- Delaware Valley Mantarays
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Delaware Valley Mantarays, formerly Media Mantarays 
Club information Full name Delaware Valley Mantarays
Rugby League Football ClubNickname(s) Mantarays / Valley / Media Rugby Founded 2000 Current details Ground(s) Catania Park
Ridley Park, Pennsylvania (1,000)CEO(s) 
Merrick WetzlerCompetition American National Rugby League 2006 AMNRL, 10th The Delaware Valley Mantarays were a semi-professional rugby league football team based in the Delaware Valley area of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The team played for seven seasons in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL), the United States' major competition, from 2000–2006. At the conclusion of the 2006 season they merged with another AMNRL team in the Philadelphia area, the Philadelphia Fight.
The team was organized in 2000 and joined the AMNRL the following season. Originally known as the Media Mantarays, they were initially based in the Philadelphia suburb of Media, Pennsylvania. In 2004 they relocated to nearby Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, adopting the name Delaware Valley Mantarays. After the 2006 season the Mantarays and the Philadelphia Fight announced the two clubs would merge in order to build a more competitive team for the future.[1]
Contents
History
The team, then known as the Media Mantarays, was organized in 2000.[2] They started play in the newly organized American National Rugby League (AMNRL) the following year, replacing the Pennsylvania Raiders, another Philadelphia-based team that did not make the transition from the United States Rugby League.[3][4][5]
The team was based in the suburb of Media, Pennsylvania, and had an affiliation with the Media Rugby Football Club, a local rugby union club. Like the other clubs, in 2001 they started a team partnership with a club from Australia's National Rugby League (NRL), in this case the Parramatta Eels.[2] With their members drawn from Media RFC, the team found some success on the field. In 2001 they played for the AMNRL championship, ultimately losing to the Glen Mills Bulls; this would be the club's only championship game. For the 2004 season they relocated to nearby Ridley Park to play at Catania Park, and changed their name to the Delaware Valley Mantarays after the Delaware Valley, the area surrounding Philadelphia. After the conclusion of the 2006 season, the Mantarays and the Philadelphia Fight announced they would be merging to establish a more competitive club the following year.[1]
Uniform and colors
For their 2000 American National Rugby League season in 2000 the club adopted the colors of Media Rugby Football Club (white, gold and blue) but the uniforms were predominately white and similar in style to the National Rugby League side the Parramatta Eels, with whom the club had an affiliate partnership.[2]
Honors
See also
References
- ^ a b "Fight and Mantarays Merge to Form a Formidable Combination in Philadelphia". American National Rugby League News. amnrl.com. March 24, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. http://replay.web.archive.org/20090218034826/http://www.amnrl.com/news/03132007fightmantarysmerge.html. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Delaware Valley Mantarays". amnrl.com. 2006. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927225918/www.amnrl.com/teams/mantarays.html. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ^ "Room for Rugby". Jacksonville Business Journal. December 13, 1999. http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/1999/12/13/story2.html. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
- ^ David Hundt (April 5, 2001). "Who's in control?". 13world.com. rivals.net. Archived from the original on November 19, 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20020728025641/rlwc2000.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=1385&p=2&stid=8098195. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ David Hundt (April 7, 2001). "AMNRL Update". 13world.com. rivals.net. Archived from the original on November 19, 2005. http://web.archive.org/web/20010427105546/rlwc2000.rivals.net/default.asp?sid=1385&p=2&stid=8099116. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
External links
- Official websites
Rugby League in the United States Federation 
National team International competitions Domestic competition Teams AMNRL: Aston Bulls · Bucks County Sharks · Connecticut Wildcats · New York Knights · New York Raiders
USARL: Boston Thirteens · Jacksonville Axemen · New Haven Warriors · New Jersey Turnpike Titans · Oneida FC · Philadelphia Fight · Rhode Island Rebellion · Washington DC SlayersAMNRL seasons USARL seasons 2011Categories:- American National Rugby League teams
- American rugby league teams
- Defunct rugby league teams
- Rugby league in the Americas
- Sports clubs established in 2000
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