The Lehigh Valley Outlawz were a professional indoor football team based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The team began play as a semi-pro team in the Labelle Community Football League as the Philly Outlawz. The team was later a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League joining the league in 2006 as an expansion team. The Outlawz and the Reading Express were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Lehigh Valley. The Outlawz were owned by Jim DePaul. They played their home games at the Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz | |
|---|---|
| Established 2006 Folded 2008 Played in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | |
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| League/conference affiliations | |
| Labelle Community Football League (2004–2005)
Great Lakes/Continental Indoor Football League (2006–2008)
| |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Red, black, white |
| Mascot | OutKast |
| Cheerleaders | Lady Outlawz |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Jim DePaul |
| President | Jim DePaul |
| General manager | Jim DePaul |
| Head coach | Mike DePaul |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Playoff appearances (3) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
Franchise history
edit2004–2005
editPrior to joining indoor football, they were a semi-pro team from the Labelle Community Football League known as the Philly Outlawz. They played in the league from 2004 to 2005.
2006: Turning pro
editIn 2006, the Outlawz made the jump to professional status when they joined the Great Lakes Indoor Football League. During their inaugural year, the Outlawz hosted the first, and only, GLIFL All-Star Game. They ended their regular season at 5-5 which was good enough to clinch the number 3 playoff spot. In the playoffs, they were eliminated by the second-seeded Rochester Raiders in the semifinals.
Standings
edit| Team | W | L | T | PCT | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Huron Pirates-y | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |||||||
| Rochester Raiders-x | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | |||||||
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | |||||||
| Battle Creek Crunch-x | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | |||||||
| Marion Mayhem | 4 | 6 | 0 | .400 | |||||||
| New York/New Jersey Revolution | 0 | 10 | 0 | .000 | |||||||
2007
editIn 2007, the Outlawz would finish the season with a 7-5 record which, would again earn them the number 3 seed in the Atlantic Division playoffs. They went on to lose in the semifinal round of the playoffs to the New England Surge.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 7 | NY/NJ Revolution | Home | Won 45-25 |
| April 14 | Rochester Raiders | Home | Lost 25-63 |
| April 21 | NY/NJ Revolution | Away | Won 46-29 |
| April 28 | Steubenville Stampede | Home | Won 64-57 |
| May 5 | Chesapeake Tide | Away | Lost 56-57 (OT) |
| May 12 | New England Surge | Away | Lost 25-53 |
| May 19 | Marion Mayhem | Home | Won 48-25 |
| May 26 | Rochester Raiders | Away | Lost 49-77 |
| June 2 | New England Surge | Home | Lost 42-70 |
| June 9 | Chesapeake Tide | Home | Won 48-26 |
| June 16 | Steubenville Stampede | Away | Won 54-20 |
| June 23 | Muskegon Thunder | Away | Won 55-54 |
| July 7 | New England Surge (Playoffs) | Away | Lost 34-58 |
Standings
edit| Team | Overall | Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||
| Great Lakes Conference | |||||||||||
| Michigan Pirates-y | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |||
| Kalamazoo Xplosion-x | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | |||
| Chicago Slaughter-x | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | |||
| Marion Mayhem-x | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | |||
| Muskegon Thunder-x | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | |||
| Miami Valley Silverbacks | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | |||
| Summit County Rumble | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Springfield Stallions | 0 | 12 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Atlantic Conference | |||||||||||
| Rochester Raiders-y | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |||
| New England Surge-x | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | |||
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 5 | 5 | 0 | .500 | |||
| Chesapeake Tide-x | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | |||
| Steubenville Stampede | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | |||
| NY/NJ Revolution | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .000 | |||
2008
editThe Outlawz would finish the 2008 regular season with a 6-5 record and the #2 seed in the Atlantic Division East. The team would take a big step in winning their first playoff game against the New England Surge before being defeated by the Saginaw Sting in the Atlantic Division Championship.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 22 | New Jersey Revolution | Home | Won 54-32 |
| March 29 | Rochester Raiders | Away | Lost 27-49 |
| April 12 | Chesapeake Tide | Home | Won 62-28 |
| April 20 | New England Surge | Away | Lost 14-35 |
| April 27 | Chesapeake Tide | Away | Won 50-17 |
| May 3 | Marion Mayhem | Home | Won 44-33 |
| May 10 | Rochester Raiders | Home | Lost 26-45 |
| May 16 | Marion Mayhem | Away | Lost 23-36 |
| May 24 | Miami Valley Silverbacks | Home | Won 29-27 |
| May 30 | New Jersey Revolution | Away | Lost 30-31 |
| June 7 | New England Surge | Away | Won 45-42 |
| June 14 | New England Surge (Playoffs) | Home | Won 27-21 |
| June 23 | Saginaw Sting (Playoffs) | Away | Lost 25-59 |
Standings
edit| Team | Overall | Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||
| Great Lakes Conference | |||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||
| Kalamazoo Xplosion-y | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | |||
| Muskegon Thunder-x | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | |||
| Fort Wayne Freedom | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | |||
| Miami Valley Silverbacks | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | |||
| West Division | |||||||||||
| Chicago Slaughter-y | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | |||
| Rock River Raptors-x | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | |||
| Milwaukee Bonecrushers | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Atlantic Conference | |||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||
| New England Surge-y | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | |||
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | |||
| New Jersey Revolution | 3 | 9 | 0 | .250 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | |||
| Chesapeake Tide | 2 | 10 | 0 | .583 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | |||
| West Division | |||||||||||
| Rochester Raiders-z | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |||
| Saginaw Sting-y | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .750 | |||
| Marion Mayhem-x | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | |||
| Flint Phantoms | 1 | 11 | 0 | .083 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | |||
Demise
editAfter the 2008 season the Outlawz, along with the New England Surge left the CIFL and planned to start their own league, the United States Indoor Football League. Later three more teams, the Southland (IL) Chill, the Bridgeview Red Devils, and the Pennsylvania Stillers were announced as participants in the newly formed league. The team had stated that the season would start in March, around the same time that its previous seasons had begun. However, the start was then pushed back to April, then May and a final announcement was made that the 2009 schedule would be out June 1. The schedule never came out and the team and league website stopped being updated. The team shut down their Hellertown, Pennsylvania headquarters. The league website stated that it (the USIFL) was based out of Cape Coral, Florida, however, the USIFL decided it was best to not try and start a new league venture with the US economy in its current condition. Rumors of unpaid player and accounts were never confirmed and a lawsuit brought by a former coach was dismissed without merit.
Season-by-season
edit| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philly Outlawz (LCFL) | |||||
| 2004 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2nd D Division | Lost Round 1 (Claymont) |
| 2005 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1st League | Won Round 1 (Eastwick) Won Semifinal (Claymont) Lost LaBelle Bowl II (Frankford) |
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz (GLIFL) | |||||
| 2006 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3rd League | Lost Semifinals (Rochester) |
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz (CIFL) | |||||
| 2007 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 3rd Atlantic | Lost AD Semifinal (New England) |
| 2008 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2nd Atlantic East | Won AD East Finals (New England) Lost AD Championship (Saginaw) |
| Lehigh Valley Outlawz (USIFL) | |||||
| 2009 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Totals | 37 | 21 | 1 | (including LCFL, GLIFL, and CIFL playoffs) | |