1997_Rhein_Fire_season
The 1997 Rhein Fire season was the third season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Galen Hall in his third year, and played its home games at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany. They finished the regular season in first place with a record of seven wins and three losses, marking the first winning season in franchise history. In World Bowl '97, Rhein lost to the Barcelona Dragons 38–24. Quarterback T. J. Rubley earned all-World League honors and was named the league's offensive most valuable player.
Quick Facts Rhein Fire season, General manager ...
| 1997 Rhein Fire season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Alexander Leibkind |
| Head coach | Galen Hall |
| Home field | Rheinstadion |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–3 |
| Division place | 1st |
| Playoff finish | Lost World Bowl '97 |
| |
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World League draft
More information Draft order, Player name ...
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Choice | |||
| 1 | 1 | Israel Stanley | DE | Arizona State |
| 2 | 7 | Artis Houston | CB | California |
| 3 | 18 | Thomas Bailey | WR | Auburn |
| 4 | 19 | Scotty Lewis | DE | Baylor |
| 5 | 30 | David Merritt | LB | North Carolina State |
| 6 | 31 | John Anderson | S | Oklahoma |
| 7 | 42 | David Rhodes | WR | Central Florida |
| 8 | 43 | Pete Shufelt | LB | UTEP |
| 9 | 54 | Anthony Daigle | RB | Fresno State |
| 10 | 55 | Sean Foster | WR | Long Beach State |
| 11 | 66 | Chris Shelling | CB | Auburn |
| 12 | 67 | Ricky Powers | RB | Michigan |
| 13 | 78 | Kelly Wiltshire | CB | James Madison |
| 14 | 79 | Earl Mackey | LB | Southern |
| 15 | 90 | Mark Brook | LB | Wyoming |
| 16 | 91 | Don Robinson | CB | Kentucky |
| 17 | 102 | Will Brown | LB | Alabama |
| 18 | 103 | Kyle Richardson | P | Arkansas State |
| 19 | 114 | Chris Thomas | WR | Cal Poly |
| 20 | 115 | Jay Barry | RB | Washington |
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Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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National players
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More information Week, Date ...
| Week | Date | Kickoff [n 1] | Opponent | Results | Game site | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | ||||||
| 1 | Saturday, April 12 | 7:00 p.m. | Barcelona Dragons | L 12–27 | 0–1 | Rheinstadion | 17,150 |
| 2 | Sunday, April 20 | 3:00 p.m. | London Monarchs | W 28–6 | 1–1 | Rheinstadion | 14,876 |
| 3 | Sunday, April 27 | 3:00 p.m. | at Scottish Claymores | W 23–10 | 2–1 | Murrayfield Stadium | 11,166 |
| 4 | Saturday, May 3 | 7:00 p.m. | at Amsterdam Admirals | L 20–23 | 2–2 | Amsterdam ArenA | 10,698 |
| 5 | Saturday, May 10 | 7:00 p.m. | Frankfurt Galaxy | W 10–7 | 3–2 | Rheinstadion | 32,140 |
| 6 | Saturday, May 17 | 7:00 p.m. | at Frankfurt Galaxy | W 21–20 | 4–2 | Waldstadion | 39,182 |
| 7 | Sunday, May 25 | 3:00 p.m. | Scottish Claymores | L 20–23 | 4–3 | Rheinstadion | 20,498 |
| 8 | Saturday, May 31 | 7:30 p.m. | at Barcelona Dragons | W 38–23 | 5–3 | Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc | 13,670 |
| 9 | Saturday, June 7 | 7:00 p.m. | Amsterdam Admirals | W 24–0 | 6–3 | Rheinstadion | 23,697 |
| 10 | Sunday, June 15 | 3:00 p.m. | at London Monarchs | W 10–7 | 7–3 | Stamford Bridge | 10,462 |
| World Bowl '97 | |||||||
| 11 | Sunday, June 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Barcelona Dragons | L 24–38 | 7–4 | Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc | 31,100 |
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More information World League of American Football, Team ...
