Following in the tradition of International Gay Rugby Association and Board teams like Kings Cross Steelers in England in 1995 and the San Francisco Fog RFC and the Washington Renegades in 2000, recent part-time New York City business owner and resident, Mark Bingham, discussed with local rugby player Scott Glaessgen how to form a New York team.
Their plans were cut short on September 11, 2001, when Mark was lost in a terrorist attack on United Airlines Flight 93 over rural Pennsylvania.
Practices started in December 2001 and continued in the cold, early months of 2002 under difficult pitch conditions, but within weeks the membership grew exponentially.
Warm spring weather in New York City led the team into more intensive practices in March and April under coach Scott Glaessgen.
We started intensively recruiting in the metro New York area, searching for a fan base and sponsors to sustain our team.
In pool play, the Knights easily dispatched the Boston Ironsides (50 – 0) and San Francisco Fog’s B-Side (39 – 0), but lost a close match to the Kings Cross Steelers' A-side, which placed second overall (8-16).
In the consolation final, the Knights beat the San Francisco Fog’s A-side (8-5) in dramatic fashion, with the winning try scored on the last play of the match.
The win clinched the Knights third overall in the tournament and earned them bragging rights as the best gay rugby team in North America at that time.
The Gotham B-side placed 2nd in the Crest division winning 4 of their 6 scheduled matches, only losing by 2 points in the final against the Phoenix Storm.
At the 2012 Bingham Cup held in Manchester, England, Gotham Knights A-side finished 4th place losing to San Francisco Fog in the semi-final.