Green Bay Bombers
Encyclopedia
| Green Bay Bombers | |
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| Founded | 1998 |
| Arena | Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena The Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena is a 5,248-seat multi-purpose arena, in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, situated on the corner of Lombardi Avenue and Oneida Street, across from Lambeau Field... |
| Based in | Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,... |
| Colors | Black, Green, and White |
| League | Indoor Professional Football League Indoor Professional Football League The Indoor Professional Football League was the new incarnation of the Professional Indoor Football League , which started in 1998. Two of its teams left the league and their owner, Kerry Ecklund, founded the Indoor Football League in 1999... |
| Head coach | Mario Russo |
The Green Bay Bombers was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League
Professional Indoor Football League
The Professional Indoor Football League was the second league to successfully play indoor football as a paid pro-league sport, after the Arena Football League. Since the AFL had a patent given in 1990 on the gameplay of "Arena Football" , the PIFL played with mostly the same rules, but without the...
(PIFL) in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...
(IFL) in 1999 & 2000. The Bombers franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Neenah, Wisconsin
Neenah, Wisconsin
Neenah is a city on Lake Winnebago in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. Its population was 24,507 at the 2000 census. The city is bordered by, but is politically independent of, the Town of Neenah. Neenah is the southwestern-most of the Fox Cities of Northeast Wisconsin...
, and played their games at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena
Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena
The Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena is a 5,248-seat multi-purpose arena, in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, situated on the corner of Lombardi Avenue and Oneida Street, across from Lambeau Field...
. The team colors were: Black, Green, and White. The Bombers were coached by Mario Russo for the '98 PIFL season and part of the '99 IFL season and by Bud Keyes for the 1999-2000 IFL seasons.
The Bombers played four preseason PIFL games in '98. Losing only once:
- February 18 - Madison Mad DogsMadison Mad DogsThe Madison Mad Dogs was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League in 1999 & 2000. The Mad Dogs franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Madison, Wisconsin, and played their games at the Dane...
22 at Green Bay Bombers 64 - February 23 - Green Bay Bombers 45 at Madison Mad DogsMadison Mad DogsThe Madison Mad Dogs was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League in 1999 & 2000. The Mad Dogs franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Madison, Wisconsin, and played their games at the Dane...
39 - March 7 - Green Bay Bombers 32 at Minnesota MonstersMinnesota MonstersThe Minnesota Monsters was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998. The Monsters franchise was owned by Robert and Joann Edwards. The team office was based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and played their games at Warner Coliseum on the Minnesota...
35 - March 25 - Colorado WildcatsColorado WildcatsThe Colorado Wildcats was a team in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998. The Wildcats franchise was owned by Gary Kozacek, who also was head coach/owner of the same Wildcats team for the previous 9 years, as they competed in semi-pro football in and around Colorado...
39 at Green Bay Bombers 53
The Green Bay Bombers tied with their sister team, Madison Mad Dogs
Madison Mad Dogs
The Madison Mad Dogs was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League in 1999 & 2000. The Mad Dogs franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Madison, Wisconsin, and played their games at the Dane...
, for the second best record in the PIFL with a 10-4 record. In the playoffs, the Bombers had to travel to Madison in the first round. They lost 19-46.
Keary Ecklund took his Bombers and Mad Dogs teams and defected from the PIFL to form the IFL. In 1999, the team, again, finished with the second best record in the league at 9-3. The start of the season was not pretty, as the team lost two of their first three games, both loses to Peoria. The week before the playoffs, the Bombers beat Duluth, 52-15. Despite the great regular season record, the team was forced to travel to Lincoln in the playoffs. The Bombers brought back a 44-34 victory and a trip to Peoria for the IFL Gold Cup Championship. The Bombers won, 63-60.
The following year was very similar. After a mediocre 6-4 start, the Bombers won their final four games by large margins. After being routed 40-16 by Peoria, the Bombers took their frustrations out on LaCrosse to get the four game streak started, 62-26. The Bombers' actually got a home playoff game this time around and they took advantage of it, crushing Dayton, 64-23. Their bid for a repeat championship ended the following week, with a 21-10 loss at Steel Valley. When the IFL was sold, the Bombers disappeared.
In 2003, Green Bay got an Arena Football2
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...
team, the Green Bay Blizzard
Green Bay Blizzard
The Green Bay Blizzard is a professional indoor football team, which was founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the Indoor Football League in 2010, after having played the previous seven seasons in af2, in the now defunct the minor league of the Arena Football League. The Blizzard play in...
.
Season-By-Season
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| colspan="6" align="center" | Green Bay Bombers (PIFL)
|-
|1998 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 3rd League || Lost Semifinal (Madison
Madison Mad Dogs
The Madison Mad Dogs was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League in 1999 & 2000. The Mad Dogs franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Madison, Wisconsin, and played their games at the Dane...
)
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Green Bay Bombers (IFL)
|-
|1999 || 9 || 3 || 0 || 2nd Northern || Won Semifinal (Lincoln Lightning
Lincoln Capitols
The Lincoln Capitols were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. They originally planned on becoming the Nebraska Knockout, but the name was scrapped. From 1999 to 2000, they were the Lincoln Lightning of the...
)
Won Gold Cup I (Peoria
Peoria Pirates
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee...
)
|-
|2000 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 2nd EC Northern || Won Round 1 (Dayton
Dayton Skyhawks
The Dayton Skyhawks is a now-defunct indoor football team. They were a charter member of the Indoor Football League.They lasted both of the league's two seasons and folded when the league disbanded. Earnest Wilson was the Skyhawk’s first head coach & general manager...
)
Won Quarterfinal (S.V. Smash
Ohio Valley Greyhounds
The Ohio Valley Greyhounds were a professional indoor football team. They began play in 1999 as the Steel Valley Smash, a charter member of the IFL. After the league folded, they moved to the NIFL, became a charter member, and renamed themselves as the Ohio Valley Greyhounds...
)
Lost Semifinal (Peoria
Peoria Pirates
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee...
)
|-
!Totals || 32 || 13 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)