View source for Indiana Firebirds

{{short description|Arena football team}}
{{About|the original Albany/Indiana Firebirds team|the AF2 franchise|Albany Firebirds (af2)|the franchise named after the Firebirds|Albany Firebirds (2023–)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox indoor American football team
| name = Indiana Firebirds
| logo =Indiana Firebirds Logo.png
| founded = [[1990 Arena Football League season|1990]]
| folded = [[2004 Arena Football League season|2004]]
| city = [[Indianapolis, Indiana]] at [[Conseco Fieldhouse]]
| colors = Black, royal blue, red, burnt orange, gold, white<br>{{color box|black}} {{color box|#2F4C67}} {{color box|#CC0000}} {{color box|#BA4D00}} {{color box|#E7B700}} {{color box|white}}
| coach = [[Mike Wilpolt]]
| owner = Glenn Mazula<br>Dave Lageschulte
| general manager = Joe Hennessy<br>John Kolner
| league = 
[[Arena Football League]] ({{AFL Year|1990}}–{{AFL Year|2004}})
*National Conference (1993; 1995–2000)
**[[Eastern Division (AFL)|East]] (1995–2000)
*American Conference (1994; 2001–2004)
**[[Central Division (AFL)|Central]] (2001–2004)
| team_history =
* '''Albany Firebirds''' (1990–2000)
* '''Indiana Firebirds''' (2001–2004)
| no_div_champs       = 6
| div_champs          = 
*'''Eastern:''' {{AFL Year|1994}}, {{AFL Year|1995}}, {{AFL Year|1996}}, {{AFL Year|1998}}, {{AFL Year|1999}}, {{AFL Year|2000}} 
| no_league_champs    = 1
| league_champs       = 
*[[ArenaBowl XIII|1999]]
| playoff_appearances = {{AFL Year|1991}}, {{AFL Year|1992}}, {{AFL Year|1993}}, {{AFL Year|1994}}, {{AFL Year|1995}}, {{AFL Year|1996}}, {{AFL Year|1998}}, {{AFL Year|1999}}, {{AFL Year|2000}}, {{AFL Year|2001}}, {{AFL Year|2002}}
| no_playoff_appearances = 11
| arena_years         = 
*[[Knickerbocker Arena]] (1990–2000)
*[[Conseco Fieldhouse]] (2001–2004)
}}
The '''Indiana Firebirds''' were a team in the [[Arena Football League]]. The team was based in [[Indianapolis, Indiana]]. Home games were played at the [[Conseco Fieldhouse]], also the home of the [[Indiana Pacers]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] and [[Indiana Fever]] of the [[Women's National Basketball Association]].

==History==

===Albany Firebirds (1990–2000)===
The team was founded in [[Albany, New York]] as the Albany Firebirds, and played in Albany from 1990 to 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Singelais|first=Mark|date=December 11, 2009|title=Firebirds won't play 2010 season|newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]]|url=http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Firebirds-won-t-play-2010-season-553448.php|access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Boggie|first=Tom|date=June 9, 1990|title=Firebirds Host Commandos In Arena Football Opener|newspaper=[[The Daily Gazette]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19900609&id=EHMhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tIgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3494,2390897|access-date=September 19, 2013}}</ref> At that time, home games were played at the '''Knickerbocker Arena''' (now known as the [[MVP Arena]]). The team's original ownership group was headed by Joe O'Hara, owner of the [[Continental Basketball Association]]'s [[Albany Patroons]], 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 (American football)|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]], he happened to see a [[Pontiac Firebird]] driving down the highway and decided to go with that name.<ref>{{cite news|date=March 9, 2020|title=AFL Rewind: Joe O'Hara|work=ArenaFan.com|url=http://www.arenafan.com/news/?page=pressrel&article=14184|access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref>

The Firebirds were very successful during their tenure in Albany. They won six division titles, made nine playoff appearances, and won the 1999 [[ArenaBowl XIII|ArenaBowl]] championship.

