California Dreamin’

I Recently Had The Good Fortune To Be On A Touring Holiday In California, With San Francisco As Our First Port Of Call. Walking Through The Downtown Area, We Came Across A Large Red Sign On An Unremarkable Looking Building.

In Big White Letters It Read, “City College Of San Francisco”. I Was Immediately Taken Back To October 1986, And A Landmark Event In Britball History.

As a baller, how does this sound as an opportunity? You are going to fly to San Fran to play a game against the City of San Francisco College Rams. You will tour the city and then practice for, and play the game at, the 49ers (Candlestick Park) stadium. You’ll go to the division one Stanford v San Diego State college game, then, just to finish the trip off, you will get to watch the 49ers play the Colts in a regular season game. Sounds like a dream, but for the Brighton B52s (and some guest players) it became a reality.

Not quite sure why, but the previous year, the Rams had been in the UK and played the B5s in something of a one sided affair, coming away from Sussex with a 76-0 victory. The game had been given the title “The Budweiser Transatlantic Bowl”, and the understanding was, that a return fixture would take place in California the following year, and so it did.

Team owners Essam Barakat and Wayne Hardman (who was also the Brighton head coach), set about co-ordinating the logistics of the trip, not an easy task. They realised that they would need to bolster their roster and invited some standout players from around the UK leagues. The London Ravens provided several players, including the backfield duo of Mark Wynnick and Joe St Louis, who joined Milton Keynes top rusher Gladstone McKenzie to supplement the B52s rushers. Brighton’s offence also featured brothers Chas (quarterback) and Jim (receiver) Jasicki. In the lead up to the game, City College coach Dan Parrish helped the Brits with some technical points in an effort to get them ready. Come game time though, it was evident that their enthusiasm and fire were no match for the American’s superior technique and physicality, yeah, it was a blow-out, but that’s not to say there were no highlights for Brighton.

A crowd of around 3,000 had come along to see the action, and on the upside, they did get to see lots of points scored. In the second quarter, as part of a great drive, Wynnick (three carries for a combined 50 yards) and McKenzie with a 22-yard scamper, set up the B52s on the Rams 2 yard line. After three attempts to get in, it was fourth down, and the easy call would have been “kick the field goal” for 3 points, but the Jasicki brothers thought differently and combined for a touchdown, as Chas found Jim in the corner of the endzone, and the Brighton sideline erupted!

There was however, little else to celebrate, other than an impressive sack by defensive lineman Nigel Hoyte (another guest from the Ravens). City College rotated their players throughout the game, and when the fourth quarter ended, they had racked up 77 points to the B52s 6. The opposing teams embraced and the administrators pledged to make it an annual fixture, we know of course, that didn’t happen.

So, a disappointing result in the game, but for those involved, what an incredible experience overall. Providing them with memories to cherish for a lifetime, of the time they were the first British team to play in the USA.