1998 Rhein Fire season

The 1998 Rhein Fire season was the fourth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Galen Hall in his fourth year, and played its home games at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany. They finished the regular season in second place with a record of seven wins and three losses. Rhein won the first championship in team history by defeating the Frankfurt Galaxy 34–10 in World Bowl '98.

1998 Rhein Fire season
General managerAlexander Leibkind
Head coachGalen Hall
Home fieldRheinstadion
Results
Record7–3
Division place2nd
Playoff finishWorld Bowl '98 champion

Personnel

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Staff

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1998 Rhein Fire staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Ken Karcher
  • Wide Receivers – Mike Jones
  • Offensive Line – Whitey Jordan
Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Pete Kuharchek
  • National Coach/Defensive Line – Walter Rohlfing
  • Defensive Backs/Special Teams – Steve Carson


[1]

Roster

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1998 Rhein Fire roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

  • 87 Kevin Lee
  • 80 Larry Ryans

Tight ends

  • 81 Hayward Clay
Offensive linemen
  • 66 Chad Bates G
  • 64 Leslie Ratliffe T
  • 61 Randy Wheeler G

Defensive linemen

  • 93 Duane Ashman DT
  • 92 Shatony Sargent DE
  • 74 Walter Scott DT
Linebackers
  • 53 Jamie Baisley OLB
  • 58 Vince Bradford OLB
  • 54 Mark Brook MLB
  • 57 Kevin Jefferson MLB
  • 52 Wardell Rouse OLB

Defensive backs

  • 36 Robert Davis S
  • 46 Joe Gordon CB
  • 35 Richard Jones CB

Special teams

  • 13 Nate Cochran P
  •  2 Danny Kight K
National players
  • 50   Anthony Doghmi LB
  • 98   Ole Meine DE
  •  8   Babak Movassaghi WR
  • 21   Tamon Nakamura RB


Rookies in italics

Schedule

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Week Date Kickoff [n 1] Opponent Results Game site Attendance
Final score Team record
1 Saturday, April 4 7:00 p.m. Amsterdam Admirals W 16–13 1–0 Rheinstadion 22,102
2 Saturday, April 11 7:00 p.m. at England Monarchs W 31–7 2–0 Ashton Gate Stadium 5,523
3 Sunday, April 19 3:00 p.m. at Scottish Claymores W 20–10 3–0 Murrayfield Stadium 8,452
4 Saturday, April 25 7:00 p.m. Barcelona Dragons W 13–9 4–0 Rheinstadion 22,249
5 Saturday, May 2 7:00 p.m. at Frankfurt Galaxy W 31–14 5–0 Waldstadion 41,123
6 Saturday, May 9 7:00 p.m. Scottish Claymores W 17–10 6–0 Rheinstadion 20,480
7 Saturday, May 16 7:00 p.m. at Barcelona Dragons L 24–31 6–1 Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc 7,900
8 Saturday, May 23 7:00 p.m. England Monarchs W 12–7 7–1 Rheinstadion 21,288
9 Saturday, May 30 7:00 p.m. at Amsterdam Admirals L 17–21 7–2 Amsterdam ArenA 17,588
10 Saturday, June 6 7:00 p.m. Frankfurt Galaxy L 17–20 OT 7–3 Rheinstadion 41,212
World Bowl '98
11 Sunday, June 14 7:00 p.m. Frankfurt Galaxy W 34–10 8–3 Waldstadion 47,846

[2][3]

Standings

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NFL Europe League
Team W L T PCT PF PA Home Road STK
Frankfurt Galaxy 7 3 0 .700 177 163 3–2 4–1 W4
Rhein Fire 7 3 0 .700 198 142 4–1 3–2 L2
Amsterdam Admirals 7 3 0 .700 205 174 4–1 3–2 W3
Barcelona Dragons 4 6 0 .400 185 200 3–2 1–4 L3
England Monarchs 3 7 0 .300 158 205 2–3 1–4 W2
Scottish Claymores 2 8 0 .200 153 192 2–3 0–5 L3

[4]

Game summaries

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Week 1: vs Amsterdam Admirals

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Week One: Amsterdam Admirals at Rhein Fire – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Amsterdam 3 10 0013
Rhein 0 7 6316

at Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, April 4
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 22,102

Week 2: at England Monarchs

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Week Two: Rhein Fire at England Monarchs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rhein 10 14 7031
England 0 7 007

at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol, United Kingdom

  • Date: Saturday, April 11
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 5,523

Week 3: at Scottish Claymores

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Week Three: Rhein Fire at Scottish Claymores – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rhein 0 17 0320
Scotland 0 7 0310
  • Date: Sunday, April 19
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. BST
  • Game attendance: 8,249

Week 5: at Frankfurt Galaxy

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Week Five: Rhein Fire at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rhein 3 7 14731
Frankfurt 0 0 01414

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Date: Saturday, May 2
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
  • Game attendance: 41,123
  • Referee: Tony Corrente
  • [3]
Game information
First quarter
  • Rhein – 28-yard field goal by Manfred Burgsmüller, 6:06.
Second quarter
  • Rhein – Marcus Robinson 58-yard touchdown reception from Mike Quinn, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 1:45.
Third quarter
  • Rhein – Derrick Clark 1-yard touchdown run, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 6:08.
  • Rhein – Derrick Clark 1-yard touchdown run, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 0:46.
Fourth quarter
  • Frankfurt – Mario Bailey 7-yard touchdown reception from Damon Huard, Ralf Kleinmann kick good, 9:30.
  • Rhein – Derrick Clark 3-yard touchdown run, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 4:59.
  • Frankfurt – Mario Bailey 22-yard touchdown reception from Chris Dittoe, Ralf Kleinmann kick good, 0:02.

Week 7: at Barcelona Dragons

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Week Seven: Rhein Fire at Barcelona Dragons – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Rhein 0 3 71424
Barcelona 7 14 01031

at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

  • Date: Saturday, May 16
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST

Notes

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  1. ^ All times local to where the game was played.

References

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  1. ^ The Official 1998 NFL Europe League Fact Book.
  2. ^ "World League of American Football – WLAF History: 1998". Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  3. ^ a b "Fire 31, Galaxy 14". European Stars and Stripes. Darmstadt, Germany. May 4, 1998. p. 26. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
  4. ^ The Official 2001 NFL Europe League Fact Book.