| World League of American Football | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | Home | Road | STK |
| Rhein Fire | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 206 | 146 | 3–2 | 4–1 | W3 |
| Barcelona Dragons | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 236 | 209 | 2–3 | 3–2 | W1 |
| Scottish Claymores | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 134 | 154 | 2–3 | 3–2 | L2 |
| Amsterdam Admirals | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | 156 | 160 | 4–1 | 1–4 | W1 |
| Frankfurt Galaxy | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 147 | 142 | 3–2 | 1–4 | L1 |
| London Monarchs | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | 116 | 184 | 2–3 | 2–3 | L1 |
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Week 1: vs Barcelona Dragons
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 7 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 27 |
| Rhein | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
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Week One: Barcelona Dragons at Rhein Fire – Game summary
at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany
Week 2: vs London Monarchs
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Rhein | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 28 |
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Week Two: London Monarchs at Rhein Fire – Game summary
at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Sunday, April 20
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 14,876
- [4]
Week 3: at Scottish Claymores
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhein | 13 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
| Scotland | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
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Week Three: Rhein Fire at Scottish Claymores – Game summary
at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Date: Sunday, April 27
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
- Game attendance: 11,166
Week 4: at Amsterdam Admirals
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhein | 0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
| Amsterdam | 10 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 23 |
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Week Four: Rhein Fire at Amsterdam Admirals – Game summary
at Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Date: Saturday, May 3
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 10,698
- [5]
Week 5: vs Frankfurt Galaxy
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Rhein | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
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Week Five: Frankfurt Galaxy at Rhein Fire – Game summary
at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Saturday, May 10
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 32,140
- Referee: Phil Luckett
- [6]
Week 6: at Frankfurt Galaxy
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhein | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Frankfurt | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
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Week Six: Rhein Fire at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary
at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany
- Date: Saturday, May 17
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 39,182
- [7]
Week 7: vs Scottish Claymores
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 7 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 23 |
| Rhein | 3 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
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Week Seven: Scottish Claymores at Rhein Fire – Game summary
at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Sunday, May 25
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 20,498
Week 8: at Barcelona Dragons
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhein | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
| Barcelona | 0 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
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Week Eight: Rhein Fire at Barcelona Dragons – Game summary
at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain
- Date: Saturday, May 31
- Game time: 7:30 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 13,670
Week 9: vs Amsterdam Admirals
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rhein | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
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Week Nine: Amsterdam Admirals at Rhein Fire – Game summary
at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Date: Saturday, June 7
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 23,697
Week 10: at London Monarchs
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhein | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| London | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
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Week Ten: Rhein Fire at London Monarchs – Game summary
at Stamford Bridge, London, England
- Date: Sunday, June 15
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
- Game attendance: 10,462
- Referee: Phil Luckett
- [8]
World Bowl '97
Main article: World Bowl '97
More information Period, Total ...
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhein | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Barcelona | 14 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 38 |
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World Bowl '97: Rhein Fire vs Barcelona Dragons – Game summary
at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain
- Date: Sunday, June 22
- Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
- Game attendance: 31,100
- Referee: Phil Luckett
- [2]
After the completion of the regular season, the All-World League team was selected by members of the media.[9] Overall, Rhein had six players selected.[9] The selections were:
- T. J. Rubley, quarterback
- Bill Schroeder, wide receiver
- Ethan Brooks, offensive tackle
- Mike Sheldon, guard
- Bob Kronenberg, center
- Spencer Folau, offensive tackle
Additionally, Rubley was selected offensive MVP by the six World League head coaches.[10] Galen Hall earned Coach of the Year honors.[9]
- All times local to where the game was played.
- "1997 World League draft". WorldLeague.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 1997. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- "1997 Season in Review". The Official 1998 NFL Europe League Fact Book. pp. 218–222.
- "Dragons 27, Fire 12". European Stars and Stripes. Darmstadt, Germany. April 14, 1997. p. 27. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Associated Press (April 20, 1997). "Fire 28, Monarchs 6". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- Associated Press (May 3, 1997). "Admirals 23, Fire 20". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- Associated Press (May 10, 1997). "Fire 10, Galaxy 7". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- Associated Press (May 17, 1997). "Fire 21, Galaxy 20". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- Associated Press (June 15, 1997). "Fire 10, Monarchs 7". APNewsArchive.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- "1997 All-World League team". WorldLeague.com. June 20, 1997. Archived from the original on July 9, 1997. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- "Rubley and Simmons Honored". The New York Times. Manhattan, New York. June 21, 1997. Retrieved March 9, 2013.