AAYFL Clubs of the Decades

By Gary Wipperman Director, Digital Content and Social Media - AAYFL, 01/22/17, 5:45PM CST

The Green Bay Packers. The Pittsburgh Steelers. The San Francisco 49ers. The New England Patriots. What do these NFL teams have in common? Each of these franchises were the undisputed “team of the decade” between the 1960s and today. While there were years during each of those decades when other teams were successful and won championships, when the smoke cleared each of these teams stood above all others during their respective decade of dominance.

In 2016 the AAYFL completes its fortieth year of existence. From its modest beginnings in 1977 the league is now thriving with over forty member clubs and 7,000 players. As the league completes its fourth decade it’s time to look back and “crown” my “clubs of the decade”.

What are the qualifiers for this “award”? Much like the NFL, the foremost factor is championships. It seems obvious but there may be some debate in my selections as there were clubs who were clearly dominant during the regular season and playoffs but often fell short of winning the league championship. A parallel example is the Buffalo Bills. While they went to four straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s, the Dallas Cowboys are clearly remembered as the team of the decade, despite the fact they went to only three Super Bowls – because they won all of them while the Bills lost all of theirs. No one can doubt the 1990s Bills were a fantastic team but they are not remembered as the team of the decade.

This article is purely my opinion and you may disagree. You can see the scores and winners of each of the first forty titles right here! Respectful debate is always fun and I am open to changing my opinion. Should your club be a team of the decade or did I get it right? Let the debate begin!!

Decade I (1977-1986)

Winner: Greendale Panthers
Honorable Mention: Grafton, Thiensville-Mequon

While not a charter member of the AAYFL, the Greendale Panthers admittance into the AAYFL in 1980 ushered in a sixteen-year run of dominance. In its first year in the league, the Panthers knocked off three-time northern conference champion, Grafton, for the league title. It was the first of four Panthers championships during the league’s first decade and a sign of things to come for the next ten years.

Decade II (1987-1996)

Winner: Greendale Panthers
Honorable Mention: Lake Country, Mukwonago

Mukwonago opened the decade by defeating Saukville in 1987 and then came back four years later and defeated the Rebels again in the Grand Championship game.

In 1988, Commissioner Jarecki surprised the league members by inviting Green Bay Packers legend and Hall of Famer Ray Nitschke to speak at the league meeting. Nitschke’s message was the importance of teaching quality football for kids and continues to be the highest priority of the league today.

The league’s second decade witnessed more success for the Greendale Panthers as they won their second “back-to-back” championships in 1988-89, and took the title again in 1994. However, this would be the final championship for the Panthers until 2010 and the next decade brought a new club to the forefront of the league.

Two other notes about the second decade; the league had its first ever overtime championship game in 1992 as St. Francis claimed its second title in three years by defeating Grafton 12-6 and on November 12, 1995 Lake Country defeated Greendale 6-0 on a snow crushed Marquette Valley Field that had yard lines scraped by the feet of the parents of the Chiefs and Panthers players!

Decade III (1997–2006)

Winner: Wauwatosa East Jr. Raiders
Honorable Mention: Brookfield Central, Lake Country

The choice for the “champion” of the third decade is not as clear as the Panthers selection for the first two decades and may be debatable. The league entered into a decade of much more parity. However, the Wauwatosa East Jr. Raiders, much like the Greendale Panthers of the 1980s, immediately began winning when admitted to the league. After joining the AAYFL in 1996 the Jr. Raiders earned titles in 2000 and became the first club to win two titles since 1990 with its victory in the 2002 title game.

While the Brookfield Central Jr. Lancers also won two titles during this decade, in 1998 and 2004, the tiebreaker goes to the Jr. Raiders as they won their 2002 title with an 8-6 victory over the Jr. Lancers.

After winning titles in 1993 and 1995, the Lake Country Chiefs lost back-to-back title games in 1997 and 1998 but came back to win the 2006 championship game against the Franklin Sabers.

Finally, the 1999 AAYFL Championship, Kewaskum’s first and only title in a 19-6 victory over Cudahy, was the first televised game as it was shown on Milwaukee Television Station 58.

Decade IV (2007-2016)

Winner: New Berlin Eisenhower Generals
Honorable Mention: Lake Country; Muskego

There is no question the fourth decade of the league continued its theme of parity in the first half of the decade as four different programs won titles between 2007-2010.

However, the 2012 championship game began a four year run of excellence by the New Berlin Eisenhower Generals. The Generals, admitted to the league in 1993, made its first appearance in the league title game in 2004, losing in double overtime to Brookfield Central in front of one of the largest crowds in championship game history. The Generals made a return trip to the title game in 2005, but came up short once again in a 16-14 loss to Germantown. The Generals came back in 2012 with a convincing 37-16 victory over West Bend West and then followed that up with a second consecutive title in 2013 with a win over Brookfield Central. The Generals lost title games in 2014 to the Oshkosh West Flyers and in 2015 to the Grafton Gladiators, but they are still the first program to appear in four consecutive title games. The Muskego Warriors opened and closed the fourth decade with league championships.

One final note on this decade. The Lake Country Chiefs were chosen as honorable mention. Despite the fact they won only one title, in 2011, they were the first and only club to see two teams advance to the title game as the Lake Country Chiefs White defeated the Lake Country Chiefs Red 16-8 in overtime.

Conclusion

In all, a total of eighteen clubs have hoisted the Jarecki Memorial trophy, with the Greendale Panthers eight titles far and away leading the pack.

While the growing parity is a good thing, there are still many clubs that have never tasted a championship in this league. Of all those programs, Thiensville-Mequon, a charter member of the league and winner of the first and their only championship in 1977 has gone the longest between titles. Perhaps the Cardinals will usher in the fifth decade of the AAYFL with a championship and go on to dominate? Or the Lake Country Chiefs, who have been the "runners-up" in each of the past three decades. Perhaps they will take the crown. Who knows, but it will most certainly be fun to watch!