TEAM HISTORY

In August 2004, the Broward County Cardinals were formed with the common goal of giving athletes another opportunity to play football without all the mixed signals, poorly structured and unorganized scams that other minor league teams in Florida had put many players through in the past. Not really a part of any league, at the time, the Cardinals played any and everybody willing to give us a game until they were invited to join the Diamond Football League in the spring of 2005 in its inaugural season here in Florida. As a first year team, the Cardinals quickly established themselves as a premier powerhouse dominating almost all of their competition that season on their way to a 7-1 record and their first appearance in the first ever Florida Diamond Bowl.

The Cardinals were narrowly defeated by the Tampa Bay Bulldogs on what they and many fans believe were two critical and controversial calls that took away 14 points from them. They ended the season with several awards, all-stars, and the Diamond Football League Offensive Most Valuable Player in quarterback, Julio Martinez. The defeat did not, however, break the resolve of the team and they began to focus on the next season with higher expectations. During that off-season, the former owner Coz turned over the team to Gideon and Chris Salter because of personal issues and the fact that they were involved with the growth of the team from the very beginning. The Salter brothers later brought in an associate, Tim Brangan, to help facilitate some of the leadership and ownership responsibilities. The triune ownership team decided to change the name of the Cardinals to the Broward County Bears and the colors of red and white to scarlet-maroon, black, and white.

They also found some new and experienced coaches to help propel the team in the direction of "perennial contender" and venue to springboard its athletes to higher levels of football. Under the tutelage of coaches, Tim Miller, Donnell Bennett, and Mike Bergdorf the Bears continued their winning ways but became a much more dominate team on both sides of the ball. They finished the 2006 season 6-2 on their way to their second consecutive Florida Diamond Bowl appearance where they trounced their competition enroot to their first DFL Florida League Championship. They once again finished with several awards high-lighted by quarterback, Julio Martinez winning the Diamond Football League Most Valuable Player. After winning the state championship, the Bears participated in the first East Coast Diamond Bowl. They would play the champions of the DFL Northern divisions, where DFL teams were created 5 years prior to the Diamond Football League coming to Florida. The Norfolk Pirates fought back from a first half deficit to defeat the bears in double overtime. Garrett Schubert was honored as the first East Coast Diamond Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player.

In 2007, the Salter brothers continued the ownership of the team and brought in another coach, Wallace McIntosh to help the defense continue its dominance. We look forward to the future as the Broward County Bears continue to make those strides that will establish them as one of the toughest teams in minor league football history! Bears on the move…..