Southern Indoor Football League (2011)
68-958: Ultimate Indoor Football League (2012) Continental Indoor Football League (2013–2014) The Erie Explosion was a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania . Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats , the Explosion played in the Professional Indoor Football League , the United Indoor Football League , the Southern Indoor Football League , the Continental Indoor Football League and
136-558: A 2016 season, citing an inability to secure medical staff for the upcoming season. WICU-TV reported that the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine had pulled its sponsorship of the team after a high number of injuries in the 2015 season. With the suspension, 2016 was the first season since 2004 that no indoor football team played in Erie. Professional football has not returned to the city since. Shawn Liotta went on to become
204-657: A 34-0 victory over the Dennison Panhandles , the Tigers prepared for their cross-county rivals, a sandlot team from Canton. Betting on the games, during the early 1900s was common. It is believed that over $ 1000 was risked on the game's outcome. The Tigers held on to a 16-0 score to win the first game between the two clubs. After the Canton-Massillon game, the Tigers began to look at winning the mythical "Ohio League" championship. On Thanksgiving Day 1903,
272-603: A 3–11 record, and missing the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. On September 8, 2009, the RiverRats announced that Liotta would return to Erie as the head coach for the 2010 season. In December, it was announced that owner Jeff Hauser had sold a stake in the franchise to a local group that included Jeff Plyler (owner of Plyler Overhead Door of McKean, Pennsylvania) and Bill Stafford (owner of several Subway restaurant locations in Erie), among others. The team remained in
340-648: A 4-0 start, the Tigers were defeated by Stan Cofall and the Youngstown Patricians 14-6. However, later that season Cofall and Bob Peck decided to play for Massillon which prematurely ended the Pats 1917 campaign. However, despite their winning seasons and star talent, Massillon was still losing money. One reason for the disparity is that Massillon was smaller than Canton, meaning it had a smaller fan base to support its football team. The Tigers had highly devoted following, however they weren't enough of them. Also
408-484: A backer for a new Massillon team. While the Tigers consistently lost money for themselves, they were always a good draw for others. In fact it was a strong rivalry with Massillion that helped lead Jim Thorpe to Canton. Cupid Black , an All-America guard from Yale, was also rumored to restart the Tigers franchise, however he later turned down the offer. On September 17, 1920, at Ralph Hay's Hupmobile dealership in Canton,
476-520: A bidding war, raise players' salaries for all teams, and destroy the fragile profit margin already established. Cusack refused to provide a Canton-Massillon game if players from the Indians were raided. Plans for a new "Tigers" were put on hold until 1915. The Tigers returned to the Ohio League in 1915. They were backed by local businessmen, Jack Donahue and Jack Whalen. Massillon did end up raiding
544-482: A key figure in the development of Fan Controlled Football , along with his high school coaching. Running backs Wide receivers Defensive linemen Defensive backs Kickers Exempt list Failure to report The following is a list of all Pittsburgh/Erie players who won league awards Head coach Offensive coaches Defensive coaches Special teams coaches Ultimate Indoor Football League Too Many Requests If you report this error to
612-465: A per game basis and were never signed to any written contract. Ted Nesser , of the infamous Nesser Brothers , played for the Shelby Blues until he was hired to play one game for the Tigers. For the next two season he remained in the Tigers lineup. However, after the Tigers began the 1904 season, many Massillonians were bored with the ease of the Tigers' wins, even at this early stage. That season
680-553: A punt back for a touchdown. Marion never got another chance to handle the ball, as Massillon took kickoff after kickoff and moved down the field to touchdown after touchdown. The Tigers defeated the Akron East Ends again (now renamed the Akron Athletic Club) 6-5 after Akron's Joe Fogg missed an extra point kick on the last play of the game. By 1905 the Tigers were considered one of the top three teams in
748-484: A restart of the historic Canton-Massillon rivalry was bound to bring in fans to Canton. However, in order to get the team fielded, Massillon planned to raid the Akron Indians roster of its key players. Because of this, Cusack refused to help Massillon restart their club. In 1914, an unwritten agreement existed among Ohio League managers that refrained them from raiding other teams. Also a raid of players would start
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#1732783401867816-620: A rival to the pre- National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs . The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become "All-Massillons" to win another title in 1907. The team returned as the Tigers in 1915 but, with the reemergence of the Bulldogs, only won one more Ohio League title. Pro football was popularized in Ohio when the amateur Massillon Tigers hired four Pittsburgh pros to play in
884-561: A troubling situation due to injuries to several of their star players. The team's management decided to replace the injured players with "ringers". Several pro football players from the Pittsburgh area soon traveled to Ohio to play for Massillon. Among them was Bob Shiring and Harry McChesney , who played in 1902 with the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League . These player developments did not sit well with
952-442: A two-game series between the two clubs. The conspiracy called for Canton to win the first game and Massillon to win the second, forcing a third game, which would have the largest gate. That game would be played legitimately, with the 1906 Ohio League championship at stake. Canton denied the charges, maintaining that Massillon only wanted to damage the club's reputation. Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown
