  1. ^ farnhamknights.com Archived 2013-01-14 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ European Federation of American Football
  3. ^ British American Football League
  4. ^ Andy Crowther (27 July 2013). Farnham Knights v Ipswich Cardinals - BAFL Div 1 Final - 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "Sprinter Dwain Chambers plays for British Champion". European Football League.