INDOOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE (1999-2000)
BISMARCK BLAZE
|
|---|
| 2000 |
An expansion team, the Blaze played their home games in Bismarck, ND.
BLACK HILLS MACHINE / RAPID CITY RAGE
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 1999 | 2000 |
| RAPID CITY RAGE | BLACK HILLS MACHINE |
An expansion team, the Machine played their home games in Rapid City, SD. Originally set to play in 1999 as the Rapid City Rage, the Machine entered the league as an expansion team in 2000. The Rage nickname was used by the Mankato, MN franchise, the Minnesota Purple Rage.
After the IFL folded, the Machine resurfaced as the Red Dogs in the NIFL.
BILLINGS THUNDERBOLTS
 |
|---|
| 2000 |
An expansion team, the Thunderbolts played their home games in the Billings, MT.
CASPER CAVALRY
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 2000 |
An expansion team, the Cavalry played their home games in the Casper, WY. I suspect the team is somehow related to the Wyoming Cavalry of the NIFL.
I'm not entirely sure which of the two helmets above was used. There is photo evidence to support that both were used at some point during the season.
DAYTON SKYHAWKS
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 |
An original team, the Skyhawks played their home games in Dayton, OH.
DULUTH-SUPERIOR LUMBERJACKS
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 |
An original team, the Lumberjacks played their home games in Duluth, MN.
ERIE INVADERS / ERIE EXPRESS
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 1999 | 2000 |
| ERIE EXPRESS | ERIE INVADERS |
An expansion team, the Invaders played their home games in the Erie, PA. They were originally slated to play in 1999 as the Erie Express.
FARGO FREEZE
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 2000 | 2000 |
An expansion team, the Freeze played their home games in the Fargo, ND.
FLINT FLAMES
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 2000 |
An expansion team, the Flames played their home games in the Flint, MI. The first helmet, with the stripes, was worn during exhibition games, but not during the regular season.
GREEN BAY BOMBERS
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 |
An original team, the Bombers played their home games in Green Bay, WI. In 1998, prior to the IFL, the team played in the PIFL.
HUNTINGTON / WEST VIRGINIA ATTACK
 |
|---|
| pre 1999 |
The Attack were slated to play in Huntington, WV. They were one of the teams originally planned for the IFL's first season, but the league never fielded the team. Later the nickname was used for the expansion Sioux City Attack.
IOWA VOLTAGE
 |
|---|
| pre 1999 |
The Voltage were slated to play in Iowa City, IA. They were one of the teams originally planned for the IFL's first season, but the league never fielded the team.
JOHNSTOWN JACKALS
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 2000 | 2000 |
An expansion team, the Jackals played their home games in the Johnstown, PA. This team resurfaced as the Johnstown J-Dogs who played briefly in the NIFL.
LaCROSSE RIVER RATS
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 2000 | 2000 |
An expansion team, the River Rats played their home games in the LaCrosse, WI.
LINCOLN LIGHTNING / NEBRASKA KNOCKOUT
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 1999 | 1999 - 2000 |
| NEBRASKA KNOCKOUT | LINCOLN LIGHTNING |
An original team, the Lighting played their home games in the Lincoln, NE. They were originally to play as the Nebraska Knockout, but the nickname was dropped before the beginning of the season. The team was only one of two to have any outside ownership.
The Lightning were one of three teams that played in the AF2 after the league was bought out. After a year in the AF2, they left for the NIFL and became the Lincoln Capitals.
MADISON MAD DOGS
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1999 | 2000 |
An original team, the Mad Dogs played their home games in Madison, WI. In 1998, prior to the IFL, the team played in the PIFL.
I've had a visitor report that the first helmet is incorrect and that the second helmet was actually used in 1999. I suspect both helmets were worn at some point during the season.
MINNESOTA PURPLE RAGE
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 2000 |
An expansion team, the Purple Rage played their home games in the Mankato, MN.
I'm not sure which of the two helmets above was actually worn on the field. There is photo evidence to support that both helmets were used at some point during the season.
OMAHA BLITZ
 |
|---|
| pre 1999 |
The Blitz were set to play in Omaha, NB, for the inaugural season of the IFL, but the league never fielded the team.
PEORIA PIRATES
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 |
An original team, the Pirates played their home games in Peoria, IL. They were one of three teams, along with the Lightning and Warlords, which played in the AF2 following the IFL's buy-out. They even won the AF2 championship a few years ago. In 2005, they left the AF2 and joined the UIF as the Rough Riders.
I received a report from a visitor that the Pirates may have worn a white helmet at some point in the 2000 season. Any verification of this is much appreciated.
QUAD CITIES QUAKE
 |
|---|
| pre 1999 |
The Quake were set to play in Moline, IL, as part of the IFL's inaugural season, but the league never fielded the team.
