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With 5 seasons behind us, the Insider takes a look back at some of the more interesting facts, people and occurences in the first half decade of IFL play.
It's A Start:
The first player selected in the 2003 IFL dispersal draft was Left Tackle Irwin Kao out of Middlebury College who was selected by the Wichita Outlaws. Kao had spent 7 seasons in the NFL and CFL. After 2 subpar seasons in Wichita he was traded to Newark where he has blossomed and earned All-Pro honors for 3 straight seasons.
The first official play from scrimmage in the IFL occured in Boston on September 3rd 2003, Abraham Spangler gained 1 yard on an inside run in a game between Boston and West Virginia.
What's In A Name?:
Whenever there is a ownership turnover theres the good chance that the new guy will want to put his mark on his new investment, the IFL has seen it's share of name changes.
The Fargo Brave Bulls were left in the lurch in 2005 when their owner left for the sunny coasts of Spain. The new owner came in and put a new more sparse look to the franchise, coining them the Dakota Spirit.
The Burlington Bolts also attempted to draw from a large fan base in 2005, when an eccentric Swedish millionare made the rolling hills of Vermont his home and purchased the Bolts. Calling on his swedish ancestory and appealing to the entire state, the Bolts were rechristened the Vermont Mountaineers.
The Fresno Kings became the Fresno Chaos in 2006 after an ownership change that was backed by a California Power company. When the company declared bankruptcy in 2007 and the team was bought by a native New Yorker, many feared the beleagured franchise would be headed for the East Coast. When the league put it's foot down on a possible move the new owner made a preemptive strike on the other California IFL contigent, oddly enough now owned by the former controler of the Fresno franchise and renamed his team the California Chaos.
One has to wonder what a meeting between Jave and Jeff must have sounded like. 2 of the IFL's brashest and boisterous owners met in secret in the middle of the 2006 season. Jave, a season off of coming up just short in his bid to win an Imperial Bowl, was looking to sell his franchise. Surprisngly, or not, the first man he went to was Fresno owner Jeff. When word came down that Jeff was getting out of Fresno to take over the Oakland franchise for the departing Jave, jaws dropped. After the season concluded, the Assassains became the Owls, complete with new colors and some might say, first logo.
I've Got The Runs
You don't hear Jacques Crosbys name bantered around much. He's played in one post season game and none since the leagues innagural season, but Crosby leads the IFL With 7119 career rushing yards. James Tart clocks in at #2 with 7062 yards.
Coach, Is That You?:
Turnover is expected in any fledling endeavor. Never has that been more true than in the IFL. In 5 short years numerous teams have shown more than 1 coach the exit.
T.J. Palmateer took Cleveland to the initial Imperial Bowl. He then promptly bolted for the sunny skies of Salt Lake City.
Courtney Armstrong took over in 2004 and lasted just one season before the Clawz settled on Kenyon Cash.
Houston seems to have 2 year attention span, unfortunate for Mack Viola 03-04 and Dominic Hamrahi 05-06. Following a 6-10 2007 season Kris Ludwig has to be a little nervous.
Jessie Lewis lasted 3 misserable seasons in Murfreesboro before William Ogden came in in 2006. Ogden was gone by 2007 and Ethan Vera was the new man on the sidelines for the Mules.
Britt Hatcher (2003) and Ed Donaldson (2004) each only made it thru a season in Vancouver. Zack Brown must like the cold and or the strippers though as he has helmed the team since 2005.
Wichita had a 3 year stretch of Lester Mineo that was bookended by Alfred Carswell in 2003 and JB Elliot in 2007.
Good To Be Here:
Some teams meanwhile believe that the key to success is normalcy, and have gone the first 5 seasons without changing Head Coaches, to varying degrees of Success.
Jorge Hostetler has helmed Iowa City thru all 5 of it's seasons, winning 2 division titles.
Lawrence has hung tight with Hunter Crawford although the team has only reached 10 wins once and has yet to make a playoff appearance.
Cris Kelly has led Little Rock thru 5 upward seasons, moving from 4 wins in 2003 to 13 wins and an Imperial Bowl title in 2007.
Norfolks Howie Mooberry struggled thru 8 and 7 win season in 2003 & 2004 before making his mark by leading his team to seasons of 13, 11 and 13 wins, including an Imperial Bowl title and 2 Imperial Bowl appearances.
