Cambridgeshire Cats

Cambridgeshire CatsWhen it comes to American football teams in the United Kingdom, there are plenty of different options for people to choose from in terms of who to support and watch play live. The Cambridgeshire Cats are one of the bigger teams, but aren’t to be confused with the Cambridge Cats, which is a basketball team.

The club was founded in the December of 1984, but folded in 1998 before reforming again four years later, so whether the current club is the same as the original club is obviously something that is up for debate. If you want to watch the sport in the UK, though, they are one of the best choices open to you.

A History of the Club


One of the first American football teams founded in the United Kingdom was the RAF Wyton Eagles. They conducted trials in Cambridge to find new members, which was so successful that a decision was taken to create a team in the city as a result. This team was the Cambridge County Cats, who joined the American Football Federation ahead of the 1985 season, having been created in the previous December. They initially competed in what was known as the A1 division, finishing top of it having won all eight of their games in the regular season to make it to the post-season.

Having regularly performed in front of crowds of around 600 people, the Cats lost in the semi-final to the Croydon Coyotes. For the next season, the Cats switched in order to play in the newly formed Budweiser League, gaining election into the top division and once again making it to the play-offs thanks to a 6-4 record, but suffered defeat in the first round to the Wrekin Giants. They were relegated a year later, suffering a record of 0-9-1, but managed to achieve successive wins in eight games to come second, only to lose 24-34 on the road to the Scottish champions, the Glasgow Diamonds.

In 1989, the team was sponsored by an apple export firm called the Washington State Apple Commission, resulting in them changing their name to become the Cambridge Crunchers, leaving the Budweiser League in order to help form the Combined Gridiron League. There they competed in the Central Conference of the Crown National Division, coming second and making it into the play-offs again, but again saw disappointment when they lost 3-27 to the Heathrow Jets. What followed was a period of turmoil for the team, not least of all because their sponsors decided to withdraw their funding.

Folding Before Relaunching

When the Combined Gridiron League folded, the team moved into the NCMMA and made it the play-offs thanks to a 6-3-1 record, but when it emerged that the team hadn’t paid the league fees, they were excluded from the post-season matches. In the close season, the team entered what was thought to be merger talks with the Newmarket Hornets, but when it emerged that it was actually a takeover attempt, it was decided to fold the team entirely rather than lose its identity. After being inactive for two years, the team was reformed as the Cambridge Cats, boasting a squad of more than 40 players.

When the team joined the British National Gridiron League in 1993, it was put into the East Midlands conference of Division One and made the play-offs at the first time of asking, beating the Derbyshire Braves and the Redditch Arrows on their way to a semi-final loss to the Lincoln Saints. A year later and the team was on the move again, this time joining the British American Football Association and taking part in the Midlands Conference in Division Three, winning eight of the ten games that they played in order to finish top, winning the first division title with a defeat of the Crawley Raiders.

Another Fold & Relaunch

The Cats gained promotion into the Second Division thanks to their play-off win over Crawley Raiders, joining the North/Midlands Conference and enjoying a record of 8-2 to come second. They defeated the only team that had beaten them in the normal season (twice), setting up a final against the Plymouth Admirals and winning 28-13 to earn another promotion. The higher level proved to be a step too far for the Cats, largely on account of the retirement of many of the more senior players prior to the start of the season. Things came to a head when they couldn’t afford to play their last two home games.

Having won only two of the ten games that they were scheduled to play, they came fourth out of five teams and also finished second from bottom for two years running. Eventually, the Cats folded ahead of the 1999 season, remaining out of commission for three years before Chris Wallis decided to reform them as the Cambridgeshire Cats, seeing them enter what had become known as the British Senior League in the Division Two South. They came third out of nine teams at the end of the first season, which resulted in them once again making the play-offs, losing in the quarter-final to the Plymouth Admirals.

In 2003, they notched up a perfect season, ending with a record of 10-0, to win the South East Conference, losing to the Bristol Aztecs in the semi-finals of the play-offs. They did, however, gain promotion to Division 1A, which had been newly created, making it into the play-offs with a Wild Card, losing to the Aztecs again. The club has enjoyed numerous such ups and downs over the years, often making it into the play-offs before failing to go the final step and win the overall league. Even so, they continue to operate in the British American Football Association League and welcome large crowds to watch them play.