1996 Albany Firebirds season

The 1996 Albany Firebirds season was the seventh season for the Albany Firebirds. They finished the 1996 Arena Football League season 10–4 and finished the season with a loss in the semifinals of the playoffs to the Iowa Barnstormers.^[1]

1996 Albany Firebirds season
Head coach	Mike Hohensee
Home field	Knickerbocker Arena
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	1st, Eastern
Playoff finish	W Quarterfinals vs. Milwaukee L Semifinals vs. Iowa
← 1995 Albany Firebirds 1997 →

Schedule

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site (attendance)
			Final score	Team record
1	Bye
2	May 4	Charlotte Rage	W 63–32	1–0	Knickerbocker Arena (13,029)
3	May 10	at San Jose SaberCats	L 40–69	1–1	San Jose Arena (15,561)
4	May 18	Minnesota Fighting Pike	W 85–30	2–1	Knickerbocker Arena (11,712)
5	May 24	at Connecticut Coyotes	W 58–26	3–1	Hartford Civic Center (7,539)
6	June 1	St. Louis Stampede	L 56–66	3–2	Knickerbocker Arena (12,015)
7	June 8	Memphis Pharaohs	W 67–21	4–2	Knickerbocker Arena (11,764)
8	June 15	at Iowa Barnstormers	L 46–55	4–3	Veterans Memorial Auditorium (11,411)
9	June 21	at Charlotte Rage	W 88–36	5–3	Charlotte Coliseum (6,898)
10	June 29	Connecticut Coyotes	W 59–45	6–3	Knickerbocker Arena (11,117)
11	July 6	Orlando Predators	W 53–41	7–3	Knickerbocker Arena (11,079)
12	July 12	at Tampa Bay Storm	L 52–65 (OT)	7–4	ThunderDome (13,202)
13	July 20	at Florida Bobcats	W 66–63	8–4	West Palm Beach Auditorium (3,601)
14	July 27	Texas Terror	W 86–24	9–4	Knickerbocker Arena (12,345)
15	August 2	at Milwaukee Mustangs	W 54–49	10–4	Bradley Center (16,411)

^[2]

Playoffs

The Firebirds were awarded the No. 4 seed in the AFL playoffs.

Round	Date	Opponent	Results		Game site (attendance)
			Final score	Playoff record
Quarterfinals	August 10	(5) Milwaukee Mustangs	W 70–58	1–0	Knickerbocker Arena (11,613)
Semifinals	August 17	at (1) Iowa Barnstormers	L 55–62	1–1	Veterans Memorial Auditorium (11,411)

^[2]

Standings

Team	Overall			Division
	Wins	Losses	Percentage	Wins	Losses	Percentage
National Conference
Eastern Division
Albany Firebirds	10	4	0.714	4	0	1.000
Charlotte Rage	5	9	0.357	2	2	0.500
Connecticut Coyotes	2	12	0.143	0	4	0.000
Southern Division
Tampa Bay Storm	12	2	0.857	5	1	0.833
Orlando Predators	9	5	0.643	5	1	0.833
Florida Bobcats	6	8	0.429	2	4	0.333
Texas Terror	1	13	0.071	0	6	0.000
American Conference
Central Division
Iowa Barnstormers	12	2	0.857	4	2	0.667
Milwaukee Mustangs	10	4	0.714	5	1	0.833
St. Louis Stampede	8	6	0.571	3	3	0.500
Memphis Pharaohs	0	14	0.000	0	6	0.000
Western Division
Arizona Rattlers	11	3	0.786	3	2	0.600
Anaheim Piranhas	9	5	0.643	4	1	0.800
San Jose SaberCats	6	8	0.429	1	4	0.200
Minnesota Fighting Pike	4	10	0.286	1	2	0.333

• Green indicates clinched playoff berth
• Blue indicates division champion
• Grey indicates best regular season record

Awards

Position	Player	Award	All-Arena team
Offensive specialist	Eddie Brown	Offensive Player of the Year	1st
Wide receiver/defensive back	David McLeod	Defensive Player of the Year	2nd
Kicker	Pete Elezovic	Kicker of the Year	2nd
Quarterback	Mike Perez	-	2nd
Offensive/defensive lineman	Jerome Brown	-	2nd

^[1]

References

1. "Albany Firebirds Team History - 1996 | ArenaFan.com". www.arenafan.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
2. "1996 Albany Firebirds Game-by-Game Results on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com. Retrieved January 26, 2021.