1998 Rhein Fire season

1998 Rhein Fire season
Head coach	Galen Hall
General manager	Alexander Leibkind
Home field	Rheinstadion
Results
Record	7–3
Division place	2nd
Playoff finish	World Bowl '98 champion

The 1998 Rhein Fire season was the fourth season for the franchise in the NFL Europe League (NFLEL). The team was led by head coach Galen Hall in his fourth year, and played its home games at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany. They finished the regular season in second place with a record of seven wins and three losses. Rhein won the first championship in team history by defeating the Frankfurt Galaxy 34–10 in World Bowl '98.

Personnel

Staff

1998 Rhein Fire staff
	Front office General Manager – Alexander Leibkind Head coaches Head Coach/Running Backs – Galen Hall Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks – Ken Karcher Wide Receivers – Mike Jones Offensive Line – Whitey Jordan			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Pete Kuharchek National Coach/Defensive Line – Walter Rohlfing Defensive Backs/Special Teams – Steve Carson

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Roster

1998 Rhein Fire roster
	Quarterbacks 14 Jim Arellanes 11 Mike Quinn Running backs 43 Derrick Clark 26 Jon Vaughn Wide receivers 86 Dialleo Burks 87 Kevin Lee 88 Marcus Robinson 80 Larry Ryans Tight ends 89 Harold Bishop 81 Hayward Clay		Offensive linemen 66 Chad Bates G 78 Ron Florine T 55 Bob Kronenberg G 60 Garin Patrick C 64 Leslie Ratliffe T 73 Derek West T 61 Randy Wheeler G Defensive linemen 93 Duane Ashman DT 51 Mike Croel DE 75 Ed Philion DT 92 Shatony Sargent DE 74 Walter Scott DT		Linebackers 53 Jamie Baisley OLB 58 Vince Bradford OLB 54 Mark Brook MLB 57 Kevin Jefferson MLB 52 Wardell Rouse OLB Defensive backs 36 Robert Davis S 23 Tim Denton CB 46 Joe Gordon CB 35 Richard Jones CB 27 Kerry Joseph S 30 Chris Shelling S Special teams 13 Nate Cochran P  2 Danny Kight K		National players 10 Manfred Burgsmüller K 50 Anthony Doghmi LB 98 Ole Meine DE  8 Babak Movassaghi WR 21 Tamon Nakamura RB Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Kickoff [n 1]	Opponent	Results		Game site	Attendance
				Final score	Team record
1	Saturday, April 4	7:00 p.m.	Amsterdam Admirals	W 16–13	1–0	Rheinstadion	22,102
2	Saturday, April 11	7:00 p.m.	at England Monarchs	W 31–7	2–0	Ashton Gate Stadium	5,523
3	Sunday, April 19	3:00 p.m.	at Scottish Claymores	W 20–10	3–0	Murrayfield Stadium	8,452
4	Saturday, April 25	7:00 p.m.	Barcelona Dragons	W 13–9	4–0	Rheinstadion	22,249
5	Saturday, May 2	7:00 p.m.	at Frankfurt Galaxy	W 31–14	5–0	Waldstadion	41,123
6	Saturday, May 9	7:00 p.m.	Scottish Claymores	W 17–10	6–0	Rheinstadion	20,480
7	Saturday, May 16	7:00 p.m.	at Barcelona Dragons	L 24–31	6–1	Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc	7,900
8	Saturday, May 23	7:00 p.m.	England Monarchs	W 12–7	7–1	Rheinstadion	21,288
9	Saturday, May 30	7:00 p.m.	at Amsterdam Admirals	L 17–21	7–2	Amsterdam ArenA	17,588
10	Saturday, June 6	7:00 p.m.	Frankfurt Galaxy	L 17–20 ^OT	7–3	Rheinstadion	41,212
World Bowl '98
11	Sunday, June 14	7:00 p.m.	Frankfurt Galaxy	W 34–10	8–3	Waldstadion	47,846

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Standings

NFL Europe League
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Home	Road	STK
Frankfurt Galaxy	7	3	0	.700	177	163	3–2	4–1	W4
Rhein Fire	7	3	0	.700	198	142	4–1	3–2	L2
Amsterdam Admirals	7	3	0	.700	205	174	4–1	3–2	W3
Barcelona Dragons	4	6	0	.400	185	200	3–2	1–4	L3
England Monarchs	3	7	0	.300	158	205	2–3	1–4	W2
Scottish Claymores	2	8	0	.200	153	192	2–3	0–5	L3

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Game summaries

Week 5: at Frankfurt Galaxy

Week Five: Rhein Fire at Frankfurt Galaxy – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	3	7	14	7	31
Frankfurt	0	0	0	14	14

at Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany

• Date: Saturday, May 2
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 41,123
• Referee: Tony Corrente
• ^[2]

Game information

First quarter Rhein – 28-yard field goal by Manfred Burgsmüller, 6:06. Second quarter Rhein – Marcus Robinson 58-yard touchdown reception from Mike Quinn, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 1:45. Third quarter Rhein – Derrick Clark 1-yard touchdown run, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 6:08. Rhein – Derrick Clark 1-yard touchdown run, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 0:46. Fourth quarter Frankfurt – Mario Bailey 7-yard touchdown reception from Damon Huard, Ralf Kleinmann kick good, 9:30. Rhein – Derrick Clark 3-yard touchdown run, Manfred Burgsmüller kick good, 4:59. Frankfurt – Mario Bailey 22-yard touchdown reception from Chris Dittoe, Ralf Kleinmann kick good, 0:02.

Week 7: at Barcelona Dragons

Week Seven: Rhein Fire at Barcelona Dragons – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rhein	0	3	7	14	24
Barcelona	7	14	0	10	31

at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain

• Date: Saturday, May 16
• Game time: 7:00 p.m. CEST
• Game attendance: 7,900

Notes

1. All times local to where the game was played.

References

1. The Official 1998 NFL Europe League Fact Book.
2. "Fire 31, Galaxy 14". European Stars and Stripes. Darmstadt, Germany. May 4, 1998. p. 26. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
3. The Official 2001 NFL Europe League Fact Book.