Club Name:	Ipswich Cardinals American Football Team
Club Website:	http://www.ipswichcardinals.co.uk

About Our Club:

Team History THE EARLY YEARS 1985 1994 The Ipswich Cardinals were formed in January 1986, as a result of an advert placed in a local paper by two football enthusiasts. Over 120 young men turned out for the first training sessions, but this number decreased rapidly when it became apparent that football is tougher than it looked on Channel 4! Without a proper coach the 30 or so men remaining played a series of friendlies, drawing some and losing others, but never winning. In August of 1986 while watching one of these friendlies, JJ Johnson was invited by the team to help out at half time. A few months later he was elected head coach. May 1987 saw the Cardinals in their first league appearance, beating the Selsey Badgers 60-6. They continued as they began, winning all of their 13 following matches and losing in the UKAFL final to the St Helens Cardinals 26-28. In 1988 the Cardinals were given a place in the Budweiser Division One. They ended the season with a 9-1 record, and again reached the divisional final, this time losing to Herts Phantoms 34-48. In 1989 a depleted Cardinals squad struggled through to a 7-2-1 record beating Warrington Scorpions in the semi-finals to gain a place in their third successive Bowl game. With wide receiver Ian Girling playing quarterback, the Cardinals put up a commendable fight against archrivals Norwich Devils, but lost 9-18. Undeterred by yet another final loss, the Cardinals regrouped for another attack on the BNGL title. The team were given a terrific boost by the clinching of a sponsorship deal with Pizza Hut, in addition a dozen or so East Coast Leopards joined the squad to add extra depth. The team compiled a 9-1 record, winning the South East Conference title. In the play offs victories over Thames Pirates and Medway Mustangs resulted in the Cardinals fourth Bowl appearance at Saffron Lane, Leicester. In a fantastic comeback come back display, the Cardinals defeated the Clydesdale Colts 34- 22, to gain their first National title! 1991 saw the Cardinals being chosen to represent the nation in the Eurobowl competition. On Easter Sunday, the French Champions Aix-en-Provence Argonauts came to Ipswich for the second round clash, which would see one of the teams go into the quarterfinals of the tournament. Sadly the result was a 51 0 defeat and elimination from Europe. However, the preparation and game day organisation was of a high standard and showed that small clubs can compete with the big ones where management is concerned! Two weeks later saw the Cardinals enter the fray in the BNGL for a third season. After an uncertain start to the season, the Cardinals ended with a 6-2-1 record, gaining a place in the play offs. With home field advantage the Cardinals defeated the Cardiff Tigers 68-16 and division rivals London Barons 19-0. In the semi-final Ipswich travelled to London to take on the Capitals, who had already beaten the team in regular season 36-22. With a severely depleted squad of 23 players the team were blown out 50-0 by the London side, the first time in Cardinals history that a British side has kept the Cardinals from scoring a single point. Though the 1992 season ended in relative disappointment for the Cardinals they still achieved something that a handful, if any British clubs have done, gaining a place in the last four, five years in succession. 1992 saw the Cardinals turn out for their sixth successive season in an organised league, and their fourth in the top division of the BNGL. As ever, the Cardinals had only a small squad, compared to many of their rivals. Manulife Financial again sponsored the team in its efforts to reach the play offs for a sixth time and the Bowl for a fifth. Some new opposition such as Oxford Saints and Bedford Bombardiers, as well as old adversaries the East Kent Cougars. By the Cardinals standards the season was not exceptional but relatively successful finishing 5-5, with many rookies in the squad. In 1993 the Cardinals saw action in the BNGL top flight for a fifth year, and were backed by Manulife for a third season. The return of many experienced veterans and influx of some new talent into the side promised much for the season ahead. For a second year Oxford and Bedford were to be the teams closest rivals, along with a new opponent for Ipswich in the shape of Rockingham Rebels. The nucleus of the team was again strong, but lack of big league experience and mistakes at crucial moments led to the Cardinals losing 5 of their games by a very small margin. As in 1992, the Cardinals broke even with a 5-5 record, but the potential could be seen for an excellent side for 1994, and the players packed up their pads looking to the future.

Sport Network:

American Football