Box Score
World Bowl '96
Sunday 23 June 1996
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

In a game that broke numerous records, the Scottish Claymores proved themselves as the best in the World League in 1996.

 The scoring started on the games opening kickoff when Claymore safety George Coghill stripped the ball from Mario Bailey's arms and Markus Thomas picked up the resulting fumble and rumbled into the endzone after only 11 seconds. The PAT by Scottish rugby legend Gavin Hastings was good and the Claymores had an early 7-0 lead.


Frankfurt returner Mario Bailey is about to be stripped of the ball by George Coghill (34). Markus Thomas picked up the ball and scored after just 11 seconds (bottom)


Frankfurt came back with a long drive capped by Jay Kearney's 16 yard run. The extra point by Ralf Kleinman tied the score at 7. It was Frankfurt again at the start of the second quarter when QB Steve Pelleur's pass to Mario Bailey was completed for a 2 yard touchdown strike. For the first time in the game the Galaxy had the lead by 7 points.

However, the Claymores were not going to go to the locker room trailing at half time. After receiver Sean LaChapelle strained his groin in the first quarter, Yo Murphy came into the lineup. Quarterback Ballard picked him out in the endzone from 6 yards to make the score 13-14. Once again the kickoff was fumbled and LB Shannon Jones fell on the ball to give the Claymores great field position.

A few plays later Ballard threw a 16 yard pass intended for Yo Murphy in the endzone. Murphy pulled the ball down with a spectacular one-handed, diving catch and the Claymores had scored for the second time within the two minute warning. The Galaxy defense pressured Jim Ballard on the two-point conversion attempt and his pass was grounded outside the endzone.

The Claymores returned after half time with a commanding 19-14 lead. Paul McCallum extended the Bravehearts lead early in the third period with a 46 yard field goal after the drive stalled at the Galaxy 19 yard line.

Frankfurt were not ready to go down without a fight and Steve Pelleur again linked up with Mario Bailey for a 32 yards score. Galaxy head coach elected to go for the 2-pointer but it subsequently failed. The Claymores lead had been cut to 2 : 22-20.

Deep in their own half, a quick-out from Jim Ballard was caught by Yo Murphy. The Galaxy cornerback stumbled, releasing Murphy for a 71 yard gain and a record-breaking third touchdown.

On the next drive, the Galaxy were forced to punt leaving the Scots deep in their own half. Ballard moved the 'Mores to the Frankfurt 23 yard line before Paul McCallum was sent on to attempt a 50 yard field goal. The kick was good and registered 4 points because it was 50 yards or longer and the Claymores had a 32-20 lead.


The Claymores offense looks to score
Still not giving up despite being 12 points behind, Steve Pelleur drove Frankfurt to the Scottish 5 yard line before unleashing a pass to the endzone which was caught by Mike Bellamy. The PAT was good and the lead was now only 5 - less than a touchdown.

Inside the final minute the Galaxy had one last drive to score the winning touchdown before time ran out. Quick passes to the sidelines moved Frankfurt past midfield.

Fourth Down Fumble
On a play from scrimmage, if an offensive player fumbles anywhere on the field on fourth down, only to fumbling player is permitted to recover and/or advance the ball. If any player fumbles after the two-minute warning in a half, only the fumbling players is permitted to recover and/or advance the ball.

If recovered by any other offensive player, the ball is dead at the spot of the fumble unless it is recovered behind the spot of the fumble. In that case, the ball is dead at the spot of recovery.

Any defensive player may recover and/or advance any fumble at any time.
With Frankfurt facing a 4th and short, players, coaches held their breath while the 39,000 fans roared in the stands to prevent the play-calling from reaching all the offensive players on the field.

The ball was snapped, the hand-off to the German national Ingo Seibert was FUMBLED! Steve Pelleur recovered and gained enough for the first down. The crowd went silent.

Suddenly, a flag was thrown. An obscure rule called the fourth down fumble states that if the ball is fumbled on fourth down, only the player who fumbled can advance the ball. As Steve Pelleur recovered the fumble the play was blown dead and Scotland took over on downs.

Jim Ballard took a kneel to run out the clock and Scotland were World Bowl Champions 1996.

Members of the media named Yo Murphy as the 1996 World Bowl MVP during the games fourth quarter.
The roar that went up when Head Coach Jim Criner lifted the World Bowl trophy was unreal but the most striking memory for many fans was of Scott Couper, Gavin Hastings, and Ben Torriero holding the trophy high for the fans in the East Stand.

  1 2 3 4   Total
Frankfurt 7 7 6 7 -- 27
Scotland 7 12 9 4 -- 32


Scoring Summary
Team Quarter Elapsed
Time		 Scoring Play Drive Score
Sco 1 0:11 TD Thomas 25 Fumble Return (Hastings kick)   0-7
Fra 1 6:27 TD Kearney 16 run (Kleinmann kick) 11-80 7-7
Fra 2 4:39 TD Bailey 2 pass from Pelluer (Kleinmann kick) 6-30 14-7
Sco 2 14:02 TD Murphy 6 pass from Ballard (kick failed) 2-39 14-13
Sco 2 14:52 TD Murphy 16 pass from Ballard (2 PAT failed) 3-15 14-19
Sco 3 6:46 FG McCallum 46 7-34 14-22
Fra 3 9:02 TD Bailey 32 pass from Pelluer (2 PAT failed) 4-74 20-22
Sco 3 9:42 TD Murphy 71 pass from Ballard (Kick failed) 1-71 20-28
Sco 4 5:06 FG McCallum 50 4-7 20-32
Fra 4 12:10 TD Bellamy 5 pass from Pelluer (Kleinmann kick) 7-63 27-32


Team Statistics
    Frankfurt Scotland
First Downs   21 14
Rushes - Yards   23-69 25-54
Passing - Yards   244 252
Comp-Att-Int   24-37-1 17-29-0
Return Yards   117 130
Punts   4-44.3 6-34.2
Sacked - Yards Lost   3-23 2-11
Fumbles Lost   4-2 5-2
Penalty - Yards   11-70 7-61
Time of Possession   31:07 28:53


Individual Statistics
Passing: Frankfurt Pelluer 37-24-267-3TD-1INT.
  Scotland Ballard 29-17-263-3TD.
Receiving: Frankfurt Bailey 8-104-2TD; Harrell 4-73; Bellamy 4-36-1TD; Kearney 3-23; Phillips 1-4; Smith 1-8; Harrison 1-13; Bender 1-9; Phillips 1-minus 3.
  Scotland Murphy 7-163-3TD; Tate 4-49; Couper 2-25; Stacy 2-8; LaChapelle 1-11; Dickerson 1-7.
Rushing: Frankfurt Seibert 12-31; Phillips 7-17; Pelluer 3-5; Kearney 1-16-1TD.
  Scotland Stacy 22-49; Ballard 3-5.