The East Kilbride Pirates are an American Football team based in Glasgow, Scotland, who compete in the BAFA National Leagues Premier North, the highest level of British American football. The club although formed in East Kilbride currently operate in Glasgow and play their home games at Braidholm. They are both the most successful and the oldest surviving American Football team in Scotland having been formed in 1985. The club has won Division 1 National titles in 2011 and 2022 and are eleven-time Divisional champions. History Formation (1985) The East Kilbride Pirates were formed in 1985, following a notice appearing in the local newspaper asking any interested parties to attend training. The club was named in a competition through the local newspaper, the East Kilbride News. 1985 was a formative year, and the club played three unkitted games, winning 2 and losing 1. Early years (1985–1995) For the 1986 season, the Pirates merged with the nearby Rutherglen Ironhogs, producing a suitably sized squad to take part in the British American Football League (Anglo Conference). Things started brightly under head coach, Steve Gulley, a player with the club, as a 13–0 win was recorded over the Clydesdale Colts in the first kitted game. Unfortunately, this was to be the last win of the year, as the team ended up with a 1–6 record. 1987 saw a new head coach with the appointment of Bill Walsh, an American working in East Kilbride. Walsh's influence was apparent as East Kilbride went 4–4 to finish second in Division One of the new, Budweiser American Football League. With Coach Walsh's return to the States, a new head coach was appointed in 1988. Another American, Nick Fantini, was in town on a 12-month exchange visit, and he agreed to take over the reins during his stay. Unfortunately for both Fantini and the club, the previous year's success had resulted in promotion to the Premier Division of the Budweiser League. The higher standard of football quickly became obvious, as the Pirates tumbled to a 0–10 season. Included in those 10 losses was a 110–0 defeat at the Granite City Oilers. To date this is still the second heaviest defeat suffered in domestic American Football games in the United Kingdom (only Mersey Centurions 148–6 defeat of Halton Demons in a 1989 BNGL game was more emphatic). Nick returned home after this season, but he was to return later. The