The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
. The team was based in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. Home games were played at the
Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
and
Indiana Fever
The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.
The WNBA w ...
.
History
Albany Firebirds (1990–2000)
The team was founded in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
as the Albany Firebirds, and played in Albany from 1990 to 2000. At that time, home games were played at the Knickerbocker Arena (now known as the
MVP Arena
MVP Arena (originally Knickerbocker Arena, and then the Pepsi Arena and Times Union Center) is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacity of ...
). The team's original ownership group was headed by Joe O'Hara, owner of the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...
's
Albany Patroons
The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...
, who would later become the AFL's second commissioner. In 2020, he revealed that he originally wanted to call the team the Nighthawks, but league founder
Jim Foster wanted that nickname for a future team he planned to own after his tenure as commissioner. After getting off the phone with Foster while in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, he happened to see a
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile built and produced by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months a ...
driving down the highway and decided to go with that name.
The Firebirds were very successful during their tenure in Albany. They won six division titles, made nine playoff appearances, and won the 1999
ArenaBowl championship.
Indiana Firebirds (2001–2004)
On October 19, 2000, the Firebirds announced they would be relocating to
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. After the move, the Firebirds competed in the Central Division of the AFL's American Conference. The Firebirds were not as successful in Indianapolis as they were in Albany, missing the playoffs twice in four seasons after having made the playoffs in all but two of their first 11 seasons.
The 2004 Firebirds just missed the playoffs after a disappointing 0–5 start. However, they finished the season winning eight of their last eleven games and were considered by some a potential contender for the 2005
Arena Bowl championship led by 2004 Rookie of the Year
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
Zachary Paget.
However, in early September 2004, Firebirds owner Dave Lageschulte announced that his company, Lags Football LLC, would cease all business operations for the Firebirds. Lageschulte had been actively, but unsuccessfully, pursuing local investors to purchase the Firebirds since he had assumed ownership in 2002.
On September 20, 2004, the date of the announced sales deadline, the Arena Football League announced the termination of the Firebirds franchise and that the players would be made available to continuing AFL teams in a
dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when an existing team folds or is merged into another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in closed leagues and are in ...
. However, within the week the team was purchased by Scott and Todd Hines, who run H3 Sportsgear, a sportsgear company based in Indianapolis. With AFL approval, it was hoped that the Firebirds could remain operational in Indianapolis. However, this bid floundered due to concerns that the low sale price would devalue the worth of the other 18 franchises. The former Firebirds players were made available in the dispersal draft conducted on October 14, 2004, marking the end of one of the AFL's longest-running franchises.
Resurrection of the Albany Firebirds name
After the move of the Albany Firebirds AFL franchise to Indiana, an
AF2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...
team called the
Albany Conquest took to the field to replace the arena football void left by the departure of the Firebirds. After eight seasons and troubles with fielding a winning team in recent seasons, Conquest owner
Walter Robb contemplated shutting down the Conquest franchise. Then, on Friday, October 3, 2008, Robb announced the return of the team for the 2009 season but renamed as the
Albany Firebirds in the hopes of "re-branding" the team.
Multiple reports in late September 2023 indicated that a team bearing the Albany Firebirds brand would play in the 2024 season. Ownership would not confirm nor deny the reports but stated that there would be an arena football team in Albany in 2024, either in the revived AFL or the
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...
. On October 2, 2023, the Albany Firebirds were officially announced to be joining the AFL.
