Quad City Steamwheelers
Encyclopedia
The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football
team. They were a charter member of the af2
. They play their home games at i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois
.
The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities
was awarded an arena football franchise. Managing Owner (and inventor of arena football) Jim Foster coined the team's nickname.
In December 2009, it was confirmed that the Steamwheelers had ceased operations, opting not to join the new Arena Football 1 after the bankruptcy of the Arena Football League and subsequent disbanding of af2
.
, even winning one game by a score of 103-3, en route to capturing the first-ever ArenaCup
Championship. In 2001, the Steamwheelers nearly repeated that accomplishment by finishing 18-1 and winning a second-straight league title. During this two season span, the Steamwheelers set a record for the longest winning streak
in the af2 at 24 consecutive wins.
violations under Haege.
of the Arena Football League.
The 2006 season, under coach Frazier, was the first losing season for the franchise in its history.
With the folding of af2
the Steamwheelers considered joining Indoor Football League
and the newly formed Arena Football League (2010).
|2000 || 16 || 0 || 0 || 1st NC || Won Round 1 (Pensacola
55-19)
Won Semifinal (Norfolk
75-27)
Won ArenaCup
I (Tennessee Valley
68-59)
|-
|2001 || 15 || 1 || 0 || 1st NC Midwest || Won Round 1 (Macon
80-55)
Won Semifinal (Carolina
35-16)
Won ArenaCup
II (Richmond
55-51)
|-
|2002 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd NC Midwest || Banned from playoffs
|-
|2003 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1st NC Midwest || Lost NC Semifinal (Arkansas
63-61)
|-
|2004 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 1st NC Midwest || Lost NC Round 1 (Louisville
53-48)
|-
|2005 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 3rd NC Midwest || Lost NC Round 1 (Rio Grande Valley
56-38)
|-
|2006 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 5th AC East || --
|-
|2007 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 1st AC Midwest || Lost AC Round 1 (Green Bay
39-34)
|-
|2008 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 3rd AC Midwest || Lost AC Round 1 (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
57-29)
|-
|2009 || 5|| 11 || 0 || 3rd AC Midwest || --
|-
!Totals || 108 || 53 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....
team. They were a charter member of the af2
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...
. They play their home games at i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...
.
The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
was awarded an arena football franchise. Managing Owner (and inventor of arena football) Jim Foster coined the team's nickname.
In December 2009, it was confirmed that the Steamwheelers had ceased operations, opting not to join the new Arena Football 1 after the bankruptcy of the Arena Football League and subsequent disbanding of af2
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...
.
Back-to-back ArenaCup wins
The Steamwheelers played their inaugural season in 2000 and dominated the league for its first two seasons. They went undefeated in 2000 behind coach Frank HaegeFrank Haege
Frank Haege is the current head football coach at Augsburg College. He is also a former coach in the Arena Football League....
, even winning one game by a score of 103-3, en route to capturing the first-ever ArenaCup
ArenaCup
The ArenaCup is the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 ArenaCup was played in Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San...
Championship. In 2001, the Steamwheelers nearly repeated that accomplishment by finishing 18-1 and winning a second-straight league title. During this two season span, the Steamwheelers set a record for the longest winning streak
Winning streak (sports)
In sports, a winning streak refers to a consecutive number of games won. A winning streak can be held by a team, as in baseball, football, basketball, hockey, or by an individual, as in tennis...
in the af2 at 24 consecutive wins.
Banned from 2002 playoffs
Allegations of rules violations plagued the Steamwheelers during the second season and they were eventually banned from the 2002 playoffs for salary capSalary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
violations under Haege.
Second coach
Coached by Rich Ingold from 2002–2004, the Steamwheelers were still successful as they clinched two more division titles. However, the team failed to win any additional league championships and lost 14 games over that three-year span. Ingold left the Steamwheelers after the 2004 season and was replaced by Rick Frazier, former coach for the Milwaukee MustangsMilwaukee Mustangs
The Milwaukee Mustangs were an Arena Football League team. They played from 1994 to 2001 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin's Bradley Center.-History:The team was founded in 1994 amidst rumors that the Green Bay Packers would soon stop playing games in Milwaukee, something they'd been doing since 1936...
of the Arena Football League.
