The Rhein Fire was a professional football team in the

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

in 1995, the franchise resurrected the name of the former Birmingham Fire team which was active during the 1991–1992 WLAF seasons.

History

The team was based in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

(and early on was occasionally referred to in the U.S. as the Düsseldorf Fire), playing its games in LTU arena since 2005 season. Prior to this the team played in Rheinstadion until 2002 and in

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

's Arena AufSchalke from 2003 to 2004 in nearby city

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it li ...

while LTU arena was being built. The team shared facilities with the

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

. The Fire hosted the

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...

a record five times: in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

and

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

in the Rheinstadion, in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

in Gelsenkirchen, and in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

and 2006 in the LTU arena. The Fire was one of NFL Europa's most successful teams as far as fan appeal and competitively on the field. The team itself played for five

championships throughout its history, winning in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

(over the Frankfurt Galaxy) and

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

(over the Scottish Claymores).

Season-by-season

Coaching history

Head coaches

Assistant coaches

* Antonio Anderson (2006) * Bart Andrus (2000) * Mike Bender (2001) * Booker Brooks (2001) * Steve Carson (1996–1997) * Wes Chandler (1995–1997) * Joe Clark (2001) * Ken Clarke (2004–2005) * Stan Davis (2007) *

A. J. Duhe Adam Joseph Duhe Jr. (born November 27, 1955) is a former American football defensive end who played eight seasons for the Miami Dolphins from 1977 to 1984 in the National Football League (NFL). Early life Born in Reserve, Louisiana, Duhe played ...

(1995) *

Don Eck Donald Eck (born November 30, 1961) is a former American football coach. Until November 2021, he was the offensive coordinator at Clearfield High School in Clearfield, Utah, a position he held since the summer of 2020. Eck previously spent 28 yea ...

(2007) * Tom Everest (2002) * Barry Foster (2003) * Sascha Gehloff (2005–2007) * Brian Webb (2006) * Alvin Harper (2005) * James Harrell (2004) *

Bernardo Harris Bernardo Harris (born October 15, 1971) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He attended Chapel Hill High School, graduating in 1990. He was recruited by Mack Brown to play at the University of North Carolina a ...

(2007) * Mike Jones (1998–2000, 2002–2003) * Whitey Jordan (1998–2000, 2002–2004) *

E. J. Junior Ester James Junior III (born December 8, 1959) is an American former football player and coach. He played professionally as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, from 1981 to 1993, St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals, Miam ...

(2005) * Ken Karcher (1997–1999) *

Pete Kuharchek Peter C. Kuharchek (born November 12, 1947) is an American football coach and former player, whose coaching career spanned over 40 years at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. He was the head coach for the Rhein Fire of the NFL E ...

(1996–2000) * Bob Lancaster (2006) * Pete Levine (1996) *

Steve Logan Steve Deontay Logan (born March 20, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats. He became a star point guard in his collegiate career, and was named a first team All-Amer ...

(2006) * Bob Lord (1997) * Duval Love (2006) * Jörn Maier (2001–2004) *

Vince Marrow Vincent Charles Marrow (born August 17, 1968) is an American football coach and former National Football League (NFL) tight end. He is currently the associate head coach at the University of Kentucky. Early years Marrow played basketball and f ...

(2007) * Guy McIntyre (2002) * Scott Milanovich (2003–2005) *

Larry New Larry New is a former American football player and coach. Early life and education New is a native of Seminole, Oklahoma and a graduate of Wheaton College. Coaching New's first coaching position was as the defensive coordinator at Wheaton Colle ...

(2007) * Jeff Ogden (2004) * Kevin O'Neal (2004–2005) *

Ed O'Neil Edward William O'Neil (born September 8, 1952) is an American football coach and former professional linebacker, who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). High school and college O'Neil was named a high school All-America ...

(2001–2003) * Nate Poole (2007) *

Jan Quarless Jan Quarless (born c. 1951) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the Head Football Coach at Eastern Michigan University in 1992 and at Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 1997 to 2000, compiling a career colleg ...