1020-556: A win against the Washington Vigilants , one of the East Coast's top professional teams, leading many observers to give Youngstown the title instead. The Tigers rebirth, saw the team incorporate many of the top players of the era. For example, Knute Rockne , Charles Brickley , Gus Dorais , Bob Nash , Stan Cofall , and, future Hall of Famer , Greasy Neale . The 1916 season saw the Tigers end up in second place of
1088-710: The American Indoor Football Association and operated continuously from 2007 to 2015. The Explosion began play in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania . The RiverRats played their first game at Tupelo, Mississippi on February 3, 2007, losing 54–34 to the Mississippi Mudcats . Their first home game was on February 18, 2007, which they lost 35–28 to
1156-757: The Cleveland Tigers . On August 20, 1920, during the first meeting aimed at establishing the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League in 1922), there was hope that F.J. Griffiths , of the Massillon steel industry, would resurrect the franchise, but the meeting passed with no word from Griffiths. During late August and early September of that same year, Ralph Hay and Jim Thorpe tried without success to find
1224-566: The Columbus Panhandles , with the Nesser Brothers in the line-up, 13-4, and celebrated its fifth consecutive state championship. Because of the game's importance, Massillon brought in two ringers, Peggy Parratt and Bob Shiring . In 1911 a Canton-Massillon game was hyped beforehand as a return to 1905-06. However, after seeing the 57-0 Canton victory, it became apparent that this Massillon team bore little resemblance to
1292-541: The Erie Freeze . In August, 2008, head coach Shawn Liotta resigned as coach of the RiverRats and left to coach the Wheeling Wildcats . In September 2008, the RiverRats named Steven G. Folmar as the franchise's second head coach. In December 2008, owner Jeff Hauser sold the team to a group of local businessmen, headed by Jeff Plyler, Bob Foltyn and Frank Herman. The RiverRats had to replace many players on
1360-527: The Fayetteville Force . This result was due to the Force's ownership change, with second-string players taking the field. This margin of victory is the third-highest in all of professional football, and the highest in over 100 years. Only the 1904 Massillon Tigers (who won a game 148–0) and the 1904 Watertown Red & Black club (who won a game 142–0) have had wider leads. The Explosion finished
1428-517: The New York Brickley Giants , organized by the same Charles Brickley that had played for Massillon in 1917. However, due to a dispute over the application of New York's blue laws , that prohibited playing football on Sundays, Brickley's Giants were forced to fold. (The Giants team would however regroup and play in the National Football League in 1921 and as an independent until 1923; a second, unrelated New York Giants would join
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#17327834018671496-553: The Princeton Tigers , so the new Massillon team was christened the "Tigers." When the Tigers began play in 1903, several of the expected starters hadn't touched a football in eight or more years. According to locals belief, Baldy Wittman , 32-year-old proprietor of a local cigar store and a spare-time police officer, had never played the game at all. Charles "Cy" Rigler , who later became a famous major league baseball umpire started at tackle . Wittman opened at an end and
1564-606: The Reading Express . Pittsburgh won its first home game on March 4, 2007, defeating the Danville Demolition 47–21. On May 19, 2007, the RiverRats set an AIFA single-game record when they scored 86 points. On January 8, 2008, the RiverRats announced they would be relocating to Erie in time for the 2008 season, rebranding themselves as the Erie RiverRats . They replaced the city's previous AIFA team,
1632-523: The University of Chicago , was then named the team's new coach. In 1906, the Bulldogs and Tigers were involved in a game-rigging scandal that effectively killed both teams. It was the first major scandal in professional football, and the first known case of professional gamblers attempting to fix a professional sport. The Massillon Independent newspaper alleged that the Bulldogs coach, Blondy Wallace, and Tigers end, Walter East , had conspired to fix
1700-576: The "Ohio League" standings behind the Canton Bulldogs. However, despite record crowds for two Bulldog-Tigers match-ups, Massillon lost money on the season, while Canton barely made a profit. Most of the Midwestern major teams were running into debt. Since every player knew Jim Thorpe was being paid $ 250 a game, many players of considerably less talent were holding out for $ 100 or $ 125 a game. Team managers had to produce stars to draw crowds, but
1768-588: The AIFA, and the team adopted the corporate name "Erie Professional Football, Inc." in December 2009, in anticipation of a new franchise name to be announced in January 2010. Hauser maintained a smaller stake in the team, which immediately dropped the RiverRats name. On January 5, 2010, the team announced the four finalists of the name-the-team contest; Storm , Blizzard , Pulse , and Punishers . On January 14, 2010,
1836-779: The Akron media, most notably the Akron Beacon-Journal . Massillon would go on to win the championship game 12-0, however the Akron Beacon-Journal later stated that most of Massillon's 75% gate money went to the Pittsburgh ringers. Plans were soon in the mix for spending $ 1,000 on a 1904 Tigers team. In 1904 the Tigers repeated as Ohio League champions. It was during this time that at least seven teams in Ohio began hiring players for games. Most of these "ringers" were from Pittsburgh. Many players were hired on
1904-578: The American Professional Football Association managers: "Do not schedule any `other' Massillon team". The 10 teams represented at the September 17 meeting are considered charter members of the AFPA, and, by extension, of the National Football league. Massillon is usually counted on a technicality: the team, under Hay, were there, they just never played in the new league. †= Never played in
