1991 London Monarchs season

1991 London Monarchs season
General managerBilly Hicks
Head coachLarry Kennan
Home fieldWembley Stadium
Results
Record9–1
Division place1st European Division
Playoff finishWorld Bowl '91 champions

The 1991 London Monarchs season was the inaugural season for the franchise in the newly created World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Larry Kennan and played its home games at Wembley Stadium in London, England. They finished the regular season in first place of the European Division with a league-best record of nine wins and one loss, which came in the last regular season game against the Barcelona Dragons. The unexpected loss eliminated the third European team, Frankfurt Galaxy, from the play-offs.

In the postseason, the Monarchs faced the New York/New Jersey Knights for a third time and a third win. After this semifinal was hosted away as Wembley was occupied with a soccer game, the Monarchs captured the first World League championship at Wembley with a shut-out win over the Barcelona Dragons in World Bowl '91.

Personnel

Staff

1991 London Monarchs staff
Front office
  • Chief Executive Officer – Jon Smith
  • General Manager – Billy Hicks
  • Director of Media Relations - Jack Gallagher
  • Director of Player Personnel – Mike Maccagnan

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – George Warhop
  • Running Backs/Receivers – Hue Jackson
  • Offensive Assistant – Richard Davis
 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Ray Willsey
  • Defensive Line – Jim Washburn
  • Linebackers – Dennis Danielson


[1]

Roster

1991 London Monarchs roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

  • 32 David Smith

Wide Receivers

  • 86 Jon Horton
  • 80 Andre Riley
  • 85 Tony Sargent

Tight Ends

  • 87 Pat Davis
 Offensive Linemen
  • 70 Paul Berardelli LG
  • 68 Larry Jones RG
  • 72 Todd Oberdorf T

Defensive Linemen

  • 95 Mike Renna DE
  • 90 Carnel Smith DE
 Linebackers
  • 53 Marlon Brown OLB
  • 52 Russel Foster
  • 55 Virgil Robertson ILB
  • 51 Ken Sale ILB
  • 54 James Singletary
  • 56 Rickey Williams ILB

Defensive Backs

  • 27 Corris Ervin CB
  • 42 Harvey Wilson S

Special Teams

Operation Discovery
  • 44 England Trevor Carthy RB
  • 99 England Nigel Hoyte DL


Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 March 23 8:00 p.m. at Frankfurt Galaxy W 24–11 1–0 Waldstadion 23,169
2 March 31 7:00 p.m. New York/New Jersey Knights W 22–18 2–0 Wembley Stadium 46,952
3 April 6 8:00 p.m. Orlando Thunder W 35–12 3–0 Wembley Stadium 35,327
4 April 15 7:00 p.m. at Birmingham Fire W 27–0 4–0 Legion Field 18,512
5 April 20 7:00 p.m. Montreal Machine W 45–7 5–0 Wembley Stadium 35,294
6 April 28 6:00 p.m. Raleigh–Durham Skyhawks W 35–10 6–0 Wembley Stadium 33,997
7 May 6 7:00 p.m. at San Antonio Riders W 38–15 7–0 Alamo Stadium 12,328
8 May 11 8:00 p.m. at New York/New Jersey Knights W 22–7 8–0 Giants Stadium 41,219
9 May 18 5:00 p.m. at Sacramento Surge W 45–21 9–0 Hughes Stadium 21,409
10 May 27 6:00 p.m. Barcelona Dragons L 17–20 9–1 Wembley Stadium 50,835
Round Date Kickoff Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Semifinal June 2 1:00 p.m. at New York/New Jersey Knights W 42–26 10–1 Giants Stadium 23,149
World Bowl June 9 5:30 p.m. Barcelona Dragons W 21–0 11–1 Wembley Stadium 61,108

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Standings

European Division
Team W L T PCT PF PA DIV STK
London Monarchs 9 1 0 .900 310 121 1–1 L1
Barcelona Dragons 8 2 0 .800 206 126 1–1 W1
Frankfurt Galaxy 7 3 0 .700 155 139 1–1 L1

[15] [16]

Game summaries

Week 1: at Frankfurt Galaxy

Week One: London Monarchs at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
London 0 7 17024
Frankfurt 2 3 0611

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, March 23
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. CET
  • Game attendance: 23,169
  • Referee: Stan Kemp
  • [3]