===Indiana Firebirds (2001–2004)===
On October 19, 2000, the Firebirds announced they would be relocating to [[Indianapolis]].<ref>{{cite web|date=October 19, 2000|title=Firebirds move to Indianapolis|url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/firebirds-move-to-indianapolis/n-2707758|access-date=July 19, 2017|work=OurSports Central|publisher=}}</ref> 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]] 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]]. 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]] 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 (engineer)|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 (af2)|Albany Firebirds]] in the hopes of "re-branding" the team.<ref>{{cite news|date=December 20, 2009|title=The top 10 of the Double Os|newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]]|url=http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/The-top-10-of-the-Double-Os-558059.php|access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singelais |first=Mark |date=2023-09-28 |title=Firebirds back? Arena football returning to MVP Arena in 2024 |url=https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/arena-football-returning-mvp-arena-2024-18394410.php |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=Times Union |language=en-US}}</ref>  On October 2, 2023, the Albany Firebirds were officially announced to be joining the AFL.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haas |first=Griffin |date=2023-10-02 |title=Albany Firebirds returning to AFL |url=https://www.news10.com/sports/albany-firebirds-returning-to-afl |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=News 10 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Season-by-season==
{{Start NFL SBS}}
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| '''Albany Firebirds'''
|-
|1990 || 3 || 5 || 0 || 5th || –
|-
|1991 || 6 || 4 || 0 || 4th || Lost Week 1 ([[Massachusetts Marauders|Detroit]] 37–35)
|-
|1992 || 5 || 5 || 0 || 3rd Northern || Lost Week 1 ([[Dallas Texans (Arena)|Dallas]] 48–45)
|-
|1993 || 5 || 7 || 0 || 5th NC || Lost Week 1 ([[Tampa Bay Storm|Tampa Bay]] 48–34)
|-
|1994 || 10 || 2 || 0 || 1st NC || Won Week 1 ([[Anaheim Piranhas|Las Vegas]] 49–30)<br> Lost Week 2 ([[Arizona Rattlers|Arizona]] 40–33)
|-
|1995 || 7 || 5 || 0 || 1st NC Eastern || Won Week 1 ([[St. Louis Stampede|St. Louis]] 51–49)<br> Lost Week 2 ([[Tampa Bay Storm|Tampa Bay]] 56–49)
|-
|1996 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 1st NC Eastern || Won Week 1 ([[Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001)|Milwaukee]] 70–58)<br> Lost Week 2 ([[New York Dragons|Iowa]] 62–55)
|-
|1997 || 6 || 8 || 0 || 3rd NC Eastern || –
|-
|1998 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 1st NC Eastern || Lost Week 1 ([[Cleveland Gladiators|New Jersey]] 66–59)
|-
|'''1999''' || 11 || 3 || 0 || 1st NC Eastern || Won Week 1 ([[Grand Rapids Rampage|Grand Rapids]] 55–45)<br> Won Week 2 ([[Arizona Rattlers|Arizona]] 73–47)<br> '''Won [[ArenaBowl XIII]]''' ([[Orlando Predators|Orlando]] 59–48)
|-
|2000 || 9 || 5 || 0 || 1st NC Eastern || Lost Week 2 ([[Arizona Rattlers|Arizona]] 53–50)
|-
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;"| '''Indiana Firebirds'''
|-
|2001 || 9 || 5 || 0 || 2nd AC Central || Won Week 1 ([[Carolina Cobras|Carolina]] 58–41)<br> Won Week 2 ([[Tampa Bay Storm|Tampa Bay]] 68–31)<br> Lost Week 3 ([[Grand Rapids Rampage|Grand Rapids]] 83–70)
|-
|2002 || 7 || 7 || 0 || 3rd AC Central || Lost Week 1 ([[Dallas Desperados|Dallas]] 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===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
| colspan="5" style= "background: #BA4D00; color: white" align="center"| '''Albany/Indiana Firebirds Hall of Famers'''
|-
!width=60px style="background: black; color: white" |No.
!style="background: black; color: white" |Name
!style="background: black; color: white" |Year Inducted
!style="background: black; color: white" |Position(s)
!style="background: black; color: white" |Years w/ Firebirds
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 77 || [[Sylvester Bembery]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2011 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Offensive lineman|OL]]/[[Defensive lineman|DL]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1994–2003
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 17 || [[Eddie Brown (arena football)|Eddie Brown]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Singelais|first=Mark|date=February 5, 2011|title=Father and son saga at Super Bowl|newspaper=[[Times Union (Albany)|Times Union]]|url=http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Father-and-son-saga-at-Super-Bowl-997901.php|access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref>|| style="text-align:center;" | 2011 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Offensive Specialist|OS]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1994–2003
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| – || [[Mike Dailey]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2012 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Head Coach]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1997–2003
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 84 || [[Fred Gayles]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2002 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Wide receiver|WR]]/[[Defensive back|DB]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1990–1997
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| ? || [[Darryl Hammond]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2013 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Wide receiver|WR]]/[[Linebacker|LB]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1991–1994
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| – || [[Mike Hohensee]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2012 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Head Coach]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1994–1996
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| 82 || [[Greg Hopkins]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2013 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Wide receiver|WR]]/[[Linebacker|LB]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1996–2001
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| – || [[Glenn Mazula]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2000 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Owner]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1990–2002
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| ? || [[Reggie Smith (Arena football)|Reggie Smith]] || style="text-align:center;"| 2002 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Offensive Specialist|OS]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1990
|-
| style="text-align:center;"| ? || [[Durwood Roquemore]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1999 || style="text-align:center;"|[[Wide receiver|WR]]/[[Defensive back|DB]] || style="text-align:center;"| 1991
|}

