The New England Steamrollers were a former

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

team based in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. The team played in the AFL's 1988 season. The Steamrollers were one of four teams to enter the AFL in 1988, and along with the New York Knights and

Los Angeles Cobras The Los Angeles Cobras were a professional arena football team based in Los Angeles, California that played one season (1988) in the Arena Football League. History On March 16, 1988, it was announced that team would be nicknamed the Cobras, as ...

were folded following the season. The Steamrollers were based out of

and played their home games at the

Providence Civic Center The Amica Mutual Pavilion (originally Providence Civic Center and formerly Dunkin' Donuts Center) is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the emerging Providence College men's ba ...

. They were the first professional football team of any kind to play in Providence since the

Providence Steam Roller The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leagu ...

folded in 1933 and the first non-minor league professional sports franchise to play in the city since the NBA's

Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2022, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. ...

folded in 1949. The coach of the Steamrollers was former Boston Patriots All-Pro quarterback

Babe Parilli Vito "Babe" Parilli (May 7, 1930 – July 15, 2017) was an American football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadian Football League ( ...

History

In 1988, Concert and fight promoter, Frank J. Russo, and jeweler, Robert Andreoli, purchased a limited partnership from the Arena Football League to own the rights to a

team. The team's first move was the hiring of Head Coach,

in March. After a 3-9 season, the Steamrollers didn't achieve the dollar amount that Russo and Andreoli thought they would, and the franchise folded.

Notable players

Roster

Arena Football League Hall of Famers

All-Arena players

The following Steamrollers players were named to All-Arena Teams: *WR/DB

Jim Hockaday Jim Hockaday (born March 7, 1964) is a former American football player who played one season with the New England Steamrollers of the Arena Football League. He played high-school football at Brentwood Academy and played college football at the U ...

*OL/DL Sylvester Bembery, Kevin Murphy

Head coaches

Season-by-season

, - , 1988 , , 3 , , 9 , , 0 , , 5th , , --

References

External links

New England Steamrollers at ArenaFan.com
{{Defunct Arena Football League franchises Defunct Arena Football League teams American football teams established in 1988 American football teams disestablished in 1988 Steamrollers American football teams in Rhode Island 1988 establishments in Rhode Island 1988 disestablishments in Rhode Island