Monarchs are Mega

Selling out Wembley Stadium for an American football match has become a yearly occurrence with the NFL’s explosion in popularity, but how different did things look 30 years ago?

The year of 1991 saw not only the inception of the World League of American Football (WLAF), but the christening of its first British team, the London Monarchs. Made up of aspirational young talent and players seeking an NFL comeback, the Monarchs took the competition by storm and won nine out of ten league games across Europe and the United States. After a playoff win against the New York Knights in the Big Apple, London’s team rounded off its inaugural season on home soil, facing a resilient Barcelona Dragons side that had handed them their only loss just two weeks before.

The 1991 World Bowl welcomed more than 61,000 American football fans to the original Wembley Stadium on the 9^th of June and the Monarchs went in with no shortage of confidence. A tight opening quarter looked to be ending scoreless before Monarchs’ quarterback and WLAF offensive MVP Stan Gelbaugh launched a deep pass to wide receiver Jon Horton, who strode into the end zone for a 59-yard touchdown. Horton had known long before that moment that the Monarchs would put on a show in the World Bowl.

He said: “We always had this big idea that Wembley Stadium was where we had to end it with a bang.

“Coach Kennan did a great job of keeping us focussed on that game and the fans were amazing. I get goosebumps even now.

“That loss to Barcelona was a blessing in disguise. When it came World Bowl time we knew: we’re beating your a**.

The Monarchs would make good on that promise. Safety Dan Crossman returned an interception for a touchdown before Gelbaugh threw his second score of the half with a 14-yard pass to Judd Garrett in the end zone. A deafening Wembley crowd cheered the Monarchs into the break up 21-0, and after a defensive shutout in the second half the home team were crowned World Bowl Champions.

The World League was something new, fresh and exciting for fans of the sport. American football delivered to Europe’s front door was a welcome treat for the gridiron’s growing audience and for the players represented a real chance to chase their professional footballing dreams. Horton described the lengths he and his teammates went to to keep those dreams alive.

He said: “I thought it was a great opportunity. My agent called me and said, 'Hey, the World League has been founded and it’s an opportunity for players like you to get back into the NFL.'

“I drove to San Antonio, Texas, about a 10, 12-hour or maybe even longer drive with me and Rickey Williams, the soon-to-be Monarchs linebacker. We drove together all night in his girlfriend’s Suzuki Samurai and arrived in time for the Combine where they test you and run you. We slept in the car at Alamo Stadium and when we woke up, the doors opened and I said, 'Hey, we’ve been driving all night, can we shower?' They let us shower, gave us our chance and said show us what you’ve got. It was an eight-hour camp but I had signed with the World League after one hour.

“You have doubts. When you cut your own leg off here and there with opportunities then you have a lot of doubt. But for me it was my opportunity to say I can continue playing football.”

As with many of the players in the World League, Horton was looking for a second chance at the professional game. With the guidance of his college mentor Jabari Jihad, an NFL wide receiver known at the time as Charlie McKee, Horton was determined to prove himself on the biggest stage. Ready to offer him that chance was Monarchs head coach Larry Kennan.

“We were ready to die for him on the field," Horton said of Coach Kennan.

"He believed in us. He was putting it on the line. I’ve been a part of seven championship teams and everyone one of them has the same thing – that coach who was personable, a players’ coach. Management didn’t make the decisions; he made the decisions with us and whatever we decided as a group was the way we went. He’s a special guy.”

As the players came together behind Coach Kennan so too did the Monarchs’ fan base. The 1991 season saw games, training sessions and public appearances packed with supporters getting their first real-life taste of American football. Monarchs photographer Dom Tancock saw a franchise bursting with excitement and the potential to kickstart the sport in the United Kingdom.

He commented: “When you saw the Monarchs at the time you thought it would last forever. Particularly in that first season because it was just so intense.

"For a British side, albeit mostly made up of Americans, there was always that British edge.

“It certainly embraced the imagination, and it grew throughout the regular season and playoffs. People came along for the ride and just to experience American football.

“There was a real kind of bonding and team mentality as well. We used to go along to training sessions at Crystal Palace and get to know the guys, particularly Phil Alexander the kicker.”

Alexander is one of many names linked to the Monarchs franchise that may be familiar to modern sports fans, as the former World Bowl Champion and All-World kicker is the current CEO of Crystal Palace Football Club. Joining him in the annals of Monarchs’ player history are personalities such as former association footballer Clive Allen, former NFL head coach Doug Marrone and NBA family father LaVar Ball.