The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1930, the American Association from 1936 to 1941, the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1963 to 1964 and 1970, and the Continental Football League from 1965 to 1969. The team was based for most of its history in Orange, New Jersey, with many of its later years in Newark. Its last five seasons of existence were as the Orlando Panthers, when the team was based in Orlando, Florida. The NFL franchise was sold back to the league in October 1930. The team had four head coaches in its two years in the NFL – Jack Depler in Orange, and Jack Fish, Al McGall and Andy Salata in Newark.
The Staten Island Stapletons also known as the Staten Island Stapes were a professional American football team founded in 1915 that played in the National Football League from 1929 to 1932. The team was based in the Stapleton section of Staten Island. They played under the shortened nickname the "Stapes" the final two seasons. Jack Shapiro, who was a blocking back for the Stapletons, was the shortest player in NFL history. The team was based in Staten Island, New York.
The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, AF2, however, that changed briefly with their expansion into AFL markets such as Atlanta, Denver, and Los Angeles, and AF2 markets such as Fort Myers and Houston. The league folded in 2008.
The Montreal Xtreme were a women's soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They played only the 2004 season in the W-League. The team played its home games in Soccerplexe Catalogna in Lachine, Quebec. The team's colours were blue and white. The team folded after the 2004 season.
The Daytona Beach ThunderBirds were an arena football team based in Daytona Beach, Florida. They were founded in 2005 as the Daytona Beach Hawgs playing in the National Indoor Football League. In 2006, they changed their name to the Daytona Thunder and played in three different indoor football leagues over three seasons: the American Indoor Football League in 2006, the World Indoor Football League in 2007, and the AF2, the Arena Football League's developmental league, in 2008. They folded after the 2008 season. The Marquee player for the Thurnderbirds was 6'3" 230 pound Left handed Quarterback Matt Bohnet, an Eastern Michigan Graduate, who completed 160 out of 307 passes for 1,890 Yards 28 Touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
The Augusta Colts were a professional indoor football team based in Augusta, Georgia. The team played their home games at the James Brown Arena.
The New Jersey Revolution were members of the American Indoor Football Association based in Morristown, New Jersey, with home games at the George Mennen arena. The Revolution name referred to New Jersey's nickname, The Crossroads of the Revolution, as the state was the site of many American Revolution battles. It was the only indoor football team within the proximity of the New York metropolitan area in the 2010 season.
Sports in the New York metropolitan area have a long and distinguished history. New York City is home to the headquarters of the National Football League, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the Women's National Basketball Association, National Women's Hockey League, and Major League Soccer.
Staten Island Pavilion is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Staten Island, New York. It hosts various local concerts and sporting events for the area and was the home arena for the Staten Island Xtreme of the National Indoor Football League in 2004.
Mike Siani is a former professional American football player who played wide receiver for nine seasons for the Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Colts.
The New Jersey Ironmen was an American indoor soccer team. They originally joined the Major Indoor Soccer League for the 2007–08 season. When the MISL ceased operations a year later, they joined the Xtreme Soccer League. The team played at the Prudential Center, sharing the facility with the NHL's New Jersey Devils and the Seton Hall University men's basketball team. Omid Namazi, recognized twice as MISL Coach of the Year, was the coach of the team.
The Newark Bears were a professional American football team that competed in the first American Football League in 1926 AFL season. Owned by the New Jersey Athletic Association, the Bears played their home games in Davids' Stadium. Coached by player-coach Hal Hansen, the majority of the team played their college football in Georgia and Florida.
The Xtreme Soccer League (XSL) was an indoor soccer league that began play in December 2008. Four teams from the former Major Indoor Soccer League participated in the first XSL season: the Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave, and New Jersey Ironmen. Other former MISL teams joined the National Indoor Soccer League or Professional Arena Soccer League.
Daniel Blaine (1891–1958) was a professional football player for the Staten Island Stapletons from 1915 until 1924. In 1915 he, along with three other players, formed the team to play other semi-pro teams from New York and New Jersey. He suspended his football career in 1918 to serve in the United States military during World War I. Once the war ended, Blaine took over sole ownership of the Stapletons. He stayed in the Stapleton lineup at halfback until ending his playing career in 1924 at age 33. After his retirement from football, Blaine focused solely on owning and managing the team.
Edwin (Piggy) Simandl was the owner of the Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes of the National Football League. He became the team's owner in 1929, when Ole Haugsrud, the owner of Duluth Eskimos, sold his defunct franchise rights to Simandl. This allowed Simandl to place his Orange Tornadoes in the NFL. In addition to running his NFL franchise, Simandl was a wholesale meat salesman, which was why he was given the nickname "Piggy". In 1930, the team moved to Newark and played a dismal season that resulted in just 1 win. Afterward, Simandl sold his franchise rights back to the NFL. However, after a 2-year hiatus, he reorganized his team in Orange. The Tornadoes then defeated the Staten Island Stapletons 7-0 in their first game back.
The Kentucky Xtreme were a professional indoor football team based in Louisville, Kentucky, which had its operations suspended by the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) midway through the 2014 CIFL season. The team was a member of the South Division of the CIFL after starting in 2013 as an expansion team. The Xtreme were the first indoor football team in the Louisville area since the Louisville Fire, a member of af2, folded in 2008. The co-owners of the Xtreme are Victor Cole and Mario Urrutia. The Xtreme played their home games at Freedom Hall in Louisville, but was suspended by the league when Urrutia abandoned the team to join the Winnipeg Blue Bombers midseason.
The 2013 Kentucky Xtreme season was the first season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) franchise.
X-League Indoor Football (X-League) was a professional indoor football league that began play in 2014. The league was co-chaired by Michael Mink and Kacee Smith. On September 19, 2015, the league announced a merger with the future "North American Indoor Football" but later stated the merger would not go forward as announced and disbanded.
The 2014 Continental Indoor Football League season was the Continental Indoor Football League's ninth overall season. The regular season started on Monday February 3, with the Northern Kentucky River Monsters visiting the Bluegrass Warhorses at the Alltech Arena, and ended with the 2014 CIFL Championship Game, the league's championship game held on May 18.
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. It consists of teams based on the East Coast of the United States.
