We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support, advice and guidance to us, the Tachikawa Falcons. The Tachikawa Falcons are celebrating their 40th anniversary. Forty years, what a long time! Looking back, a young man living in Tachikawa who yearned to play American football, who didn’t even know the rules, twisted his head around and thought about it for half a year, and decided, “Let’s just start a team! He put up hand-drawn posters on utility poles and placed them in stores, and started recruiting members.
It has been 40 years since the first step was taken by less than 20 young people who managed to get together. 　Of course, we have not been able to do this alone. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the families of the players, to the people who provide us with grounds and equipment storage, and to the many people who support us both materially and spiritually.
Even today, the environment for amateur sports is not necessarily good. The environment for amateur sports has not changed much in the past, such as securing grounds, lack of funds, and finding players. However, we have not given up, and have been striving to do our best if we can play the sport we love. And even now, we have new players coming in every year. We will continue to do everything we can to help these young players and keep the team going.
The Tachikawa Falcons will continue to do our best to win so that everyone will love and support us. We believe that this will be another 40 years for the current players. We look forward to your continued support, guidance, and encouragement.

※ This message is from the 40th anniversary party.

The fact that the Falcons have been able to continue our journey for over 30 years is entirely thanks to the players’ families who have supported us from behind the scenes, the advisors who have guided us, and the many alumni and supporters who have cooperated with us since our inception. On behalf of all the staff and players, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation.

To simply say “30 years” is easy, but to me, I cannot help but feel the incredible weight and the mind-boggling amount of time that has passed.

The Falcons all started when I gathered some neighborhood friends—the “San-chans” and “Nii-chans” from around the corner—and we just started playing for the fun of it.

Mr. Aoki was an alumnus of the Seijo University football team and had served as their captain back when they were in the top division. To us, it felt like a dream come true—a powerful ally had arrived exactly when we needed him most. Following his lead, others like his junior, Mr. Kimura, and Mr. Matsumoto (an alum of Doshisha University) joined us as player-coaches to provide their guidance.

Allow me to share a few memories of Mr. Aoki. I often listened to stories of his days as an active player. Every story was fascinating to us, and while I could go on forever, I still vividly remember his stories about the equipment.

Back then, unlike today, imported goods weren’t widely available. All the gear consisted of U.S. military surplus. I was shocked to hear that helmets and shoulder pads were made of leather instead of plastic! And to top it off, I was even more stunned to learn that the helmets didn’t even have facemasks!!

I look back fondly on the nights we spent drinking together, looking at old photos and teasing him about how “uncool” the gear looked, all while he taught us about plays and tactics.

However, just one month before our 25th anniversary, Mr. Aoki passed away in a tragic accident. He had been looking forward to the celebration so much. As the organizers, we seriously considered canceling the event; but knowing how much he had anticipated it, we decided to go ahead. In the end, many guests attended, and we were able to conclude the event successfully and report its success to him in spirit.

Changing the subject to the football of our era—speaking of college ball, it was all about Nihon University in the East and Coach Ken Takeda’s Kwansei Gakuin in the West. We would all watch the Koshien Bowl, where these two powerhouses faced off, with our hearts pounding in excitement.

On the other hand, the adult leagues back then seemed to lack the same excitement, as college teams were generally considered stronger. Amidst that landscape, however, there was one team that stood out brilliantly—the team we admired most. That was the prestigious club team, Silver Star, led by the legendary QB Sasori, often called the “Uncrowned King.” Everyone agreed that if the Rice Bowl—the championship between college and adult teams—had existed in its current format back then, they would have undoubtedly been the champions of Japan. They were simply powerful and incredibly cool!

While they have sponsors today, they remain the heroes of club football, just as they were then—independent, free from outside constraints, and striving to be the strongest while genuinely enjoying the game. Their way of life was truly admirable, and we learned so much from them. With all due respect, we have always looked up to Silver Star as our ultimate goal and role model.

Thinking back to our own founding days, we couldn’t even afford proper equipment. I still laugh remembering how we would slide a wooden stick under our jerseys for team photos just to make it look like we were wearing shoulder pads! From those early days of the “Triple Shortage”—no balls, no members, and no field—we have struggled and fought as players and staff together to protect the Falcons. I believe we have survived because we stayed true to our vision: to remain free and independent, and to always strive to be a team that commands everyone’s attention.

Note: This memoir was originally written as a message for the 40th anniversary party.