The Red Barons Cologne made their first appearance on the German football scene in 1982, having been formed on 16 April 1981 by seven students[2] when they joined the tier-two 2nd Bundesliga.

[3] The Red Barons' first season in the league was quite successful, finishing third and reaching the play-off semi-finals, where the team was knocked out by the Düsseldorf Panther.

A second-place finish in the league was followed by a strong play-off performance, crowned by a 25-20 German Bowl victory against the Panther, a team that had defeated the Red Barons twice in the regular season.

The two rivals then met once more in the semi-finals, and the Red Barons pulled off a 21–20 win to reach the German Bowl for a second time, but lost to the Berlin Adler in that game.

[3] In the 1990 season, the club finished runners-up to the Panther again in their division but lost in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Berlin Adler, who went on to beat the other Cologne team, the Crocodiles, in the final.