Week 2: vs New York/New Jersey Knights

Week Two: New York/New Jersey Knights at London Monarchs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
NY/NJ 7 0 01118
London 0 3 19022

at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, England

  • Date: Sunday, March 31
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 46,952
  • [4]

Week 3: vs Orlando Thunder

Week Three: Orlando Thunder at London Monarchs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Orlando 3 0 3612
London 7 7 71435

at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, England

  • Date: Saturday, April 6
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 35,327
  • Referee: Larry Nemmers
  • [5]

Week 4: at Birmingham Fire

Week Four: London Monarchs at Birmingham Fire – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
London 7 3 01727
Birmingham 0 0 000

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: Monday, April 15
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 18,512
  • [6]

Week 5: vs Montreal Machine

Week Five: Montreal Machine at London Monarchs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Montreal 0 0 707
London 10 7 141445

at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, England

  • Date: Saturday, April 20
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 35,294
  • [7]

Week 6: vs Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks

Week Six: Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks at London Monarchs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raleigh-Durham 3 7 0010
London 7 7 14735

at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, England

  • Date: Sunday, April 28
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 33,997
  • [8]

Week 7: at San Antonio Riders

Week Seven: London Monarchs at San Antonio Riders – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
London 0 21 17038
San Antonio 9 0 0615

at Alamo Stadium, San Antonio, Texas

  • Date: Monday, May 6
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 12,328
  • [9]

Week 8: at New York/New Jersey Knights

Week Eight: London Monarchs at New York/New Jersey Knights – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
London 3 0 61322
NY/NJ 0 0 077

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: Saturday, May 11
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game attendance: 41,219
  • [10]

Week 9: at Sacramento Surge

Week Nine: London Monarchs at Sacramento Surge – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
London 14 17 7745
Sacramento 0 7 7721

at Hughes Stadium, Sacramento, California

  • Date: Saturday, May 18
  • Game time: 5:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 21,409
  • [11]

Week 10: vs Barcelona Dragons

Week Ten: Barcelona Dragons at London Monarchs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Barcelona 10 0 7320
London 0 3 01417

at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, England

  • Date: Monday, May 27
  • Game time: 6:00 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 50,835
  • [12]

Semifinal: at New York/New Jersey Knights

Semifinal: London Monarchs at New York/New Jersey Knights – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
London 0 14 141442
NY/NJ 3 17 6026

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  • Date: Sunday, June 2
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game attendance: 23,149
  • [13]

World Bowl '91: vs Barcelona Dragons

World Bowl '91: Barcelona Dragons vs London Monarchs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Barcelona 0 0 000
London 7 14 0021

at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, England

  • Date: Sunday, June 9
  • Game time: 5:30 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 61,108
  • Referee: Bernie Kukar
  • [14]

References

  1. ^ a b "London Monarchs". The Official 1991 World League of American Football Media Guide. pp. 100–119.
  2. ^ 1992 London Monarchs Media Guide.
  3. ^ a b "American Football Kicks-Off In Germany". Deseret News. March 24, 1991. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Associated Press (April 1, 1991). "WLAF: 46,952 Watch Knights Lose". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Gay, Nancy (April 7, 1991). "Monarchs Rule Over Thunder". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Associated Press (April 16, 1991). "Monarchs 27, Fire 0". Associated Press News Archive. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Associated Press (April 20, 1991). "Monarchs 45, Machine 7". Associated Press News Archive. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Associated Press (April 28, 1991). "Monarchs 35, Skyhawks 10". Associated Press News Archive. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Associated Press (May 6, 1991). "London 38, San Antonio 15". Associated Press News Archive. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  10. ^ a b Smith, Timothy W. (May 12, 1991). "Unbeaten Monarchs Cool Red-Hot Knight Streak, 22–7". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  11. ^ a b Associated Press (May 19, 1991). "Monarchs 45, Surge 21". Associated Press News Archive. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  12. ^ a b Associated Press (May 27, 1991). "Dragons 20, Monarchs 17". Associated Press News Archive. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  13. ^ a b Smith, Timothy W. (June 3, 1991). "Knights Guilty, Sentence Is Vacation". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  14. ^ a b Associated Press (June 10, 1991). "London Monarchs Rule the WLAF With 21–0 Victory Over Barcelona". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  15. ^ Associated Press (May 28, 1991). "WLAF standings". The Item. Sumter, South Carolina. p. 4B. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  16. ^ "1991 WLAF Standings". The Football Database. Retrieved June 9, 2011.