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Rhein Fire
Rhein Fire helmet Rhein Fire logo

Current team status: Defunct
Based in Düsseldorf, Germany
Stadium/Home field LTU arena
League WLAF / NFL Europa
Team colors Maroon, Black, Gold, White[1]
                   
Team history
Founded 1995
Folded 2007
Championships
/ World Bowl wins
2 : World Bowl VI (1998), World Bowl VIII (2000)
Uniform Rhein Fire Jerseys

The Rhein Fire was a professional American football team in NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Germany in 1995, the franchise resurrected the name of the former Birmingham Fire team which was active during the 1991–1992 WLAF seasons.

History[]

The team was based in Düsseldorf (and early on was occasionally referred to in the U.S. as the Düsseldorf Fire), playing its games in LTU arena since 2005 season. Prior to this the team played in Rheinstadion until 2002 and in Arena AufSchalke from 2003 to 2004 in nearby city Gelsenkirchen while LTU arena was being built. The team shared facilities with the football (soccer) club Fortuna Düsseldorf. The Fire also hosted the 2005 World Bowl, where the Amsterdam Admirals upset the then-defending champion Berlin Thunder.

The Fire had been one of NFL Europa's most successful teams as far as fan appeal and competitively on the fieldTemplate:Category handler/numbered[citation needed]. The team itself has played for five World Bowl championships throughout its history, winning in 1998 (over the Frankfurt Galaxy) and 2000 (over the Scottish Claymores).

Logos/Uniforms[]

Image gallery

Season-by-season[]

Season League Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
1995 WLAF 4 6 0 .400 5th (League)
1996 WLAF 3 7 0 .300 6th (League)
1997 WLAF 7 3 0 .700 1st (League) 0 1 .000 Lost to Barcelona Dragons in World Bowl '97
1998 NFLE 7 3 0 .700 2nd (League) 1 0 1.000 World Bowl '98 champions
1999 NFLE 6 4 0 .600 3rd (League)
2000 NFLE 7 3 0 .700 1st (League) 1 0 1.000 World Bowl 2000 champions
2001 NFLE 5 5 0 .500 3rd (League)
2002 NFLE 7 3 0 .700 1st (League) 0 1 .000 Lost to Berlin Thunder in World Bowl X
2003 NFLE 6 4 0 .600 2nd (League) 0 1 .000 Lost to Frankfurt Galaxy in World Bowl XI
2004 NFLE 3 7 0 .300 5th (League)
2005 NFLE 3 7 0 .300 6th (League)
2006 NFLE 6 4 0 .600 3rd (League)
2007 NFLE 4 6 0 .400 4th (League)
Total 68 62 0 .523 2 3 .400

Coaching history[]

Head coaches[]

# Name Term Regular season Postseason Achievements
GC Won Lost Ties Win % GC Won Lost Win %
1 Galen Hall 1995–2000 60 34 26 0 .567 3 2 1 .667 2 World Bowl championships (1998, 2000)
World League Coach of the Year (1997)
NFL Europe Coach of the Year (2000)
2 Pete Kuharchek 2001–2005 50 24 26 0 .480 2 0 2 .000
3 Jim Tomsula 2006 10 6 4 0 .600
4 Rick Lantz 2007 10 4 6 0 .400

Assistant coaches[]

  • Antonio Anderson (2006)
  • Bart Andrus (2000)
  • Mike Bender (2001)
  • Booker Brooks (2001)
  • Steve Carson (1996–1997)
  • Wes Chandler (1995–1997)
  • Joe Clark (2001)
  • Ken Clarke (2004–2005)
  • Stan Davis (2007)
  • A. J. Duhe (1995)
  • Don Eck (2007)
  • Tom Everest (2002)
  • Barry Foster (2003)
  • Sascha Gehloff (2005–2007)
  • Brian Webb (2006)
  • Alvin Harper (2005)
  • James Harrell (2004)
  • Bernardo Harris (2007)
  • Mike Jones (1998–2000, 2002–2003)
  • Whitey Jordan (1998–2000, 2002–2004)
  • E. J. Junior (2005)
  • Ken Karcher (1997–1999)
  • Pete Kuharchek (1996–2000)
  • Bob Lancaster (2006)
  • Pete Levine (1996)
  • Steve Logan (2006)
  • Bob Lord (1997)
  • Duval Love (2006)
  • Jörn Maier (2001–2004)
  • Vince Marrow (2007)
  • Guy McIntyre (2002)
  • Scott Milanovich (2003–2005)
  • Larry New (2007)
  • Jeff Ogden (2004)
  • Kevin O'Neal (2004–2005)
  • Ed O'Neil (2001–2003)
  • Nate Poole (2007)
  • Jan Quarless (2005)
  • Jeff Reinebold (1995, 1999–2000)
  • Walter Rohlfing (1995–2000)
  • Steve Smith (2006)
  • Don Strock (1995)
  • Gary Tranquill (2007)
  • Dean Unruh (1995–1996)
  • Adrian White (2001–2006)

Notable players[]

  • Richard Adjei (2004–2007)
  • Ingo Anderbrügge (2003–2004)
  • Cedric Bonner (2006–2007)
  • Manfred Burgsmüller (1996–2002)
  • Byron Chamberlain (1996)
  • Derrick Clark (1996–1999)
  • Mike Croel (1998)
  • Terry Crews (1995)
  • Nick Ferguson (1998)
  • Patrick Gerigk (1998)
  • James Harrison (2004)
  • Drew Henson (2006)
  • Andy Kelly (1996)
  • Fred Jackson (2006)
  • Michael Lewis (2001)
  • Mike Quinn (1998)
  • Marcus Robinson (1998)
  • Jamal Robertson (2002)
  • Bill Schroeder (1997)
  • Gino Torretta (1995)
  • Tony Wragge (2006)
  • Danny Wuerffel (2000)
  • { Eduardo Castañeda (2007)

Other notable personnel[]

  • Alexander Leibkind – General Manager 1996–2004
  • Ken Karcher – Assistant coach for the Fire, was previously an NFL replacement player and later became a collegiate head coach.
  • Oliver Luck – General Manager 1995, became league president the following year.

References[]

  1. Team Colors – NFLE. SSUR.org. Retrieved on 2010-02-17.
Rhein Fire
History
  • Founded in 1991, Folded in 2007
  • Based in Dusseldorf, Germany

Franchise Stadiums

  • Rheinstadion (1995-2002)
  • Arena AufSchalke (2003-2004)
  • LTU arena (2005-2007)

Head coaches:

  • Galen Hall (1995-2000)
  • Pete Kuharchek (2001-2005)
  • Jim Tomsula (2006)
  • Rick Lantz (2007)
World Bowl appearances (2)
  • World Bowl '96 (1996)
  • VIII (2000)

League championships (4)

  • 1996
  • 2000
Seasons
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007

</noinclude>

World League of American Football/NFL Europa
Teams
Teams Teams (cont'd)
Seasons
1991 1992 1993 no season 1994 no season 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007

See also[]

  • World Bowl
  • Intercontinental Football League

External links[]

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