MCP Ipswich Cardinals
Encyclopedia
The Ipswich Cardinals are an American Football
team from the United Kingdom
based in Ipswich
, Suffolk
. The team plays in the South-East Conference of BAFACL 1 – the second tier of the BAFA Community Leagues
.
The club was formed by the players for the players, the club was owned by the players.
The teams first training session was set for Jan 1986 at Gainsborough sports centre, Ipswich. Over 100 hopefuls turned up for tryouts - a lot of them went by the way, but there were a lot of hopefuls.
Don Laisure put the hopeful players through their paces along with Gary McCartney.
The committee approached Jack Garner who was the head coach of the Woodbridge high school team. He became the head coach until he was transferred to Holland - then, with the team coach-less, JJ Johnson was asked to help. JJ and Andy Melton took over the coaching roles, whilst Don Laisure stepped down and played instead.
games are always fiercely contested with both teams stepping up their games.
It is an amusing accident that one of the league's biggest rivalries features teams with religious logos. With Ipswich being represented by an adaptation of Cardinal Wolsey and Norwich being represented with a depiction of a devil. Are there higher powers at work here? Probably not, but it all adds to the intensity of the games when these two teams face off on the field.
, it is not known however, when or why the team decided to abandon these colours in favor of their current ones.
The away uniform was white trimmed with red numbers and two red stripes on the arms.
The away uniform is largely the same as the home with the only difference being that the burgundy jersey is replaced with a white jersey with burgundy numbering outlined by gold.
squad, The Cardinelles. Squad numbers are increasing, and it is yet another exciting addition to the Ipswich Cardinals organisation.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
based in Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. The team plays in the South-East Conference of BAFACL 1 – the second tier of the BAFA Community Leagues
BAFA Community Leagues
The BAFA National Leagues are the primary American football competition in England, Scotland and Wales. They were formed by the British American Football Association in 2010 to coordinate contact football and flag football across all age ranges...
.
Formation
Formed by Colin Cox, Mark LePorte in December 1985 at the Drunken Docker pub in Ipswich.The club was formed by the players for the players, the club was owned by the players.
What's in a name?
The name comes from one of Ipswich's most famous sons, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who was Henry VIII's Lord chancellor (Chief advisor to the king). It is a clever play on the traditional name for some American sports teams, whereas theirs is generally a reference to the cardinal bird, their name is a tribute to a local historical figure.The teams first training session was set for Jan 1986 at Gainsborough sports centre, Ipswich. Over 100 hopefuls turned up for tryouts - a lot of them went by the way, but there were a lot of hopefuls.
Don Laisure put the hopeful players through their paces along with Gary McCartney.
The committee approached Jack Garner who was the head coach of the Woodbridge high school team. He became the head coach until he was transferred to Holland - then, with the team coach-less, JJ Johnson was asked to help. JJ and Andy Melton took over the coaching roles, whilst Don Laisure stepped down and played instead.
All Time Record
| Season | Division | Wins | Losses | Ties Tie (draw) To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as... |
PF | PA | Playoff Playoff The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S... Record |
Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Friendlies only | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 12 | Vs Stevenage Aerostars | ||
| 1987 | United Kingdom Football League Championship | 12 | 0 | 0 | 299 | 21 | Runners-up losing 28-26 in the final to St Helen Cardinals | ||
| 1988 | Budweiser Division 1 Championship | 9 | 1 | 0 | 456 | 84 | Runners-up losing 48-34 in the final to Harts Phantoms | ||
| 1989 | British National Gridiron League Division 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 216 | 54 | Runners-up losing 18-9 in the final to Norwich Devils Norwich Devils The Norwich Devils are a British American Football team based in Norwich, Norfolk.-Overview:The Devils currently field a senior team in Division 2 East of the BAFA Community Leagues... |
||
| 1990 | British National Gridiron League Division 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 256 | 77 | National champions beating the Clydesdale Colts 34-22 | ||
| 1991 | British National Gridiron League Division 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 279 | 130 | Semi-finalists losing 50-0 to the London Capitals | ||
| 1992 | BNGL National Division South/East Midlands Conference | 5 | 5 | 0 | 217 | 213 | |||
| 1993 | BNGL Division Midlands Conference | 5 | 5 | 0 | 150 | 95 | |||
| 1994 | BAFA Division 2 South Eastern Conference | 1 | 9 | 0 | 81 | 267 | Relegated to Division 3 | ||
| 1995 | BAFA Division 3 East Midlands Conference | 3 | 7 | 0 | 86 | 207 | |||
| 1996 | British Senior League Division 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 261 | 61 | Quarter-finalists losing 14-0 to Winchester Rifles | ||
| 1997 | BSL Division 1 South East / Midlands Conference | 4 | 6 | 0 | 151 | 177 | |||
| 1998 | BSL Division 1 South East Conference | 4 | 6 | 0 | 145 | 248 | |||
| 1999 | BSL Division 1 South East Conference | 2 | 6 | 0 | 84 | 126 | Relegated to Division 2 | ||
| 2000 | British Senior League Division 2 Championship | 8 | 0 | 0 | 297 | 48 | Runners-up losing 41-7 in the final to Farnham Knights | ||
| 2001 | British Senior League Division 2 Championship | 5 | 2 | 1 | 172 | 91 | Division Champions beating the Norwich Devils Norwich Devils The Norwich Devils are a British American Football team based in Norwich, Norfolk.-Overview:The Devils currently field a senior team in Division 2 East of the BAFA Community Leagues... 47-15 |
Promoted to Division 1 | |
| 2002 | British Senior League Division 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 201 | 116 | losing 14-3 to Birmingham Bulls Birmingham Bulls The Birmingham Bulls were a professional ice hockey team based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1976 to 1979 and the Central Hockey League from 1979 to 1981. The Bulls played their home games at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center.Prior to being... |
