The Minnesota Fighting Pike were an
Arena football team based in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. They joined 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 ...
(AFL) in
1996 as an
expansion team. The Fighting Pike were the first ever attempt at an arena/indoor football team in the state of
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. The owner of the Fighting Pike was
Tom Scallen. The Fighting Pike played at the
Target Center in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. The team colors were green and gold. In a 2012 AFL Poll, the Fighting Pike were voted as the 8th greatest nickname in AFL history.
Franchise history
In November 1995, the announced that they would be nicknamed the "Fighting Pike" and that
Art Haege was named the team's head coach.
During the team's first tryout, Haege walked out, stating he was going "Back to Iowa." The next day, Haege faxed in his resignation to team owner
Tom Scallen.
The Pike were 0-7 at home, and the average attendance for the seven home games was 8,894.
The roster was full of players who had played at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
or other Minnesota colleges and universities.
Tony Levine, a former Golden Gopher, joined the team and received 8 passes for a total of 83 yards and 1 touchdown. Former Gopher
Rickey Foggie was the quarterback and he struggled adapting to the Arena Football League after many years in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
. Once during the season he was benched in favor of
Southwest State's
Jeff Loots, who threw four
interception
In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...
s in a game. Loots was playing on his third expansion team in three seasons. Another player from Southwest State was
Alvin Ashley. The best-known ex-Pike is kicker
Mike Vanderjagt, later a star in the CFL and NFL.
Ray Jauch was the head coach. He was assisted by John Coatta Jr. on offense and
Frank Haege on defense.
The team's lack of exposure or advertising was the key reason for the team's folding at the end of the 1996 season. The team did not have a regional television deal to promote their games or have the games advertised in newspapers and other media.
The Pike's final game of the season against the
Memphis Pharaohs was played in
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...
, because the Pharaohs had been evicted from their arena.
The Pike's official mascot was a giant Pike named "Tackle." He was known to "dive" into a promotional hot tub at the arena.
Legacy
In 2024, a revival of 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 ...
brought it the
Minnesota Myth, a team which played only two games (one at Target Center) before folding themselves.
Players
Final roster
Coaches
Head coaches
Coaching staff
1996 season results
Statistics
Team leaders
* Leading rusher: Harry Jackson 22 carries, 26 yards and 0 touchdowns
* Leading passer: Rickey Foggie 224-443 for 2,269 yards, 40 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
* Leading receiver: Reggie Brown 79 catches, 964 yards 17, touchdowns
Offense
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Touchdowns
Defense
Special teams
Kick return
Kicking
1996 regular season
Week 1: vs Texas Terror
''at
The Summit,
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
''
Attendance: 4,520
Week 2: vs Iowa Barnstormers
''at the
Target Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
''
Attendance: 14,840
Week 3: vs St. Louis Stampede
''at the
Target Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
''
Attendance: 8,726
Week 4: vs Albany Firebirds
''at the
Times Union Center,
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 ...
''
Attendance: 11,712
Week 5: vs Tampa Bay Storm
''at the
Target Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
''
Attendance: 7,781
Week 6: vs Anaheim Piranhas
''at the
Target Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
''
Attendance: 8,117
Week 7: vs Arizona Rattlers
''at the
Target Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
''
Attendance: 8,207
Week 8: vs Florida Bobcats
''at the
West Palm Beach Auditorium,
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
''
Attendance: 4,450
Week 10: vs Milwaukee Mustangs
''at the
Target Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
''
Attendance: 7,207
Week 11: vs Connecticut Coyotes
''at the
Hartford Civic Center,
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
''
Attendance: 9,249
Week 12: vs Orlando Predators
''at the
Amway Arena,
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
''
Attendance: 15,107
Week 13: vs Texas Terror
''at the
Target Center,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
''
Attendance: 7,380
Week 14: vs
San Jose SaberCats
The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...
''at the
HP Pavilion,
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
''
Attendance: 14,901
Week 15: vs Memphis Pharaohs
''at the
BancorpSouth Arena,
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...
''
Attendance: 4,520
Other media
* The team appeared on the game ''
EA Sports Arena Football'' as a hidden bonus team.
Notes
*All game scores and statistics are from arenafan.com
External links
Minnesota Fighting Pike at ArenaFan.comMinnesota Fighting Pike statistics
{{1996 Arena Football League
American football teams established in 1996
American football teams disestablished in 1996
1996 establishments in Minnesota
American football teams in Minnesota
1996 disestablishments in Minnesota
American football teams in Minneapolis–Saint Paul
1996 in sports in Minnesota
1990s in Minneapolis
American football in Minneapolis