===Individual awards===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="4" style="background:#BA4D00; color:white;"| '''AFL MVP'''
|-
!  style="width:50px; background:black; color:white;"| Season   
!  style="width:150px; background:black; color:white;"| Player
!  style="width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Position
|-
|{{AFL Year|1994}}||[[Eddie Brown (arena football)|Eddie Brown]]||[[Offensive Specialist|OS]]
|}

{{col-3}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="4" style="background:#BA4D00; color:white;"| '''AFL Offensive Player of the Year'''
|-
!  style="width:50px; background:black; color:white;"| Season   
!  style="width:150px; background:black; color:white;"| Player
!  style="width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Position
|-
|{{AFL Year|1996}}||[[Eddie Brown (arena football)|Eddie Brown]]||[[Offensive Specialist|OS]]
|-
|{{AFL Year|1999}}||[[Eddie Brown (arena football)|Eddie Brown]]||[[Offensive Specialist|OS]]
|}

{{col-3}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="4" style="background:#BA4D00; color:white;"| '''AFL Defensive Player of the Year'''
|-
!  style="width:50px; background:black; color:white;"| Season   
!  style="width:150px; background:black; color:white;"| Player
!  style="width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Position
|-
|{{AFL Year|1996}}||[[David McLeod]]||[[Wide receiver|WR]]/[[Defensive back|DB]]
|}

{{col-3}}
{{col-end}}

{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="4" style="background:#BA4D00; color:white;"| '''Kicker of the Year'''
|-
!  style="width:50px; background:black; color:white;"| Season   
!  style="width:150px; background:black; color:white;"| Player
!  style="width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Position
|-
|{{AFL Year|1996}}||[[Pete Elezovic]]||[[Placekicker|K]]
|-
|{{AFL Year|2003}}||[[Clay Rush]]||[[Placekicker|K]]
|}

{{col-3}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="4" style="background:#BA4D00; color:white;"| '''Ironman of the Year'''
|-
!  style="width:50px; background:black; color:white;"| Season   
!  style="width:150px; background:black; color:white;"| Player
!  style="width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Position
|-
|{{AFL Year|1998}}||[[Chad Dukes (American football)|Chad Dukes]]||[[Fullback (American football)|FB]]/[[Linebacker|LB]]
|}

{{col-3}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="4" style="background:#BA4D00; color:white;"| '''AFL Rookie of the Year'''
|-
!  style="width:50px; background:black; color:white;"| Season   
!  style="width:150px; background:black; color:white;"| Player
!  style="width:100px; background:black; color:white;"| Position
|-
|{{AFL Year|2004}}||[[Adrian McPherson]]||[[Quarterback|QB]]
|}