||
| 2003 | British Senior League Division 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 137 | 67 | Semi-finalists losing 12-7 to East Kilbride Pirates | ||
| 2004 | British Senior League Division 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 199 | 170 | Wildcard round losing 46-0 to London O's London Olympians The London Olympians is a British amateur American football team, based in Crystal Palace, London. They are the United Kingdom's most successful amateur American football club... |
||
| 2005 | British Senior League Division 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 86 | 201 | |||
| 2006 | British American Football League Division 1A | 4 | 6 | 0 | 165 | 334 | Semi-finalists losing 20-7 to Bristol Aztecs Bristol Aztecs The Bristol Aztecs are a British American football team based inBristol, England, at the Filton WISE sports academy of Filton College, Bristol, which is also the base for a number of other sports teams such as Bristol Academy woman's soccer team.- Overview :... |
||
| 2007 | BAFL Division 1 Championship | 8 | 2 | 0 | 230 | 109 | Runners-up losing 47-7 in the final to Farnham Knights | ||
| 2008 | BAFL Division 1 South Conference | 5 | 5 | 0 | 167 | 175 | |||
| 2009 | BAFL Division 1 South East Conference | 3 | 7 | 0 | 175 | 219 | |||
| 2010 | BAFACL Division 1 South East Conference | 8 | 2 | 0 | 215 | 99 | Semi-finalists losing 34-10 to East Kilbride Pirates | ||
| 2011 | BAFANL Division 1 South East Conference | 6 | 3 | 1 | 242 | 172 | Quarter-fnalists losing 14-7 to London O's London Olympians The London Olympians is a British amateur American football team, based in Crystal Palace, London. They are the United Kingdom's most successful amateur American football club... |
Rivalries
Ipswich has a long standing rivalry with the city of Norwich in all sports and American football is no different. The Cardinals and the DevilsNorwich Devils
The Norwich Devils are a British American Football team based in Norwich, Norfolk.-Overview:The Devils currently field a senior team in Division 2 East of the BAFA Community Leagues...
games are always fiercely contested with both teams stepping up their games.
It is an amusing accident that one of the league's biggest rivalries features teams with religious logos. With Ipswich being represented by an adaptation of Cardinal Wolsey and Norwich being represented with a depiction of a devil. Are there higher powers at work here? Probably not, but it all adds to the intensity of the games when these two teams face off on the field.
Logo
The Logo worn on the helmet was originally a cardinal's head, then the "Fighting Cardinal" (a representation of Cardinal Wolsey) which was designed by Mark Aryes the first QB, Kevin Davies took it to an artist at the Port of Felixstowe to refine it.Early Days
The original uniform first adopted by the Cardinals was a blue helmet with the cardinals head, red home shirt, white away shirt, white pants. It is believed these colours were chosen as they matched the local football team Ipswich Town FCIpswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
, it is not known however, when or why the team decided to abandon these colours in favor of their current ones.
Pre-2007
Later on the Cardinals switched to burgundy and gold for their helmets and home uniform, and all white for their away uniform. The helmets were gold with a central stripe of white flanked by two strips of burgundy. The jersey is burgundy and the pants gold.The away uniform was white trimmed with red numbers and two red stripes on the arms.
Current Uniform
The Cardinals current home uniform is made up of three colours; the primary colour is burgundy. The second is gold which runs from the base of the pants up the outside of the legs and follows onto the jersey before moving under the arms to the top of the shoulder, and is also the colour of the shirt numbers. The final colour is white which outlines the jersey numbers. The pants are burgundy with gold trim and the socks are white.The away uniform is largely the same as the home with the only difference being that the burgundy jersey is replaced with a white jersey with burgundy numbering outlined by gold.
Retired Numbers
At the end of the 2010 season Ralph Alexander, GM & Owner of the Ipswich Cardinals, made the decision to retire the clubs first ever number. Head Coach Ian Girling has seen service with the organisation since its inception in 1985 first as a player in the Wide Receiver and Quarterback role, later as offensive coordinator and finally as the current Head Coach (As of 2010). In that time he has won 2 National titles and represented British American football in Europe. It was decided that a fitting way to recognise this outstanding commitment to the organisation was to retire his number from the team's roster. At the Cardinals' 25th anniversary party the GM presented the number 7 to Coach Girling and thanked him for all he has done to help make the team as strong as it is today. Long may his association with the organisation continue.Coaching staff and front office
- Chairman/General Manager: Ralph Alexander
- CEO Hospitality/Entertainment: Jan Alexander
- CEO Matchday Operations: James Alexander
- Matchday Manager: Julian Baines
- Treasurer: Clive Longden
- Communications Manager:
- Social Secretary: Ann Woolf
- Head CoachHead coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
: Ian Girling - Offensive coordinatorOffensive coordinatorAn offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
:Ian Girling - Defensive coordinatorDefensive coordinatorA defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
: Sandy Francis - Special Teams Coach:
- Line Coach: Howard Borstal
- Assistant Coach: Robert Stamper
- Assistant Coach: Kevin Davies
- Director of Statistics: John Goode
Cheerleading squad
As of the 2009 season the Ipswich Cardinals fielded its own cheerleadingCheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
squad, The Cardinelles. Squad numbers are increasing, and it is yet another exciting addition to the Ipswich Cardinals organisation.
Cardinelles Coaches
- Head CoachHead coachA head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
: Kerrianne Crane - Captains: Lynsay Mactaggart & Caroline Holman