The New England Steamrollers were a former
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 ...
team based in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
. The team played in the AFL's 1988 season. The Steamrollers were one of four teams to enter the AFL in 1988, and along with the
New York Knights and
Los Angeles Cobras were folded following the season.
The Steamrollers were based out of
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
and played their home games at the
Providence Civic Center. They were the first professional football team of any kind to play in Providence since the
Providence Steam Roller folded in 1933 and the first non-minor league professional sports franchise to play in the city since the NBA's
Providence Steamrollers folded in 1949.
The coach of the Steamrollers was former Boston Patriots All-Pro quarterback
Babe Parilli
Vito "Babe" Parilli (May 7, 1930 – July 15, 2017) was an American football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadian Football League ...
.
History
In 1988, Concert and fight promoter, Frank J. Russo, and jeweler, Robert Andreoli, purchased a limited partnership from the Arena Football League to own the rights to a
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
team. The team's first move was the hiring of Head Coach,
Babe Parilli
Vito "Babe" Parilli (May 7, 1930 – July 15, 2017) was an American football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadian Football League ...
in March. After a 3-9 season, the Steamrollers didn't achieve the dollar amount that Russo and Andreoli thought they would, and the franchise folded.
Notable players
Roster
Arena Football League Hall of Famers
All-Arena players
The following Steamrollers players were named to
All-Arena Teams:
*WR/DB
Jim Hockaday
*OL/DL
Sylvester Bembery,
Kevin Murphy
Head coaches
Season-by-season
, -
, 1988 , , 3 , , 9 , , 0 , , 5th , , --
References
External links
New England Steamrollers at ArenaFan.com
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises
Defunct Arena Football League teams
American football teams established in 1988
American football teams disestablished in 1988
Steamrollers
American football teams in Rhode Island
1988 establishments in Rhode Island
1988 disestablishments in Rhode Island