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The Berlin Adler () is an American football club based in Berlin, Germany. The club is one of the most successful clubs in the sport in Germany, having won six as well as ten Ladies Bowls and five Junior Bowls.
Internationally, the club has participated in the European Football League (EFL) on several occasions, and has won the Eurobowl in 2010 and 2014.
As of 2015, the club is second only to the Munich Cowboys (405) in German Football League (GFL) games played, with 378, one of only three teams with more than 300 league games. The Cowboys have played 35 out of a possible 38 seasons at the highest level of the game in Germany – the Adler four fewer, with 31. Ewige Bundesligatabelle Historic tables of American football in Germany, accessed: 3 January 2011
In 1979, the Bears became a founding member of the American Football Bundesliga, renamed the German Football League in 1999, GFL German Football League AFVD website, accessed: 1 January 2011 together with the Frankfurter Löwen, Düsseldorf Panther, Ansbach Grizzlies, Munich Cowboys und Bremerhaven Seahawks. Geschichte AFVD website, accessed: 1 January 2011
The Bears came third in their first season in competitive football, but was unable to make the playoffs in its first four seasons. To improve on-the-field performance, the team decided to join established club BSC Wilmersdorf in 1981, changing its club colors and name, becoming the Berlin Adler.
The team's first entry in the EFL in 1988 ended in the semi-finals, losing narrowly to the Amsterdam Crusaders but, in 1989, the club returned to success, winning its second German Bowl, again undefeated all season, against the Red Barons Cologne.
After three titles in series from 1989 to 1991, the Adler declined somewhat but remained a strong side, still reaching the semi-finals in each of the following four seasons. In 1994, the club made its fifth German Bowl appearance, but lost for the first time, against the Düsseldorf Panther. In 1995, the club still had a strong season, but declined markedly after that.
Berlin, in the meantime, had acquired an NFL Europe team in 1999, the Berlin Thunder, a club that lasted until 2007, when the league folded.
After this, the club experienced two lean seasons, being knocked out in the quarter-finals in 2005 and having to play against relegation in 2006 but successfully avoiding the relegation round in the end.
The team did not decline further, as it had done in the 1990s, but instead reached the semi-finals in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, the side lost narrowly to the Stuttgart Scorpions, in 2008 they lost to the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes, a team it was to meet in the following two German Bowls. In Europe, the Berlin Adler won the EFAF Cup, a second-tier competition, against the Parma Panthers of Italy, the club's first international title. History: 2007-2010 Berlin Adler website, accessed: 6 January 2010
In 2009, the Adler had another successful season, losing only one league game and advancing to their seventh German Bowl, earning their sixth national title by defeating the Kiel Baltic Hurricanes 28–21. The 2010 season saw a repeat of this final, but this time Kiel was the stronger side and won their first national title. The Adler however achieved their second European success, finally winning the Eurobowl for the first time.
The 2011 season was not as successful for the club, making a losing appearance in the Eurobowl, finishing only fourth in the league and going out in the quarter-finals of the playoffs to the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. In 2012, the club came second in the northern division of the GFL and qualified for the play-off where it was knocked out by the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns in the semi-finals. The team again reached the semi-finals of the playoffs in 2013, this time losing to the Dresden Monarchs.
In 2014, the club took part in a new European competition, the BIG6 European Football League, which consisted of three teams from Germany, two from Austria and one from Switzerland, the clubs being Berlin Adler, New Yorker Lions, Dresden Monarchs, Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna, Swarco Raiders Tirol and the Calanda Broncos. The two best teams in this competition advanced to the Eurobowl XXVIII. BIG6 European Football League starts 2014 www.eurobowl.com, published: 20 November 2013, accessed: 5 December 2013 Berlin won this competition when it defeated the New Yorker Lions 20–17 in the 2014 final. In the GFL the club finished fifth in 2014 and thereby missed out on play-off qualification, repeated in 2015 when it came sixth.
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| 10,500 |
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| Year | Division | Pct. | L | PA | Postseason | ||||||
| 2005 | GFL (North) | 0.500 | 6 | 356 | Lost QF: Marburg Mercenaries (21–40) | ||||||
| 2006 | 0.333 | 8 | 234 | — | |||||||
| 2007 | 0.667 | 4 | 136 | Won QF: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (23–3) Lost SF: Stuttgart Scorpions (14–19) | |||||||
| 2008 | 3rd | 0.667 | 3 | 108 | Won QF: Stuttgart Scorpions (9–6) Lost SF: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (12–17) | ||||||
| 2009 | 1st | 0.900 | 1 | 91 | Won QF: Weinheim Longhorns (30–13) Won SF: Marburg Mercenaries (36–21)
'''Won''' GB: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (28–21)
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| 2010 | 2nd | 0.833 | 2 | 198 | Won QF: Plattling Black Hawks (17–3) Won SF: Marburg Mercenaries (17–6)
Lost GB: Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (10–17)
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| 2011 | 4th | 0.500 | 7 | 296 | Lost QF: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (27–53) | ||||||
| 2012 | 2nd | 0.786 | 3 | 294 | Won QF: Marburg Mercenaries (35–21) Lost SF: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (21–38) | ||||||
| 2013 | 4th | 0.500 | 7 | 342 | Won QF: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (42–13) Lost SF: Dresden Monarchs (21–32) | ||||||
| 2014 | 5th | 0.500 | 6 | 285 | — | ||||||
| 2015 | 6th | 0.167 | 10 | 469 | — | ||||||
| 2016 | 7th | 0.214 | 11 | 643 | — | ||||||
| 2017 | 8th | 0.071 | 13 | 659 | Lost RR: Potsdam Royals | ||||||
| 2018 | GFL2 (North) | 8th | 0.143 | 12 | 421 | — | |||||
| 2019 | Regionalliga (Ost) | 1st | 0.958 | 0 | 111 | Won LF: Magdeburg Virgin Guards (38–3 & 27–0)
'''Won''' PR: Oldenburg Knights (30–7) & Assindia Cardinals (17–21)
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| 2020 | GFL2 (North) | No season played because of the COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||||
| 2021 | 1st | 0.944 | 0 | 171 | — | ||||||
| 2022 | GFL (North) | 0.600 | 4 | 318 | Lost QF: Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (21–35) | ||||||
| 2023 | 0.417 | 7 | 341 | — | |||||||
| 2024 | 0.000 | 12 | 432 | withdrew during the season | |||||||
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