With the popularity of American football increasing seemingly exponentially in the United Kingdom, it makes complete sense for there to be various gridiron teams in operation up and down the country. In the case of Humberside, the Humber Warhawks are based in Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, playing in the British American Football Association’s National League.
By taking its name from the Humber Estuary, which flows between East Yorkshire and North East Lincolnshire, as well as the connecting Humber Bridge, the team represents both counties at the same time, with the team debuting in 2015.
The History of the Humber Warhawks
The city of Hull as a concept first saw American football being played in the latter part of the 1980s, thanks to the launch of the Hull Kingston Liberators. The team became known by other names in the years that followed, including the Kingston Liberators and the Humberside Liberators, dissolving in the early 1990s. Next, the Hull Pirates came into being, reaching third in the National League in the only season that they played. They were followed by the Hull Rockets, then the Kingston Barbarians joined the league in 2001, folding after playing just two games.
Hull in general could never shake that desire to have an American football team, however, and so the Hull Hornets were created in 2005, being awarded BAFA League Status later in the same year. Until it folded in 2011, the Hull Hornets were the only gridiron team playing in the city. A year later, the former coach of the Doncaster Mustangs, Pete Scorah, decided to create the Kingston Warhawks. They were an associate American football team for two years, at which point a deal was struck to merge with the Grimsby Scorpions from North East Lincolnshire, basing themselves in Hull and seeing most players merge.
The Team’s Debut Season
Whilst some players from the Warhawks and the Scorpions decided to head off and join the Lincolnshire Bombers, the majority remained at the newly formed club and played the Bombers in their inaugural match under BAFA rules, being well beaten in the process. They also went up against the University of Hull Sharks and the Halton Spartans, with the latter match taking place in the Select Security Stadium as part of the Associate Bowl. That match resulted in both teams being invited to become full-fledged BAFA members ahead of the upcoming 2015 campaign.
The first official season for the Warhawks saw them being placed in the National Football Conference South 2, meaning that they were in the same division as the Lincolnshire Bombers, the Leicester Falcons, the Peterborough Saxons, the Leeds Bobcats and the Sandwell Steelers. The first match saw them lose 54-0 on the road against the Saxons, after which they lost 73-0 in a home game against the same side a week later. It is fair to say that the Warhawks struggled in their first season, with their best performance being a 52-16 loss at home to the Bobcats.
Notching Up Some Wins
FULL TIME ⏰🏈
Humber Warhawks WIN 59-0 🍔🥯
Most points ever scored by the team and highest margin of victory ✌️
Great performance from the team 🏈 pic.twitter.com/sBkvz5NjfT
— Humber Warhawks American Football Team (@humberwarhawks) July 3, 2022
Having lost 54-0 and 64-0 to the Lincolnshire Bombers, their local rivals, the Warhawks’ first season ended with a 0-10 record. They adopted something of an ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ mentality, or at least get them to join you, when they appointed the Bombers’ Alex Robson, who had been their Offensive Coordinator, as the Head Coach. Robson then brought in some experienced players from other sides to help bolster the ranks. The first day of the 2016 season saw this approach pay off, when the Warhawks defeated the Bombers 34-32 to register their first league win.
Under Robson, the team finished with a 3-7 record, which included a 50-12 victory over the Bombers. Eventually, they came fourth in a strong division, running relegated Division One side Staffordshire Surge close when they lost 26-30 thanks to the fact that they failed to convert their PATs. Robson resigned as he wanted to start a family, which resulted in Pete Scorah taking back over as the Head Coach. When the Warhawks struggled to keep hold of key personnel, they went back to struggling and ended up at the bottom of the division with a record of 1-9, the only victory being a 14-13 win over the Crewe Railroaders.
2018 & 2019 Seasons
Jerome Cronin had been handed the Head Coach role for the 2018 season, with Alex Moore as the offensive coordinator and Joe Smith coordinating the defence. They were wearing a grey and red kit for the first time, replacing the previous green and white, whilst the team had numerous rookies in it. They lost 52-0 in their first game against the Staffordshire Surge, which started a run of four consecutive defeats. Their first win came against the Knottingley Raiders, who they also drew against a week later. They lost their two remaining games for a final season tally of 1-6-1.
More changes to the leadership took place ahead of the 2019 campaign, with Alex Moore becoming the Head Coach and the off-season spent recruiting players to continue building the club. They also moved from Sirius West Academy to Costello Stadium for their training, though games were still played at Hull University. They lost 42-0 to the Lincolnshire Bombers on the opening game of the season, which was followed by three more losses. Their first win came against the Crewe Railroaders, who they also beat in the final game of the season to result in a record of 3-5.