Allan Reuben of Portland has lasted all 5 seasons despite never getting into double digits in wins in any one season.
St. Louises Tyrell Nichols has 4 Division titles and an Imperial Bowl crown to his 5 season resume.
Eugene Poston of Texas has made it thru 5 seasons, 4 of which saw the HellRiders end up with a losing record before going 10-6 in 2007.
Tulsas Bill Earle has been about as even as a coach can get 9, 8, 8, and 8 wins in his first four season before a 5-11 2007 season.
2 Ricos, Vermonts Rico Sprouse and West Virginias Flannery both have been with their teams the whole way. Flannery has gone from a 12-4 2003 to a 0-15-1 2007.
Win, Win, Win!!:
3 teams have won 13 games in a season. Norfolk did it twice, once in 2005 and again in 2007. Oddly enough it was their 2006 11-5 season that saw them win their only Championship.
Little Rock did it in 2007 and won the Imperial Bowl.
Anchorage also did it in 2007 but didn't last a game into the playoffs.
Woe is me:
Who has been the worst of the worst?
Thats easy. In 2007 West Virginia managed to tie one of their 16 games, good for them, otherwise they would have gone 0-16.
In 2003 Oakland had a 3 year plan, part 1 of that plan was missery. The Assassains went 2-14 in the leagues innagural season.
2005 was the battle of the 3 win teams. Albuquerque, Murfreesboro, and Houston all went 3-13. Murfreesboro enjoyed it so much they did it again a year later.
Do You Need A General?:
QB May be the most important position on a football team, so who has been the IFL's best thru it's first 5 seasons?
Nigel Bookers 94.4 QB Rating is a full 4 points ahead of the next closest guy, Gerald Sanders. But Booker has never led his team very far in the playoffs.
Booker also has the IFL record with 133 TD passes, a good 21 ahead of 2nd place Sanders again.
Tobia Stansfield has ammased a league best 17,772 passing yards, but none of them have ever come in a playoff game, because he hasn't played in one.
Little Rocks Ralph Given is 3rd all time in Completion Percentage and has played in 2 Imperial Bowls,
It's A Start:
The first player selected in the 2003 IFL dispersal draft was Left Tackle Irwin Kao out of Middlebury College who was selected by the Wichita Outlaws. Kao had spent 7 seasons in the NFL and CFL. After 2 subpar seasons in Wichita he was traded to Newark where he has blossomed and earned All-Pro honors for 3 straight seasons.
The first official play from scrimmage in the IFL occured in Boston on September 3rd 2003, Abraham Spangler gained 1 yard on an inside run in a game between Boston and West Virginia.
What's In A Name?:
Whenever there is a ownership turnover theres the good chance that the new guy will want to put his mark on his new investment, the IFL has seen it's share of name changes.
The Fargo Brave Bulls were left in the lurch in 2005 when their owner left for the sunny coasts of Spain. The new owner came in and put a new more sparse look to the franchise, coining them the Dakota Spirit.
The Burlington Bolts also attempted to draw from a large fan base in 2005, when an eccentric Swedish millionare made the rolling hills of Vermont his home and purchased the Bolts. Calling on his swedish ancestory and appealing to the entire state, the Bolts were rechristened the Vermont Mountaineers.
The Fresno Kings became the Fresno Chaos in 2006 after an ownership change that was backed by a California Power company. When the company declared bankruptcy in 2007 and the team was bought by a native New Yorker, many feared the beleagured franchise would be headed for the East Coast. When the league put it's foot down on a possible move the new owner made a preemptive strike on the other California IFL contigent, oddly enough now owned by the former controler of the Fresno franchise and renamed his team the California Chaos.
One has to wonder what a meeting between Jave and Jeff must have sounded like. 2 of the IFL's brashest and boisterous owners met in secret in the middle of the 2006 season. Jave, a season off of coming up just short in his bid to win an Imperial Bowl, was looking to sell his franchise. Surprisngly, or not, the first man he went to was Fresno owner Jeff. When word came down that Jeff was getting out of Fresno to take over the Oakland franchise for the departing Jave, jaws dropped. After the season concluded, the Assassains became the Owls, complete with new colors and some might say, first logo.