ROCHESTER RIVER RAIDERS
 |
|---|
| pre 1999 |
The River Raiders were set to play in Rochester, MN, as part of the IFL's inaugural season, but the league never fielded the team.
ROCKFORD ROCKERS
 |
|---|
| pre 1999 |
The Rockers were set to play in Rockford, IL, as part of the IFL's inaugural season, but the league never fielded the team.
SIOUX CITY ATTACK
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 2000 | 2000 |
An expansion team, the Attack played their home games in the Sioux City, IA. The team played there at least their first game with no logo on the helmet. After the league folded, the team resurfaced as the Sioux City Bandits.
SIOUX FALLS COBRAS / SIOUX FALLS SMASH
 |
 |
|---|---|
| pre 1999 | 2000 |
| SIOUX FALLS SMASH | SIOUX FALLS COBRAS |
An expansion team, the Cobras played their home games in the Sioux Falls, SD. They were originally slated to join the league as the Sioux Falls Smash in 1999, before finally playing in 2000, as the Cobras. The Smash nickname was transferred to the Wheeling, WV, franchise, who were originally known as the Ironmen.
After the IFL folded, the Cobras resurfaced as the Storm in the NIFL.
SPRINGFIELD SLAYERS
 |
|---|
| pre 2000 (?) |
The Slayers were slated to play in Springfield, IL. I don't know whether they were an original team that was pulled prior to 1999, or a failed 2000 expansion team.
STEEL VALLEY SMASH
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
| pre 1999 | 1999 | 2000 |
| WHEELING IRONMEN | STEEL VALLEY SMASH | STEEL VALLEY SMASH |
An original team, the Smash played their home games in Wheeling, WV. They were originally going to play as the Wheeling Ironmen, but fear of a lawsuit from the Arena Football League, who award the Ironman of the Year trophy, forced a change in their nickname. The Smash name was taken from the Sioux Falls franchise, which became the Cobras and played in 2000.
The team resurfaced in the NIFL following the end of the IFL as Ohio Valley Greyhounds.
TOPEKA KNIGHTS / TOPEKA KINGS
 |
 |
|---|---|
| 1999 - 2000 (1st half of season) | 2000 (remainder of season) |
| TOPEKA KNIGHTS | TOPEKA KINGS |
An original team, the Knights played their home games in Topeka, KS. The team was one of only two franchises in the league to have any outside ownership. Following a managerial dispute midway through the 2000 season, the league assumed total control of the franchise and rechristened the team the Kings.
WITCHITA WARLORDS
 |
|---|
| 2000 |
An expansion team, the Warlords played their home games in the Wichita, KS. After the IFL was bought out buy the Arena Football league, the Warlords played in the AF2 as the Wichita Stealth.
COMMENTS
The IFL began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled PIFL. Kerry Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers & Madison Mad Dogs left the PIFL after its first financially troubled season to start his own league. Ecklund had originally tried to bring an Arena football team to Green Bay, but was denied when the AFL told him Green Bay was too small a market for one of its teams. He later became a founding owner in the PIFL. He was soon fed up with supporting under-financed franchises and subsidizing travel expenses so other owners could make the trip to play his teams in Wisconsin. So, in 1998, he announced the formation of the Indoor Football League, or IFL.
Unlike the PIFL, almost all of the IFL teams were owned by the league and franchised out to management groups to insure proper financing. Instead of having teams spread out all over the country, Ecklund focused on mid-sized markets in the Midwest to cut down on travel costs. NFL Hall-of-Famer Kellen Winslow was brought in as commissioner, be he was mostly a figurehead as Ecklund made all league decisions.
Originally planned as a 20-team league, Ecklund convinced Colorado Wildcats owner Tom Schaefer to leave the PIFL with him following the 1998 season. Schaefer's team folded instead and the IFL scaled back it's plans to an 8-team inaugural season -- Ecklund's two teams, along with the Peoria Pirates, Dayton Skyhawks, Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks, Lincoln Lightning, Steel Valley Smash and Topeka Knights. Only the Lincoln and part of the Topeka franchise had any outside ownership. Attendance was solid and the league was successful enough to expand in 2000. The league ballooned to 21 teams.
Midway through the 2000 season, management disagreements in Topeka led Ecklund to assume full control of the team and they and became the Kings. After the season, the entire league was purchased by the Arena Football League, headed by the ownership of the Orlando Predators. At the time, Ecklund portrayed the sale as a merger of the two leagues, but this wasn't really the case. Only three teams, the Lincoln Lightning, Peoria Pirates and Wichita Warlords (as the stealth), would become a part of the AFL's new "farm" league, the AF2, along with many the best players of the remaining teams. Other former IFL teams resurfaced with new ownership with new names in the IPFL and the NIFL.
Thanks to Tom Thomas, a former PIFL player, for the information above. If anyone has additional information to contribute, please don't hesitate to contact me.