World Bowl '98 (also referred to as World Bowl VI) was the sixth championship game of 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 ...

League. It was held at Waldstadion in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, Germany on Sunday, June 14, 1998. The game was between the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

, who finished the season in first place with a record of 7–3, and the second-placed

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

, which finished with a 7–3 record as well. 47,846 spectators were in attendance, the largest World Bowl crowd since 1991, when the Fire captured its first league title by defeating the Galaxy 34–10. Rhein's quarterback Jim Arellanes, filling in for injured

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. ...

, earned

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors in his first start by completing 12 of 18 passing attempts for 263 yards and three touchdowns.

Background

The Fire won the first meeting 31–14 in Frankfurt, while the Galaxy took the second meeting 20–17 (overtime) in Düsseldorf.

Game summary

In this World Bowl, two back-up quarterbacks were given the starting job for NFL Europe's biggest stage. For the Rhein Fire, it was Jim Arellanes and for the Frankfurt Galaxy it was Chris Dittoe. Even in the thrashing rain, the Fire managed to light first with a 29-yard field goal by German kicker

Manfred Burgsmüller Manfred "Manni" Burgsmüller (22 December 1949 – 18 May 2019) was a German professional footballer who played mainly as a striker; he also occasionally operated as a midfielder. He appeared in 447 Bundesliga games over the course of 17 sea ...

. Near the end of the first quarter, Arellanes led his Fire on a 10-play, 67-yard drive that was capped off with a 15-yard pass to wide receiver

Dialleo Burks Dialleo Burks Sr. (pronounced dee-AH-low) (born July 7, 1974) is a coach and former arena football wide receiver / linebacker who is currently the head coach at Warner University. He played college football at Eastern Kentucky. Burks has played ...

. In the second quarter, the Galaxy finally managed to score, thanks to a 13-play, 80-yard drive that concluded with a three-yard run by running back Jermaine Chaney. However, near the end of the first half, the Fire didn't want Frankfurt closing in on them, as Arellanes lead a four-play, 40-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Burks, to make the score 17–7 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Galaxy struggled offensively to get points. In the end, all they could muster up was a 41-yard field goal by

Ralf Kleinmann Ralf Kleinmann (born March 13, 1971 in Cologne, Germany) is an American football player from Germany who played as a placekicker for NFL Europe team Frankfurt Galaxy from 1995-2000 and 2003-2004.

. For the remainder of the game, it was all Rhein. After Frankfurt's field goal, the Fire wrapped up the third period with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Arellanes to wide receiver Marcus Robinson. In the fourth quarter, the Fire managed to put the game away with Burgsmüller's 20-yard field goal and

Jon Vaughn Jonathan Stewart Vaughn (born March 12, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and kick returner in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons from 1991 to 1994 for the Seattle Seahawks, New E ...

's 15-yard run. When the game clock reached zero, the Fire celebrated its first-ever World Bowl title.

References

{{NFL on Fox World Bowl 1998 in American football Sports competitions in Frankfurt 1998 in German sport June 1998 sports events in Europe 1990s in Frankfurt