There are teams up and down the country that play American football on a regular basis, which is something that a lot of people might not realise. Head to Coventry and ask about the local football teams, for example, and the first response that you get will almost certainly be about Coventry City.
Away from association football, however, you might well stumble across Coventry Phoenix, which is the name of the gridiron team that represents the city in American football and has done so since it was formed in 2004, albeit boasting a different name at that time.
A History of Coventry Phoenix
In 2004, Dave Winter, Ed Winter, Ryan Baker and Jay Alexander decided to create an American football team, having already re-established youth football in the area thanks to the Tamworth Trojans. So it was that the Tamworth Phoenix was created, playing its first season in 2008 in the British American Football Association’s BAFL2 Central Conference. That first season saw them come second, missing out on the top spot to the Nottingham Caesars. They got their revenge, however, when they defeated them in the playoffs on their way to the BritBowl 2 final.
They lost that final to the London Cobras, but were still promoted into the BAFL1 division, being placed in the South-West Conference. Their first regular season at the higher level of the game saw them end with a record of nine wins and just one defeat, becoming the second seed for the playoffs. They defeated the Kent Exiles, but lost in the semi-final to the East Kilbride Pirates. In 2010, however, they avenged the loss with a perfect season of ten wins and no losses, as well as a perfect off-season that resulted in them defeating the Pirates in the Brit Bowl, moving into the BAFACL Premiership as a result.
Settling in the Premiership
In spite of the fact that the Phoenix had been asked to step up a level when they were promoted into the Premiership, they represented themselves well. The team that they had now come up against numerous times at different levels, the East Kilbride Pirates, were dispatched in a match at Lichfield Rugby Club, with Graham Kelly having taken over from Jay Alexander as Head Coach. Their season ended with a record of five wins and five defeats, which was enough to see them make it into the playoffs, where they were defeated in the semi-finals by the London Warriors.
The most successful Premiership campaign that the Phoenix enjoyed came in 2014, earning a place in the Northern Conference playoffs as second seeds, where they defeated the Bristol Aztecs. Once again, however, the London Warriors proved to be a step too far and they lost to them in the semi-final. More changes behind the scenes came about in 2015, with James Hossack becoming the Team President and Martin Hilton given the role of Head Coach. There was also an agreement made with Atherstone Sports Hub for the team to play their home games at the location.
Improvements on the Field
In 2015, the club began a series of improvements that would eventually see it enjoy national success, starting with a defeat of the East Kilbride Pirates in a regular season game. A year later and the club enjoyed its first undefeated season in the Premiership, as well as winning the Conference for the first time. That set up the first home playoff, but they lost to London Blitz in a disappointment to supporters and players alike. Their success did roll over into 2017, however, with the club notching up nearly 500 points in their games against their BAFA Premier North opponents.
The last week of the season brought an astounding 62-3 win over the Merseyside Nighthawks, which set the team up well for the playoffs. Still known as the Tamworth Phoenix at the time, they shocked the London Warriors in the semi-final, which put them in the final against the London Blitz. BritBowl XXXI was hosted at Sixfields Stadium in Worcester, with Pat Daley giving the Phoenix the lead before the Blitz responded. Points from Daley and Alex Lenkowski meant that the Phoenix were 17-7 up before the Blitz scored either side of half-time to mean that they led 28-17.
Tamworth Phoenix had a response of their own, however, and they pulled the score back to 28-27 with just eight minutes left of the game. At that point, Ben Davies got in front of a Joe Thompson pass to score an interception return, meaning that the Phoenix won the BritBowl 34-28 and secured the trophy for the first time in the club’s history. Pat Daley’s heroics saw him named the match’s MVP, whilst the London Blitz had suffered their fifth BritBowl defeat in the space of five years. It felt like the Tamworth Phoenix were on the march in the country’s American football league.
Playing in Europe
Shortly after the BritBowl win, Martin Hilton announced that he would be retiring, leading to the reins being handed to the team’s long-time coordinator, Jason Scott. Scott had been part of the initial establishment of the team, whilst his experience coaching in America also made him the right choice. The club was invited to be part of the Northern European Football League, playing alongside the likes of the Carlstad Crusaders, the Copenhagen Towers and the Oslo Vikings, with the Phoenix feeling confident about their European adventures after a 57-6 defeat of the Manchester Titans in the regular season.
The Copenhagen Towers were significantly more physical, however, and dispatched them easily. In fact, of the three opponents, the only win came over the Oslo Vikings. In the regular season, they once again went undefeated, winning the Northern Conference Title for the third time in succession, making it to another BritBowl thanks to a 30-17 defeat of the London Blitz in the semi-final. This time, they went up against the London Warriors at the John Charles Stadium in Leeds, which the Warriors won 48-34 as the rain came pouring down throughout.
Many of the club’s successful players decided to retire in 2019, whilst the talismanic quarterback, Pat Daley, left to join the Hamburg Spartans. In total, the off-season saw a total of 17 players leave, which led to a huge rebuilding year. In spite of this, they only lost once in the regular season and defeated the London Blitz in the playoff semi-final to ensure another final against the London Warriors. Sadly, another defeat followed, this time by 56 to 29. It was in 2024 that the Phoenix decided to relocate to Coventry, becoming the Coventry Phoenix as a result.