The Underdogs are a semiprofessional American football team based in the north of Israel , playing in the Israeli Football League (IFL) .
22-755: The Underdogs were established in 2005, the year that the IFL was established. In 2007 team became a part of the IFL, which was at the time joined under the AFI (American Football in Israel) . The 1990s and 2000s - Unofficial games American football in Haifa has been played weekly since the 1990s and in 2000s (decade) was mainly located at Haifa's "Sportec" field. The games were unofficial, and gathered players from Haifa, Krayot , Nahariya , Ein HaShofet , and from other places in
44-827: A lack of water and hilly difficult reclamation, in 1948, with a population of 450, they "were a successful mixed hill farm with orchards, dry cereals, dairy products, sheep herding and chicken farming." During the Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine , Ein HaShofet housed a factory for explosives used by the Jewish militia against the British. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war , the Ein HaShofet villagers helped to defeat Fawzi al-Qawuqji 's forces after their April 1948 attack on Mishmar HaEmek . Until 1962,
66-403: A wall, and trees for planting. The climb was done on foot, as there was no paved road to the top of the hill. During the following winter the way to the hill was blocked and the members paved a new access road. The members stayed on the hill for one year before moving to the current and final location of the kibbutz. They left the hill of Jo'ara after realizing it was too small. It was handed to
88-463: Is a problem for the Underdogs. There is one soccer stadium in the city ( Kiryat Eliezer Stadium ) but cannot be used for any purposes other than soccer. Many venues have rejected the Underdogs' requests to be named as the Underdogs' home field. As of the 2007-08 season, the Underdogs played their home games at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet , outside of Haifa. Shortly after the start of the 2008-09 season,
110-548: Is agriculture, which employs 20 members of the kibbutz in five different sectors. The kibbutz owns three industrial companies through the Ein-Hashofet Industries Group. Numerous burial caves have been discovered at Dhaharat el-Marshafa, a site situated to the east of Ein HaShofet. Within one of them, a funerary inscription in either Hebrew or Aramaic was found carved into the wall, adorned with traces of red paint. Another discovery from Ein HaShofet
132-972: Is located on the Menashe Heights , 5 kilometers south of the city of Yokneam Illit . Other places near Ein HaShofet include the kibbutzim of Ramat HaShofet , Dalia and the hill of Jo'ara . The kibbutz is accessed through the 6954 and 6953 roads, connected to Highway 66 and regional route 672. The founders of the kibbutz came from two groups. The first group was called "Banir" and consisted of Hashomer Hatzair graduates from Poland . The group formed in 1931 in Częstochowa and arrived to Mandatory Palestine in 1935. It received training in Ein HaHoresh . The other group also consisted of Hashomer Hatzair graduates from Highland Mills, New York . The group formed in 1922 and arrived to Mishmar HaEmek in 1931, where it received agricultural training. Their number
154-668: The Haganah militia. The construction of, the first permanent building took place in June 1938 and in October the rest of the members from Hadera and Jo'ara joined the kibbutz in its final location. Many members joined the Haganah paramilitary organization and the Notrim Jewish police force. In 1945 , Ein HaShofet had a population of 320, all Jews. It was noted that it was the village formerly named Ji'ara (i.e. Jo'ara). Despite
176-473: The Jewish National Fund bought the land from the effendi and paid each sharecropper for their evacuation. The funds for the deal were raised by Louis D. Brandeis , a United States Supreme Court Justice lawyer, and a prominent Zionist figure. The Americans donated 70,000 USD for the cause, with 50,000 coming from Brandeis himself. The kibbutz was named in his honor. On 5 July 1937 some of
198-647: The AFI to form the first fully equipped tackle football league in Israel. The equipment meets the NCAA standards. In its first season, the league featured 4 teams: Haifa Underdogs, Tel Aviv Sabres , Tel Aviv Pioneers , and Jerusalem Lions . Some of the players that participated in the unofficial games in Haifa were the ones to become the coaches and captains of the Underdogs club, and together with their colleagues from Tel Aviv, and
220-552: The AFI, founded the Israeli (tackle) Football League. In the season of 2007 - 08 , Haifa Underdogs won over Ha'Sharon Pioneers team in the semifinals, but lost in the finals to the Jerusalem Lions in overtime, at the end of the inaugural season, after a very tight game. In the 2008 - 09 season, the league grew to five teams. That season, the Underdogs were undefeated for most of the season, losing their last two games to