The 2006 season, under coach Frazier, was the first losing season for the franchise in its history.
New Ownership and the Search for a New League
In October 2006, the league awarded the right to operate the franchise to a new ownership group. The resulting change in ownership oversaw the change in team leadership from Frazier to new head coach Sean Ponder. Ponder was the team's offensive coordinator during the 2006 season. In 2009, the tenth and final af2 season, the Steamwheelers had their second losing season in franchise history.With the folding of af2
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...
the Steamwheelers considered joining 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...
and the newly formed Arena Football League (2010).
Season-by-season
|-|2000 || 16 || 0 || 0 || 1st NC || Won Round 1 (Pensacola
Pensacola Barracudas
The Pensacola Barracudas were an AF2 team and one of the 15 original teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season.Pensacola originally played in the National Conference and won its first five games en route to the playoffs before losing to the eventual undefeated champion Quad City...
55-19)
Won Semifinal (Norfolk
Norfolk Nighthawks
The Norfolk Nighthawks are a now-defunct charter member of the AF2. They played their home games at The Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia...
75-27)
Won ArenaCup
ArenaCup
The ArenaCup is the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 ArenaCup was played in Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San...
I (Tennessee Valley
Tennessee Valley Vipers
The Alabama Vipers was a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original AFL, where they won the 2008 ArenaCup championship. They play...
68-59)
|-
|2001 || 15 || 1 || 0 || 1st NC Midwest || Won Round 1 (Macon
Macon Knights
The Macon Knights were a professional arena football team, playing in the af2 league. They were a 2001 expansion member of af2. They played their home games at Macon Coliseum. The Knights were owned and operated by Beverly Olson. The Knights were formerly coached by Derek Stingley, who was a...
80-55)
Won Semifinal (Carolina
Carolina Rhinos
The Carolina Rhinos were one of the original 15 teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season. They started off in the American Conference, before switching divisions in every year of their existence . In their first year, they won 7 of their first 9 games, en route to the playoffs, before losing...
35-16)
Won ArenaCup
ArenaCup
The ArenaCup is the af2's championship game. For the league's first five years, it was held at the arena of the higher seeded team. However, the 2005 ArenaCup was the first to be played at a neutral site in Bossier City, Louisiana. The 2006 ArenaCup was played in Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San...
II (Richmond
Richmond Speed
The Richmond Speed were one of the original 15 teams to join the inaugural 2000 AF2 season. They started off in the American Conference in 2000, before going over to the Northeast Division in 2001, then to the Atlantic Division from 2002-2003. In 2000, Richmond went 7-9 and missed the playoffs. ...
55-51)
|-
|2002 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd NC Midwest || Banned from playoffs
|-
|2003 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1st NC Midwest || Lost NC Semifinal (Arkansas
Arkansas Twisters
The Allen Wranglers are a professional indoor football team based in Allen, Texas play in the Indoor Football League. The Wranglers play their home games at the Allen Event Center.-History:...
63-61)
|-
|2004 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 1st NC Midwest || Lost NC Round 1 (Louisville
Louisville Fire
The Louisville Fire was an arena football team that played its home games at the Brown-Forman Field in Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. They were a 2001 expansion team of the af2. Their owner/operator was former Pro Bowl lineman and Louisville native Will Wolford. The team was somewhat...
53-48)
|-
|2005 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 3rd NC Midwest || Lost NC Round 1 (Rio Grande Valley
Rio Grande Valley Dorados
The Rio Grande Valley Dorados were a professional arena football team. They began play in 2004 as an expansion member of af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League...
56-38)
|-
|2006 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 5th AC East || --
|-
|2007 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 1st AC Midwest || Lost AC Round 1 (Green Bay
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...
39-34)
|-
|2008 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 3rd AC Midwest || Lost AC Round 1 (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runner-ups in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.-2001:The...
57-29)
|-
|2009 || 5|| 11 || 0 || 3rd AC Midwest || --
|-
!Totals || 108 || 53 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)