The Phoenix Inferno was an American

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

team in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1980 to 1983. In 1983 new ownership renamed the team the Phoenix Pride. The Pride folded at the end of the 1983–1984 season. Both teams played their home games at the

Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, also called the Madhouse Coliseum or Phoenix Memorial Coliseum, is a 14,870-seat multi-purpose indoor arena in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, located at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. It hosted the Phoenix Su ...

. The Phoenix Inferno, owned by Richard Ragone and later Irv Berger, entered the Major Indoor Soccer League in 1980. The Phoenix Inferno bumper stickers read "Our Balls Are Off The Wall." Original owner Ragone was killed in a December 1981 car crash. In January 1983, Berger filed for bankruptcy. The league approved the sale of the team to Bruce Merrill, chairman of American Cable Television, for $175,000.

Year-by-year

Phoenix Pride

When Bruce Merrill purchased the Phoenix Inferno, he brought in Ted Podleski as general manager. A devout Christian, Podleski objected to the use of the word Inferno and Merrill renamed the team the Pride. On March 3, 1984, Podleski fired the head coach and installed himself as head coach despite never playing or coaching soccer before.''Coach Podleski smiling on hot seat'' Evening Tribune (San Diego, CA) – Friday, March 9, 1984 The team finished the season at 18–30 and failed to qualify for the playoffs. Merrill put the team up for sale in June 1984. When he received no offers, he folded the team in July.

References

External links

* {{youTube, id= 1qkxor4Nlps, title= When Gangsters Owned a Soccer Team
Phoenix Inferno rosters

Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Sports in Phoenix, Arizona Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) teams Soccer clubs in Arizona 1984 disestablishments in Arizona 1980 establishments in Arizona Association football clubs established in 1980 Association football clubs disestablished in 1984