242-636: The Jerusalem Lions and Modi'in Pioneers . Haifa Underdogs finished the regular season in second place. The Underdogs were again knocked out of the playoffs by the Jerusalem Lions on a touchdown pass with five seconds remaining in the game. The Underdogs later won the consolation game against the Jerusalem Kings . In the 2009 - 10 season, the league grew to seven teams, and the Underdogs were coached by Jay Armstead and Alan Hearn. Captained by Itamar Levin, Niv Medlinger, Roei Ziv, and Shahar Yeshurun,
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#1732791041161264-480: The Judge) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights region around 25 km southeast of the city of Haifa , close to Yokneam , it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council . In 2022 it had a population of 864. Ein HaShofet was established by two Hashomer Hatzair groups from Poland and Highland Mills, New York . They first settled the hill of Jo'ara in 1937 and moved to
286-508: The North of Israel. Parallel to those games, similar games took place at Tel Aviv 's "Sportec" field played by the residents of Gush Dan . Once a month or so, friendly games were scheduled between the Haifa's players and Tel Aviv's players. Most of those games ended with the victory of Tel Aviv's team, which in turn led to the Haifa's team name, the Underdogs, reminding the players that the team's place and respect must be earned each time they take
308-528: The Underdogs changed their home stadium to Yokneam Stadium. The new field, located near the Yokneam Mall, is closer to Haifa and overall a better field. As of 2017 The Underdogs host their home games at Kibbutz Hahotrim . *Captains Quarterbacks Running backs Full backs Wide receivers Tight ends Offensive linemen Defensive linemen Linebackers Defensive backs Special teams Coaching staff * before
330-548: The Underdogs finishing in fourth and last place in the North Division. In the 2011-12 season the team made it to the wild card stage. Surprisingly, they defeated previous champions Judean Rebels , scoring 91 points when the Rebels' had no answer to the Underdogs' rushing game. The team's uniforms are black and white with yellow detail, with the club's logo of a blazing bulldog on the crest. The lack of fields in Haifa
352-478: The Underdogs got off to a good start to the season with a 4-1 record good enough for first place mid-season. Nevertheless, the Underdogs could not get another victory for the rest of the season, losing their final five regular season matches and the wild card game against the Judean Rebels . In the 2010-11 season the team accepted a large number of new inexperienced young players. Their results dropped with
374-492: The current location in 1938. "Ein HaShofet," literally, Judge's Spring, was named in honor of United States Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941), who played a leading role in the American Zionist movement. There is a flowing spring nearby the kibbutz. The kibbutz owns three industrial companies which produce metal parts, mostly for vehicles, and lighting products on a global scale. Ein HaShofet
396-610: The field. In 2005 the club was established as Haifa's first and only representative in the Israeli Football League . In the season of 2005 - 06 , the club won the first ever IFL championship. In the finals, that took place at the Baptist village , on June 23, 2006, the Underdogs defeated the Tel Aviv Pioneers by the score of 37-14. In 2007, the IFL, and the Underdogs along with it, joined forces with
418-414: The kibbutz absorbed five other groups. Two of them were made of Holocaust survivors and the other are youth groups from Israel. The primary component of Ein HaShofet's economy is its industry with three working factories in the kibbutz. According to the 2008 national census, 43% of the workers work in the kibbutz's industrial sector. The secondary component and historically the center of the kibbutz life
440-610: The members departed from Mishmar HaEmek, escorted by the Haganah , and arrived to the hill of Jo'ara. The kibbutz was established a part of the Tower and Stockade settlement drive. Built on JNF land with the help of the Keren Hayesod company, it was the first Jewish settlement on the Menashe Heights . Their departure was celebrated in Mishmar HaEmek, from where they brought dismantled structures, equipment for building
462-735: The merge of IFL and AFI Since the team's establishment, the main sponsor of the team is the real estate company "Real Housing", managed by Chaim and Nancy Brown. American Football Israel Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 972668494 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:50:41 GMT Ein HaShofet Ein HaShofet ( Hebrew : עֵין הַשּׁוֹפֵט , lit. Spring of
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#1732791041161484-492: Was 17 in 1931 and it rose to 30 in 1933. In 1934 they moved to Hadera . In May 1934 both groups united in Hadera under the name "Banir-America" and worked together in the town. The initial location of the kibbutz was the hill of Jo'ara , about one kilometer from the current location of the kibbutz. It was owned by an Effendi from a family called Salah, residing in Haifa , and was populated by Arab tenant farmers . In 1936,
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