I’m going to be doing these pieces on the World League of American Football and NFL Europe a little differently from the rest in this Throwback Thursday series. Because of the number of seasons—15, compared to four seasons for the next-longest-running league—I’ll be working in eras rather than one writeup per year. This first piece covers the first two years of the league: 1991 and 1992.
The WLAF was the first and only league of its kind: an official developmental league for the NFL to experiment in. In its first two seasons, there were ten teams, listed below.
East of the Atlantic were the Dragons, Galaxy and Monarchs. On the other side were seven teams, divided into two divisions. Games were in the spring, but the focus of the league was placing teams in markets without a pro football presence, and also New York.
Between the two seasons, one change took place: the Skyhawks folded after going winless in 1991 and were replaced by the Glory.
I’m honestly not a fan of this ten-team, three-division setup. I think nine teams would have been great, given the circumstance of having three teams so far away from the others.
In both years, every team played ten games. In 1991, every team played every other team at least once and was matched up with one other team twice. In ’92, teams played multiple home-and-homes, usually within their divisions, and missed some other teams.
It leads me back to my nine-team idea. If each team plays the other two teams in the division twice and everyone else once, that’s ten games in a year.
Possibly because of its minor league status, there’s a stark difference between these two seasons. In 1991, the three European teams finished above .500 in the regular season, while the North American teams finished at .500 or below. In ’92, it was completely flipped: five NA teams won 6 or more games, while the Dragons won a Euro-best 5.
In 1991, the London Monarchs weren’t just the best team in their league. They finished with the highest final rating that any team will see in this series. They won 11 games, all by double digits; their only loss, the regular-season closer vs. Barcelona, was by 3.
The Knights also had a strong rating in ’91, but they took that to new heights the following year, when they posted the league’s highest rating despite missing the playoffs. Had the Orlando Thunder not lost World Bowl 92, it would probably have been them. The champion Surge finish in a distant third.
After 1992, the NFL shut down the WLAF for the next two years. It would return in 1995 under the same name, but with only European teams: the three old teams were joined by three new.
As far as the ratings are concerned, the lesson to take away from the early years of the World League of American Football is this: minor leagues can be incredibly volatile from year to year. In the next three entries, it will become even more evident. No team is going to see sustained long-term success. That’s just kind of how it is when there’s a higher league where the best talent heads off to once they’ve proven themselves elsewhere.
The WLAF was the first and only league of its kind: an official developmental league for the NFL to experiment in. In its first two seasons, there were ten teams, listed below.
East of the Atlantic were the Dragons, Galaxy and Monarchs. On the other side were seven teams, divided into two divisions. Games were in the spring, but the focus of the league was placing teams in markets without a pro football presence, and also New York.
Between the two seasons, one change took place: the Skyhawks folded after going winless in 1991 and were replaced by the Glory.
I’m honestly not a fan of this ten-team, three-division setup. I think nine teams would have been great, given the circumstance of having three teams so far away from the others.
In both years, every team played ten games. In 1991, every team played every other team at least once and was matched up with one other team twice. In ’92, teams played multiple home-and-homes, usually within their divisions, and missed some other teams.
It leads me back to my nine-team idea. If each team plays the other two teams in the division twice and everyone else once, that’s ten games in a year.
Possibly because of its minor league status, there’s a stark difference between these two seasons. In 1991, the three European teams finished above .500 in the regular season, while the North American teams finished at .500 or below. In ’92, it was completely flipped: five NA teams won 6 or more games, while the Dragons won a Euro-best 5.
In 1991, the London Monarchs weren’t just the best team in their league. They finished with the highest final rating that any team will see in this series. They won 11 games, all by double digits; their only loss, the regular-season closer vs. Barcelona, was by 3.
The Knights also had a strong rating in ’91, but they took that to new heights the following year, when they posted the league’s highest rating despite missing the playoffs. Had the Orlando Thunder not lost World Bowl 92, it would probably have been them. The champion Surge finish in a distant third.
After 1992, the NFL shut down the WLAF for the next two years. It would return in 1995 under the same name, but with only European teams: the three old teams were joined by three new.
As far as the ratings are concerned, the lesson to take away from the early years of the World League of American Football is this: minor leagues can be incredibly volatile from year to year. In the next three entries, it will become even more evident. No team is going to see sustained long-term success. That’s just kind of how it is when there’s a higher league where the best talent heads off to once they’ve proven themselves elsewhere.
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