Berkshire Renegades

Background

The Berkshire Renegades first suited up in 1985, playing in the UK American Football Association, the Budweiser League, the Combined Gridiron League, and the British National Gridiron League before shutting down in 1990. They returned in 2005, joining the BAFL the next year. When the BAFL folded after the 2009 season, the team moved to the BAFA Community Leagues. Following the 2011 season, they were asked to join the BAFA National Leagues Division 1 for 2012, landing in Division 1 Central & South. After that season, a league realignment placed them in the Premier South division.

History

Admitted into the United Kingdom American Football Association in 1985, the Renegades competed in the Eastern Conference and finished with a 3–5 record, narrowly missing the playoffs to the Dunstable Cowboys. After a hard-fought win away to the Farnham Knights in their second game, they won six of ten matches and finished fourth out of eleven teams; only the top team from each Division One group qualified for the playoffs, so they had no post-season.

The 1987 season was much worse, with no wins and only a tie against the Salford-based Huskies. After sitting out 1988, they returned in 1989 in the Combined Gridiron League's Southern Conference, finishing with a 3–3 record and again missing the playoffs. They then transferred to the British National Gridiron League's First Division Southern Conference, finishing bottom with one win at home to the Wight Rhinos, and folded shortly after the season.

In 2004 the Renegades were restarted by former general manager Oliver Raffle and a small group of enthusiasts. After work during 2005, the club successfully applied to join the BAFL at the end of 2005. Entering the Western Conference of Division Two as an expansion team after 15 years away, they lost all ten matches, failing to score in four and conceding one game to the South Wales Warriors.