{{col-3}}
{{col-end}}

===All-Arena players===
The following Firebirds players were named to [[All-Arena]] Teams:
*'''QB''' [[Tom Porras]] (1), [[Mike Perez (American football)|Mike Perez]] (2), [[Mike Pawlawski]] (1)
*'''FB/LB''' [[Chad Dukes (American football)|Chad Dukes]] (2), [[Leroy Thompson]] (1)
*'''WR/DB''' [[Reggie Smith (Arena football)|Reggie Smith]] (1), [[Fred Gayles]] (1), [[Merv Mosely]] (2), [[David McLeod]] (1), [[Jay Jones (American football)|Jay Jones]] (1), [[Evan Hlavacek]] (1)
*'''WR/LB''' [[Fred Gayles]] (1), [[Greg Hopkins]] (2)
*'''OL/DL''' [[Sylvester Bembery]] (3), [[Kevin Murphy (lineman)|Kevin Murphy]] (1), [[Jerome Brown (arena football)|Jerome Brown]] (1), [[Joe Jacobs (American football)|Joe Jacobs]] (3), [[Jon Krick]] (1), [[Chris Snyder (Arena football)|Chris Snyder]] (1), [[Kyle Moore-Brown]] (1)
*'''OS/KR''' [[Reggie Smith (Arena football)|Reggie Smith]] (1)
*'''OS''' [[Eddie Brown (arena football)|Eddie Brown]] (4)
*'''DS''' [[Derek Stingley Sr.|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 (American football)|Chad Dukes]] (1), [[Ricky Ortiz|Rich Young]] (1)
*'''WR/DB''' [[Evan Hlavacek]] (1)
*'''WR/LB''' [[Greg Hopkins]] (2)
*'''OL/DL''' [[Joe Jacobs (American football)|Joe Jacobs]] (2), [[Chris Snyder (Arena football)|Chris Snyder]] (1)

===All-Rookie players===
The following Firebirds players were named to All-Rookie Teams:
*'''QB''' [[Adrian McPherson]]
*'''FB/LB''' [[Van Johnson (arena football)|Van Johnson]]
*'''WR/DB''' [[Brett Bech]]
*'''DS''' [[Cornelius Coe]]

==Head coaches==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan="2" style="width:140px;"|Name
! rowspan="2" | Term
! colspan="4" | Regular season
! colspan="2" | Playoffs
! rowspan="2" | Awards
|-
! W
! L
! T
! Win%
! W
! L
|-
| [[Rick Buffington]]
|{{AFL Year|1990}}–{{AFL Year|1993}}
|19
|21
|0
|{{winperc|19|21}}
|0
|3
|
|-
| [[Mike Hohensee]]
| {{AFL Year|1994}}–{{AFL Year|1996}}
| 27
| 11
| 0
| {{winperc|27|11}}
| 2
| 2
| 
|-
| [[Mike Dailey]]
| {{AFL Year|1997}}–{{AFL Year|2003}}
| 58
| 42
| 0
| {{winperc|58|42}}
| 5
| 4
| Coach of the Year (1999)
|-
| [[Steve DeBerg]]
| {{AFL Year|2004}}
| 0
| 5
| 0
| {{winperc|0|5}}
| 0
| 0
| 
|-
| [[Mike Wilpolt]]
| {{AFL Year|2004}}
| 8
| 3
| 0
| {{winperc|8|3}}
| 0
| 0
| 
|}

==Former radio affiliates (6 stations)==
*[[WDCD (AM)|WPTR]]/1540: [[Albany, New York|Albany]] (1990–1991 seasons), (1993–1994 seasons)
*[[WROW]]/590: [[Albany, New York|Albany]] (1995–2000 seasons)
*[[WHUC]]/1230: [[Hudson, New York|Hudson]] (1994 season)
*[[WINU|WSRD]]/104.9: [[Johnstown, New York|Johnstown]] (1994 season)
*[[WENU|WSTL]]/1410: [[South Glens Falls, New York|South Glens Falls]] (1994 season)
*[[WAJZ|WCDA]]/96.3: [[Voorheesville, New York|Voorheesville]] (1992 season)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/19961226194631/http://www.arenafootball.com/ AFL official website]}}
* [https://www.firebirdsarenafootball.com Albany Firebirds official website]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=history&team=10&year=2000 Albany Firebirds at ArenaFan.com]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=history&team=71&year=2004 Indiana Firebirds at ArenaFan.com]
* [http://fbonline.tripod.com/ Albany Firebirds historical site]

{{Indiana Firebirds}}
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises}}

[[Category:Indiana Firebirds| ]]
[[Category:Defunct American football teams in Indiana]]
[[Category:American football teams in Indiana]]
[[Category:1990 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:2004 disestablishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:American football teams established in 1990]]
[[Category:American football teams disestablished in 2004]]