Darmstadt Diamonds

The Darmstadt Diamonds are an American football team from Darmstadt, Germany.

Darmstadt Diamonds
Founded1985
LeagueGFL 2
Based inDarmstadt, Germany
ArenaStadion am Böllenfalltor
ColorsBlue and White
   
PresidentKarl-Heinz-Isselmann
Head coachAndreas Hock
ChampionshipsJunior Bowl: 1995, 2001
Division titlesnone
Websitewww.darmstadt-diamonds.de

The club has spent six seasons in the German Football League, the GFL, from 1990 to 1992 and again from 2006 to 2008, reaching the play-offs on two occasions. The Diamonds have had much greater success at junior level, having won the German Junior Bowl on two occasions. They are currently situated in the GFL 2.

History

The club was formed in September 1985.[1]

The Diamonds entered league football in 1986, joining the Regionalliga Mitte, followed by joining the Verbandsliga Hessen in 1988. After league championships in 1987 and 1988 the side achieved promotion to the 2nd American Football Bundesliga, now the GFL 2, where it played in the now defunct central division.[2]

After winning its division in its first season in the league, Darmstadt earned promotion to the American Football Bundesliga, the predecessor of the GFL, for 1990. The club came second in its division in its first season and qualified for the play-offs but lost to the Noris Rams in the opening round. The club declined after this first season and, by 1992, was relegated again.[2]

The next four seasons were spent in the 2nd Bundesliga again, where the Diamonds did not come close to promotion again but instead was relegated in 1996. The club was now back in the Regionalliga Mitte for three seasons, where it had started a decade before but managed to win the league in 1999 and earned the right to return to the second tier.[2]

In the next six seasons, Darmstadt's performance varied greatly but culminated in a division title in 2005 that allowed it to return to Germany's highest league, now renamed GFL, for a second stint. Once more it showed its best performance in its first season there, finishing fourth and qualifying for the play-offs once more. In the first round the club was drawn against the Braunschweig Lions, the most dominating club in league history, and lost 79–0. In its next two GFL seasons, the club only won one game all up, against the Saarland Hurricanes in 2007, which saved the Diamonds from relegation that year. In 2008, the side performed even worse, losing eleven out of twelve games and only drawing once, against the Cologne Falcons. Darmstadt had to face the Plattling Black Hawks in the promotion-relegation round and lost both games there, too, condemning the club to relegation.[2]

Back in the GFL 2 the club achieved average results for 2009 and 2010 but came close to promotion once more in 2011.[2] The side finished on equal points in second place with the Rhein-Neckar Bandits and the Holzgerlingen Twister behind champions Franken Knights. The final placings in the league had to be decided by the games played between the three clubs, in which the Bandits had the best record and earned promotion while the Diamonds had the worst ended up in fourth place.[3]

The following season, 2012, the club came last in the GFL 2 southern division and was relegated from the league. The 2013 season saw the club rebound, winning the Regionalliga Mitte without defeat and returning to the GFL 2 for 2014. Originally relegated at the end of the 2015 season after finishing seventh the club was offered to retain their league place after the withdrawal of the Holzgerlingen Twister but opted to step down to the Regionalliga Mitte for 2016.[4]

The Diamonds junior team has historically performed much better than the senior side, having reached the German Junior Bowl on seven occasions and won two of those.

Honours
  • GFL
    • League membership: (6) 1990–1992, 2006–2008
    • Play-off qualification: 1990, 2006
  • GFL 2
    • Southern Division champions: 2005
    • Central Division champions: 1989
  • Junior Bowl
    • Champions: 1995, 2001
    • Runners-up: 1991,1998, 2000, 2002, 2003

Recent seasons

Recent seasons of the club:[2][5][6][7][8]

YearDivisionFinish PointsPct.Games WDLPFPA Postseason
2005 GFL 2 (South) 1st24–40.857 141202 533227 —
2006 GFL (South) 4th7–170.292 12318 237319 Lost QF: Braunschweig Lions (0–79)
20075th2–22 0.083 121011 102356 —
2008 6th1–230.042 120111 121443 Lost RR: Plattling Black Hawks (33–43 & 36–44)
2009 GFL 2 (South) 3rd16–120.571 14806 321175 —
2010 5th10−180.357 14428 247255 —
2011 4th20–80.714 141004 282220 —
2012 8th6–220.214 143011 253328 —
2013 Regionalliga Mitte 1st20–01.000 101000 30669 —
2014 GFL 2 (South) 7th10–180.357 14509 180260 —
2015 7th6–220.214 143011 158487 —
2016 Regionalliga Mitte 6th7–130.350 10316 80164 —
2017 2nd14–60.700 10703 250149 —
2018 1st16–01.000 8800 35465 Won PR: Biberach Beavers (15–31) & Fursty Razorbacks (36–19)
2019 GFL 2 (South) 6th6–180.250 12309 176420 —
2020 No season played because of the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Waiving of competition – relegated to lower level
  • RR = Relegation round
  • PR = Promotion round
  • QF = Quarter finals

References
  1. Die Bundesliga-Mannschaft der Diamonds Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Darmstadt Diamonds website, accessed: 16 September 2011
  2. Football History (in German) Historic American football tables from Germany, accessed: 16 December 2011
  3. American Football GFL: Alles über Playoffs, Auf- und Abstieg (in German) suit101.de, published: 11 September 2011, accessed: 16 December 2011
  4. Diamonds 2016 in der Regionalliga Archived 2015-12-12 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Darmstadt Diamonds website, published: 15 October 2015, accessed: 3 November 2015
  5. GFL 2 2008 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 16 December 2011
  6. GFL 2 2009 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 16 December 2011
  7. GFL 2 2010 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 16 December 2011
  8. GFL 2 2011 www.football-aktuell.de, accessed: 11 December 2011
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