(2005) * Jeff Reinebold (1995, 1999–2000) * Walter Rohlfing (1995–2000) * Steve Smith (2006) * Don Strock (1995) * Gary Tranquill (2007) * Dean Unruh (1995–1996) * Adrian White (2001–2006)

Notable players

Richard Adjei Richard Adjei (30 January 1983 – 26 October 2020) was a German bobsledder who competed since 2007. He was also an American football linebacker. Bobsleigh career His first World Cup event at Königssee, Germany earned him a win in the two-man ...

(2004–2007) * Ingo Anderbrügge (2003–2004), former

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhi ...

soccer player, kicker during Fire's years in Gelsenkirchen *

Cedric Bonner Cedric Bonner (born December 14, 1978) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League, his last team being the Washington Redskins. A 1997 graduate of H. Grady Spruce High School,

(2006–2007) * Manfred Burgsmüller (1996–2002), kicker and oldest professional American football player at age 52 *

Byron Chamberlain Byron Daniel Chamberlain (born October 17, 1971) is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League. He played professionally for the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, and the Washington Redskins. Chamberlain ...

(1996) * Derrick Clark (1996–1999) * Mike Croel (1998) *

Terry Crews Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, television host, and former American footballer. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/ CW sitcom '' Everybody Hates Chris'', which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jefford ...

(1995) *

Nick Ferguson Nicholas A. Ferguson (born November 27, 1974) is a former American football safety in the National Football League. He spent the majority of his career with the Denver Broncos. He was originally signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted f ...

(1998) * Patrick Gerigk (1998) * James Harrison (2004) *

Drew Henson Drew Daniel Henson (born February 13, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and National Football League quarterback. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football ...

(2006) * Andy Kelly (1996) * Fred Jackson (2006) *

Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. H ...

(2001) *

Mike Quinn Michael Patrick Quinn (born April 15, 1974) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Denver Broncos ...

(1998) * Marcus Robinson (1998) *

Jamal Robertson Jamal Robertson (born January 10, 1977) is a former American and Canadian football running back and kick returner. He played college football at Ohio Northern and played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Footb ...

(2002) * Bill Schroeder (1997) * Gino Torretta (1995) *

Tony Wragge Tony James Wragge (born August 14, 1979) is an American former football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the New Mexico State Aggies and was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted f ...

(2006) *

Danny Wuerffel Daniel Carl Wuerffel (born May 27, 1974) is a former college and professional American football quarterback. Wuerffel attended the University of Florida, where he was a prolific passer for the Florida Gators under head coach Steve Spurrier. Wue ...

(2000) *

Tamon Nakamura Tamon or Tamón may refer to: *short form of ''Tamonten,'' Japanese for Vaisravana *Tamón, a parish of Carreño, Asturias, Spain *Tamon (name), a Japanese given name See also *Taman (disambiguation) Taman may refer to: Places *Taman Peninsula ...

(1998-1999) *

Akihito Amaya is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression ...

(2001-2002) * John David Washington (2007)

Other notable personnel

Alexander Leibkind Alexander Leibkind (19 October 1952, Munich, Germany – 18 May 2006, New York, New York) was a German judoka and sports manager. He was a member of the German Judo national team from 1971–1979, and participated in the 1976 Olympics as a light ...

– General Manager 1996–2004 * Ken Karcher – Assistant coach for the Fire, was previously an NFL replacement player and later became a collegiate head coach. *

Oliver Luck Oliver Francis Luck (born April 5, 1960) is an American business executive and former football quarterback. He is currently the executive director of the ASUN–WAC Football Conference (tentative name), a new NCAA Division I Football Championship ...

– General Manager 1995, became league president the following year.

References

{{Authority control NFL Europe (WLAF) teams Defunct American football teams in Germany Sport in Düsseldorf American football teams established in 1995 American football teams disestablished in 2007 1995 establishments in Germany 2007 disestablishments in Germany