The Ravenna Chiefs celebrate today, June 13, the fortieth anniversary of their foundation. It is an opportunity to retrace the history of a piece of Ravenna sport, which has kept Ravenna’s name high in the sporting field. We do this by publishing the story of these forty years through the words of the team’s organizing committee.
This evening the team celebrates together with all the supporters with a dinner event in which US players and coaches who have collaborated with the team, contributing to its success, will also participate. More info here.
Origin and history of the Ravenna CHIEFS
In November 1983 Igi Baldini, then a player for Aquile Ferrara (the first “Romagna” to play football in all of Italy since 1981) and Enrico Mambelli, a player for Doves Bologna, both university students, found themselves at a friend’s house one evening in Bologna.
It was precisely that evening that Baldini proposed to Mambelli that they also FOUND a football team in Ravenna, their city of birth and residence. In February 1984 at Stefano Montanari’s house in Ravenna, in the presence of Baldini, Mambelli, Montanari, Casamenti, F. Ghirotti and Bottaro, “CHIEFS RAVENNA” was born.
The name was chosen taking inspiration from the colors of the Kansas City Chiefs (American NFL team) which were exactly the same as those represented in the symbol of the city of Ravenna: red and yellow.
The need also arose to organize the corporate structure so, after an initial presidency of the lawyer Giancarlo Ridolfi, once the members of the Board of Directors led by Dr. Vincenzo Miranda (second President of the Chiefs) had been found, it was possible to enroll the team at the then AIFA (Italian American football association) headed by Giovanni Colombo, founder of the first federation and patron of the very strong Rhinos Milano.
The Chiefs finished first in the Serie C championship with 4 wins, 1 defeat and a draw (0-0 which was very unusual for those times), directly entering Serie B. It was a memorable championship with an average of a thousand spectators per home match (Ravenna Calcio collected a maximum of 800), 12 girls were recruited as cheerleaders, 3 players included in the ALL STAR of the entire C series and a record that has remained unbeaten for 28 years: the defense did not allow rushing yards (-12) during the entire championship conceding just 126 by pitch. In addition to this, the Defense again conceded 12
points in total, scoring 16!
Serie B began and in March 1986 the team chose David Allison as Offensive Coach, a passionate American who had lived in Ravenna for years, in addition to the Defensive Coach/player who remained Igi Baldini (Mambelli and Casamenti began their Serie A championship at the same time).
It was a very tough championship with very demanding away games (Bari, Rome, Salerno, Pescara and Ancona), but the Chiefs finished third in their group and remained mid-table in the national Serie B both in terms of attack and defence. There were no Americans on the team, but that year Quarterback Alessandro Guio (Aquile di Ferrara) arrived from Serie A, as well as Vicinelli, Fini and Giammiro who came from Doves Bologna.
The satisfaction of having succeeded after two championships in nine months was enormous; it was then a surprise when in November of the same year a Serie A team withdrew at the last moment and the federation asked the Chiefs to replace it.
In March 1987 the Chiefs were placed in a difficult group, together with historic and titled teams such as Frogs, Rhinos and Falchi, as well as Mastiffs, Sharks and Pharaons. An American Head Coach finally arrived (Steve Campos) who immediately blended perfectly with the boys and assistants, as well as with the two American players Tention and Green from the NATO base in Vicenza.
By finishing fifth in their group of seven teams, the Chiefs achieved safety, their main goal at the start of the championship, thus avoiding relegation and prolonging their stay in Serie A.
REFOUNDATION AND REBIRTH OF THE NEW CHIEFS
At the end of 2004 Omar Sternini and Ugo Guidi, veterans of some years of American football played outside Ravenna (Aquile, Titans Romagna, Valencia Firebats), decided to tackle the task of re-founding CHIEFS Ravenna. Theirs, more than an undertaking, would have been a real challenge: to bring back to the city and sport of Ravenna one of the American Football teams that experienced moments of glory in the 1990s, which also culminated in a semi-final and in the recognition of the best national defense of 1989.
The CHIEFS have always played an important role in Ravenna and national sport and collecting that legacy would not have been easy.
The long-term plans were to bring a team back to the highest levels of the national championship. To do this, however, we had to start from scratch. After a few meetings and the first contacts with former players it was time to find the fundamental basis of a team: the players.
An “enlistment” campaign began through leafleting and promotion in schools. This led to a good response from the boys who, although unaware of the glorious past of the Ravenna Chiefs, responded with
enthusiasm for the call.
Starting from the S. Antonio field they began to structure the club and even better the team. All this was possible also thanks to some former players who began to believe in the project and to assist in the re-foundation of the second generation of the Ravenna Chiefs. The stimulus for this new challenge was to have in our hearts the CHIEFS born in 1984 and who have never died out because they are always inside each of them.
Step by step, 2005 arrived, the year in which the foundation became official through registration with the national federation (FIDAF). From here it continued to grow, acquiring more and more popularity, also through the support of the institutions that saw the rebirth of an unfortunately almost forgotten sport.
The foundations laid in 2005 were the basis of today’s Ravenna Chiefs who currently play in the A2 series of the National championship and who represent the city of Ravenna, today as then.
Don’t forget that in 2015 the Ravenna Chiefs were Italian champions of the CIF9 category. That moment marked “pure pride”, which repaid the efforts of the then management, the coaches and the players who were
managed to bring the coveted national Champions trophy to Ravenna.
Special thanks go to the then Sports Councilor Josefa IDEM (Olympic champion) who supported and helped in the management of the playing fields and promotional initiatives; but the real magic of what has been done and what is still present today is the ever-increasing participation of young people, because it is thanks to them that it has been possible to reconstitute the nucleus of players and all the people who have followed one another as managers over the years and coach, bringing that “extra” every time for the growth of the team.
The Ravenna Chiefs were and still are the “symbolic” team of American football in Ravenna. The word symbol is not said by chance: the Indian printed on the helmet, today as then, has never changed, on the contrary, it has been reborn, marking its forty-year history and forever marking the hearts of those who love the Chiefs.
The organizing committee
