Based: Old Race Course, Ayr, Scotland
Career Record: 8-10-0
Colours: White/Orange/White
Honours: None

1986 BAFL Anglo League Scottish Conference 5-5-0
1987 Budweiser League Division One Scottish Conference 3-5-0

Team notes: Formed out of the merger between Ayr Arrows and Irvine Seagulls. Played two seasons in the mid 80's but made little impression. Finished each season in the middle of their conference. The following is their story courtesy of Ryan Buick of Undercenter

Logo

"The Ayr Burners Story
by Jim McGaffney, Ayr Burners founder

In late 1984 there were only about three American football teams in Scotland, These were based in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Always having had a great interest in the sport I, along with a school friend, were keen to get involved. Being only 17 and still in my last year of school I could not afford the travelling costs, and besides which I would have been to young to play with these teams as the league required that all player must be 18 or over.

Faced with these obstacles my friend and I decided that the only answer was to establish a team locally. This would solve the problem of travel and by the time the team was set up we would be old enough to play in the national league. And so with some hard work and more than a few disappointments Ayr on the west coat of Scotland got itself a football team, the Ayr Burners (later to be now, and here after referred to as "The Burners", note the very loose connection with the world-renowned poet).

It took all of 1985 to get the team ready for its first competitive season. During this time the team played limited contact games against around half a dozen other teams which were just getting started. 1985 was a landmark year for Football in Scotland many of the teams playing football today were established around this time.

Rookie Year
The Burners received a valuable injection of players from the Irvine Seagulls after the team failed to make it to an organisation point that would allow them to play in the league.

In our first league game against the Johnstone Crusaders, we played a 4-4 and blitzed on every down. If the offence happened to run the ball, as a mater of chance, then we were on a run blitz. If the offence were passing then it was a pass blitz. Oh, how complicated it all was.

On the offensive side of the ball things weren't much better with the playbook being made up manly of simple runs and pass. While there is nothing wrong with simple plays, they have to be well executed. Ours were not.

This scenario was repeated by most of the teams in Scotland at that time. This resulted in scrappy games that weren't very interesting to watch and not much better to take part in. Despite this, it was fun.

The Burners disappeared from the face of football in January 1989 in a merger with the Barrhead Red Hawks to produce the K.L. Rebels. A sad time indeed.

I know! Because I was there!!"