Season-by-season
, -
, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;", Albany Firebirds
, -
, 1990 , , 3 , , 5 , , 0 , , 5th , , –
, -
, 1991 , , 6 , , 4 , , 0 , , 4th , , Lost Week 1 (
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
37–35)
, -
, 1992 , , 5 , , 5 , , 0 , , 3rd Northern , , Lost Week 1 (
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
48–45)
, -
, 1993 , , 5 , , 7 , , 0 , , 5th NC , , Lost Week 1 (
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
48–34)
, -
, 1994 , , 10 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st NC , , Won Week 1 (
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
49–30)
Lost Week 2 (
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
40–33)
, -
, 1995 , , 7 , , 5 , , 0 , , 1st NC Eastern , , Won Week 1 (
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
51–49)
Lost Week 2 (
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
56–49)
, -
, 1996 , , 10 , , 4 , , 0 , , 1st NC Eastern , , Won Week 1 (
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
70–58)
Lost Week 2 (
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
62–55)
, -
, 1997 , , 6 , , 8 , , 0 , , 3rd NC Eastern , , –
, -
, 1998 , , 10 , , 4 , , 0 , , 1st NC Eastern , , Lost Week 1 (
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
66–59)
, -
, 1999 , , 11 , , 3 , , 0 , , 1st NC Eastern , , Won Week 1 (
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
55–45)
Won Week 2 (
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
73–47)
Won
ArenaBowl XIII (
Orlando
Orlando commonly refers to:
* Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States
Orlando may also refer to:
People
* Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name
* Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
59–48)
, -
, 2000 , , 9 , , 5 , , 0 , , 1st NC Eastern , , Lost Week 2 (
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
53–50)
, -
, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;", Indiana Firebirds
, -
, 2001 , , 9 , , 5 , , 0 , , 2nd AC Central , , Won Week 1 (
Carolina 58–41)
Won Week 2 (
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
68–31)
Lost Week 3 (
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
83–70)
, -
, 2002 , , 7 , , 7 , , 0 , , 3rd AC Central , , Lost Week 1 (
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
47–46)
, -
, 2003 , , 6 , , 10 , , 0 , , 4th AC Central , , –
, -
, 2004 , , 8 , , 8 , , 0 , , 3rd AC Central , , –
, -
!Totals , , 121 , , 91 , , 0
, colspan="2", (including playoffs)
Notable players
Arena Football Hall of Famers
Individual awards
All-Arena players
The following Firebirds players were named to
All-Arena
An All-Arena Team, an all-star team consisting of the best players of their position was selected every season in the Arena Football League (AFL).
Teams
* 1987 All-Arena Team, 1987
* 1988 All-Arena Team, 1988
* 1989 All-Arena Team, 1989
* 1990 Al ...
Teams:
*QB
Tom Porras (1),
Mike Perez (2),
Mike Pawlawski (1)
*FB/LB
Chad Dukes (2),
Leroy Thompson (1)
*WR/DB
Reggie Smith (1),
Fred Gayles (1),
Merv Mosely (2),
David McLeod (1),
Jay Jones (1),
Evan Hlavacek (1)
*WR/LB
Fred Gayles (1),
Greg Hopkins (2)
*OL/DL
Sylvester Bembery (3),
Kevin Murphy (1),
Jerome Brown
Willie Jerome Brown III (February 4, 1965 – June 25, 1992) was an American professional football defensive tackle who played for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire five-year NFL career with th ...
(1),
Joe Jacobs (3),
Jon Krick (1),
Chris Snyder (1),
Kyle Moore-Brown (1)
*OS/KR
Reggie Smith (1)
*OS
Eddie Brown (4)
*DS
Derek Stingley (1),
Cornelius Coe (1)
*K
Gary Gussman (1),
Franco Grilla (1),
Pete Elezovic (1),
Clay Rush (1)
All-Ironman players
The following Firebirds players were named to All-Ironman Teams:
*FB/LB
Chad Dukes (1),
Rich Young (1)
*WR/DB
Evan Hlavacek (1)
*WR/LB
Greg Hopkins (2)
*OL/DL
Joe Jacobs (2),
Chris Snyder (1)
All-Rookie players
The following Firebirds players were named to All-Rookie Teams:
*QB
Adrian McPherson
Adrian Jamal McPherson (born May 8, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football at Florida State before being dism ...
*FB/LB
Van Johnson
*WR/DB
Brett Bech
*DS
Cornelius Coe
Head coaches
Former radio affiliates (6 stations)
*
WPTR/1540:
Albany (1990-1991 seasons), (1993-1994 seasons)
*
WROW
WROW (590 AM broadcasting, AM) – branded ''Magic 590-1410 AM and 96.5-100.5 FM'' – is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Albany, New York, and serving the Capital District, New York, Capital District, ...
/590:
Albany (1995-2000 seasons)
*
WHUC/1230:
Hudson
Hudson may refer to:
People
* Hudson (given name)
* Hudson (surname)
* Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back
* Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...
(1994 season)
*
WSRD/104.9:
Johnstown (1994 season)
*
WSTL/1410:
South Glens Falls (1994 season)
*
WCDA
WCDA (106.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Hits 106.3") is a radio station licensed to Versailles, Kentucky, United States, broadcasting to the greater Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area, Lexington metropolitan area. It plays adult top 40 music, as it ...
/96.3:
Voorheesville (1992 season)
References
External links
*
Albany Firebirds official websiteAlbany Firebirds at ArenaFan.comIndiana Firebirds at ArenaFan.comAlbany Firebirds historical site
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises
Defunct American football teams in Indiana
American football teams in Indiana
1990 establishments in New York (state)
2004 disestablishments in Indiana
American football teams established in 1990
American football teams disestablished in 2004