I've Got The Runs
You don't hear Jacques Crosbys name bantered around much. He's played in one post season game and none since the leagues innagural season, but Crosby leads the IFL With 7119 career rushing yards. James Tart clocks in at #2 with 7062 yards.
Coach, Is That You?:
Turnover is expected in any fledling endeavor. Never has that been more true than in the IFL. In 5 short years numerous teams have shown more than 1 coach the exit.
T.J. Palmateer took Cleveland to the initial Imperial Bowl. He then promptly bolted for the sunny skies of Salt Lake City.
Courtney Armstrong took over in 2004 and lasted just one season before the Clawz settled on Kenyon Cash.
Houston seems to have 2 year attention span, unfortunate for Mack Viola 03-04 and Dominic Hamrahi 05-06. Following a 6-10 2007 season Kris Ludwig has to be a little nervous.
Jessie Lewis lasted 3 misserable seasons in Murfreesboro before William Ogden came in in 2006. Ogden was gone by 2007 and Ethan Vera was the new man on the sidelines for the Mules.
Britt Hatcher (2003) and Ed Donaldson (2004) each only made it thru a season in Vancouver. Zack Brown must like the cold and or the strippers though as he has helmed the team since 2005.
Wichita had a 3 year stretch of Lester Mineo that was bookended by Alfred Carswell in 2003 and JB Elliot in 2007.
Good To Be Here:
Some teams meanwhile believe that the key to success is normalcy, and have gone the first 5 seasons without changing Head Coaches, to varying degrees of Success.
Jorge Hostetler has helmed Iowa City thru all 5 of it's seasons, winning 2 division titles.
Lawrence has hung tight with Hunter Crawford although the team has only reached 10 wins once and has yet to make a playoff appearance.
Cris Kelly has led Little Rock thru 5 upward seasons, moving from 4 wins in 2003 to 13 wins and an Imperial Bowl title in 2007.
Norfolks Howie Mooberry struggled thru 8 and 7 win season in 2003 & 2004 before making his mark by leading his team to seasons of 13, 11 and 13 wins, including an Imperial Bowl title and 2 Imperial Bowl appearances.
Allan Reuben of Portland has lasted all 5 seasons despite never getting into double digits in wins in any one season.
St. Louises Tyrell Nichols has 4 Division titles and an Imperial Bowl crown to his 5 season resume.
Eugene Poston of Texas has made it thru 5 seasons, 4 of which saw the HellRiders end up with a losing record before going 10-6 in 2007.
Tulsas Bill Earle has been about as even as a coach can get 9, 8, 8, and 8 wins in his first four season before a 5-11 2007 season.
2 Ricos, Vermonts Rico Sprouse and West Virginias Flannery both have been with their teams the whole way. Flannery has gone from a 12-4 2003 to a 0-15-1 2007.
Win, Win, Win!!:
3 teams have won 13 games in a season. Norfolk did it twice, once in 2005 and again in 2007. Oddly enough it was their 2006 11-5 season that saw them win their only Championship.
Little Rock did it in 2007 and won the Imperial Bowl.
Anchorage also did it in 2007 but didn't last a game into the playoffs.
Woe is me:
Who has been the worst of the worst?
Thats easy. In 2007 West Virginia managed to tie one of their 16 games, good for them, otherwise they would have gone 0-16.
In 2003 Oakland had a 3 year plan, part 1 of that plan was missery. The Assassains went 2-14 in the leagues innagural season.
2005 was the battle of the 3 win teams. Albuquerque, Murfreesboro, and Houston all went 3-13. Murfreesboro enjoyed it so much they did it again a year later.
Do You Need A General?:
QB May be the most important position on a football team, so who has been the IFL's best thru it's first 5 seasons?
Nigel Bookers 94.4 QB Rating is a full 4 points ahead of the next closest guy, Gerald Sanders. But Booker has never led his team very far in the playoffs.
Booker also has the IFL record with 133 TD passes, a good 21 ahead of 2nd place Sanders again.
Tobia Stansfield has ammased a league best 17,772 passing yards, but none of them have ever come in a playoff game, because he hasn't played in one.
Little Rocks Ralph Given is 3rd all time in Completion Percentage and has played in 2 Imperial Bowls,
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