The 1996 Albany Firebirds season was the seventh season for the Albany Firebirds. They finished the 1996 Arena Football League season 10–4 and finished the season with a loss in the semifinals of the playoffs to the Iowa Barnstormers.[1]
| 1996 Albany Firebirds season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Mike Hohensee |
| Home field | Knickerbocker Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Division place | 1st, Eastern |
| Playoff finish | W Quarterfinals vs. Milwaukee L Semifinals vs. Iowa |
Schedule
editRegular season
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Results | Game site (attendance) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||
| 1 | Bye | |||||||
| 2 | May 4 | Charlotte Rage | W 63–32 | 1–0 | Knickerbocker Arena (13,029) | |||
| 3 | May 10 | at San Jose SaberCats | L 40–69 | 1–1 | San Jose Arena (15,561) | |||
| 4 | May 18 | Minnesota Fighting Pike | W 85–30 | 2–1 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,712) | |||
| 5 | May 24 | at Connecticut Coyotes | W 58–26 | 3–1 | Hartford Civic Center (7,539) | |||
| 6 | June 1 | St. Louis Stampede | L 56–66 | 3–2 | Knickerbocker Arena (12,015) | |||
| 7 | June 8 | Memphis Pharaohs | W 67–21 | 4–2 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,764) | |||
| 8 | June 15 | at Iowa Barnstormers | L 46–55 | 4–3 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (11,411) | |||
| 9 | June 21 | at Charlotte Rage | W 88–36 | 5–3 | Charlotte Coliseum (6,898) | |||
| 10 | June 29 | Connecticut Coyotes | W 59–45 | 6–3 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,117) | |||
| 11 | July 6 | Orlando Predators | W 53–41 | 7–3 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,079) | |||
| 12 | July 12 | at Tampa Bay Storm | L 52–65 (OT) | 7–4 | ThunderDome (13,202) | |||
| 13 | July 20 | at Florida Bobcats | W 66–63 | 8–4 | West Palm Beach Auditorium (3,601) | |||
| 14 | July 27 | Texas Terror | W 86–24 | 9–4 | Knickerbocker Arena (12,345) | |||
| 15 | August 2 | at Milwaukee Mustangs | W 54–49 | 10–4 | Bradley Center (16,411) | |||
Playoffs
editThe Firebirds were awarded the No. 4 seed in the AFL playoffs.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Results | Game site (attendance) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Playoff record | ||||
| Quarterfinals | August 10 | (5) Milwaukee Mustangs | W 70–58 | 1–0 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,613) |
| Semifinals | August 17 | at (1) Iowa Barnstormers | L 55–62 | 1–1 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (11,411) |
Standings
edit| Team | Overall | Division | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | Losses | Percentage | Wins | Losses | Percentage | |
| National Conference | ||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||
| Albany Firebirds | 10 | 4 | 0.714 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Charlotte Rage | 5 | 9 | 0.357 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| Connecticut Coyotes | 2 | 12 | 0.143 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| Southern Division | ||||||
| Tampa Bay Storm | 12 | 2 | 0.857 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| Orlando Predators | 9 | 5 | 0.643 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| Florida Bobcats | 6 | 8 | 0.429 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
| Texas Terror | 1 | 13 | 0.071 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
| American Conference | ||||||
| Central Division | ||||||
| Iowa Barnstormers | 12 | 2 | 0.857 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
| Milwaukee Mustangs | 10 | 4 | 0.714 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| St. Louis Stampede | 8 | 6 | 0.571 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Memphis Pharaohs | 0 | 14 | 0.000 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
| Western Division | ||||||
| Arizona Rattlers | 11 | 3 | 0.786 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| Anaheim Piranhas | 9 | 5 | 0.643 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 6 | 8 | 0.429 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 |
| Minnesota Fighting Pike | 4 | 10 | 0.286 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
- Green indicates clinched playoff berth
- Blue indicates division champion
- Grey indicates best regular season record
Awards
edit| Position | Player | Award | All-Arena team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive specialist | Eddie Brown | Offensive Player of the Year | 1st |
| Wide receiver/defensive back | David McLeod | Defensive Player of the Year | 2nd |
| Kicker | Pete Elezovic | Kicker of the Year | 2nd |
| Quarterback | Mike Perez | - | 2nd |
| Offensive/defensive lineman | Jerome Brown | - | 2nd |
References
edit- ^ a b "Albany Firebirds Team History - 1996 | ArenaFan.com". www.arenafan.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "1996 Albany Firebirds Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.