Team Name: The Scottish Claymores are named after the historical two-edged sword formerly used by warriors of the Scottish clans.
Team Colours: Blue, Silver and Black
Established in 1995, the Claymores posted a disappointing 2-8 record in their inaugural season. The next season the club bounced back from worst to first, recording a 7-3 regular season standing, including a 4-1 record to be crowned first-half champions. The Claymores hosted World Bowl '96, defeating Frankfurt Galaxy 32-27 in front of 38,982 fans at Murrayfield on June 23.
In 1997, the Claymores broke even with a 5-5 regular season record, but in 1998 suffered crippling injuries and finished with a 2-8 mark.
In 1999, quarterback Dameyune Craig led the Claymores to three wins from their opening four games and threw for an NFL Europe League single-game record 611 yards in a dramatic 42-35 win at Frankfurt in Week 6. That performance earned Craig recognition from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, however, despite the young quarterback's efforts, the Claymores could not maintain a winning consistency, fading in the second half of the season to finish 4-6.
Head coach Jim Criner, who had led the Claymores since 1995, returned for his sixth and final season in 2000.
Season 2000 saw the Claymores continue to play home games at Hampden and Murrayfield before a return to the World Bowl on the back of a 6-4 winning season. Two Claymores players earned League MVP honours with Tampa Bay Buccaneers allocated running back Aaron Stecker awarded Offensive Player of the Year honours and Dallas Cowboys allocated corner back Duane Hawthorne Defensive Player of the Year. However, the Scots were denied ultimate glory when they lost 13-10 to Rhein Fire in a thrilling finale at Frankfurt's Waldstadion.
Gene Dahlquist took over as head coach for the Claymores 2001 season and led his new team to a 4-6 record, with all five home fixtures played at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
The 2002 season saw the Claymores make an emotional return to Edinburgh, playing one game at Murrayfield Stadium in Week 4 - re-match of World Bowl 1996 against Frankfurt Galaxy. Despite a spirited effort and a team that was in contention to the penultimtae weekend of the season, the Claymores finished the season 5-5.
The 2003 season ended badly for the Scottish Claymores when Rhein's 33-7 victory over Barcelona Dragons and Frankfurt's 14-27 loss to Berlin Thunder in their last games of the regular season sent the Scottish Claymores crashing out of contention for World Bowl XI. Despite, the Claymores results of 6 wins and 4 losses, the NFL Europe League tie-breaker system meant that the two teams with the best combined head-to-head records between the top three (Frankfurt 3-1, Rhein 2-2, Scotland 1-3) qualified - with the Claymores losing out on their third World Bowl appearance by the narrowest of margins.
Claymores General Manager STEVE LIVINGSTONE, said: "This is the cruelest of ways for us to lose out on a World Bowl spot - regardless of the way things turned out for us I am proud of our team and our coaching staff of what they have achieved this season. To have come back from 2-4 ranks among the greatest fight backs in our team history.
Hampden Park lays claim to being the world's oldest football stadium, established in 1867. It holds the record for the largest attendance at a sporting event in Britain when, in 1937, a staggering 149,415 crammed into its stands to watch Scotland play England in a Home International match.
Scotland's National Stadium has recently undergone a £63 million, seven year redevelopment making it one of Europe's premier sporting stadia with a capacity of 52,500. It will host the UEFA Champions League final in May 2002.