1972-399: The Bulldogs in their second game of the season series 6-0, behind two field goals kicked by Cofall. But despite the upset, Canton was regarded as the U.S. champion; Massillon couldn't make a serious claim. The Tigers had lost their first game with the Bulldogs by a larger margin and dropped two other games to lesser opponents. It had not been a good season for Massillon. They lost three games on
2040-583: The CIFL). Liotta chose rookie Aaron Smetanka to lead the Explosion offense, and he did not disappoint. The Explosion finished with an undefeated regular season record of 10-0 securing the 2013 CIFL regular season championship and the #1 seed in the leagues playoff format. The Explosion hosted the Kentucky Xtreme in a league Semi-Final game May 5, 2013. They defeated the Xtreme 55–6. The Explosion defense held
2108-658: The Explosion to find a new place to host the game. The Explosion announced that they would play at Erie Cathedral Prep 's Dollinger Field. The Explosion trailed going into the fourth quarter against the Marion Blue Racers , but McKenna ignited the Erie offense to 22 points in the final stanza to advance to the UIFL North Conference final. The Explosion faced the Cincinnati Commandos , who had only lost two games all season, one of which
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2176-457: The Explosion were left without a league to play in. On October 13, 2014, the Explosion announced they would be joining the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The team experienced a reversal of fortune upon joining the PIFL, losing all but one of their league games in their first season in the league. On August 23, 2015, the Explosion announced that they would rejoin the revived CIFL, which
2244-489: The Hotel Sailor in Massillon to form the area's first professional football team. Jack Goodrich , who expected to play halfback for the new team, was named manager. Meanwhile, Ed J. Stewart , a young and ambitious editor of the city newspaper The Evening Independent , was named as the team's first coach. Stewart had playing experience while attending Western Reserve College and Mount Union College . Apart from being
2312-563: The Indians team of their top players. In turn Cusack took in the Akron players, and raided the Youngstown Patricians , hoping to improve his team. Massillon hired new ringers for a new bidding war with Canton, however Cusack signed the legendary Jim Thorpe to his squad. The Tigers ended their 1915 season with a share of the 1915 championship with Canton. Both teams finished the season 5-2-0. One anonymous Massillon official revealed it had taken between $ 1,500 and $ 2,000 to bring in
2380-609: The NFL as the Buffalo All-Americans in 1917. The team suspended operations in 1918 due to a flu pandemic and the Great War , but returned in 1919. Many of the top teams of the "Ohio League" returned to action in 1919. At a meeting on July 14, 1919, the managers held a "get-together" at Canton's Courtland Hotel. The managers decided on a pay scale for officials and agreed to refrain from stealing each other's players for
2448-520: The Tiger teams of the past, although the lineup did include Tiger greats Baldy Wittmann and Frank Bast . During the summer of 1914, members of the Massillon Chamber of Commerce asked Jack Cusack , the manager of the re-organized Canton Bulldogs, to attend a secret meeting to discuss a proposed new Massillon Tigers football team. Cusack believed that a game against a strong Massillon team and
2516-495: The Tigers avenged their only loss of the season against Wooster College with a 34-0 score. This outcome gave legitimacy to the belief that the Tigers were robbed by a corrupt official in their inaugural game. On December 5, an agreement was signed by Massillon and the Akron East Ends to play. The contract called for a 75-25 split of the gate, with the winner taking the 75% of the gate. However Massillon soon found itself in
2584-422: The Tigers defeated a club from Marion 148-0. Also keep in mind that a touchdown counted only five points until 1912. However under the rules of the time, the team that scored turned around and received the next kickoff (traditionally, onside kicks were far more commonplace—and easier—at this time, but Marion chose not to use them for reasons unexplained). During the game a Massillon end named Walt Roepke ran
2652-421: The Tigers lineup that opposed Canton in the final game, which included three players from Muhlenberg College , who had their college eligibility stripped when they were discovered. This would be Massillon's last "Ohio League" title, and a disputed one at that—the very Patricians squad that the Tigers had raided earlier in the season had racked up an even more impressive 9-0-1 record against lesser talent, including
2720-489: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 895806195 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:43:22 GMT Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio . Playing in the " Ohio League ", the team was
2788-415: The charter members of the future NFL formally established the new league. During that meeting, the first order of business was to decide the future of the Massillon franchise. It was then that the managers were confronted by Vernon Maginnis , the manager of the unsuccessful Akron Indians in 1919, who wanted to field a traveling team and call it the "Massillon Tigers". Hay and the other managers turned down
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2856-404: The city lacked a decent ballpark. as a result many of the Tigers' biggest home games were undersold. The only way to make the Tigers profitable was to use Peggy Parratt's old Akron scheme of bringing in just enough high-priced stars to win. Even then, the Tigers would have probably operated at a loss, but one small enough that it could be made up for by the team's backers. However Massillon did upset
2924-453: The city of Erie's first championship in any league of indoor football. In June, 2013, the Explosion agreed to terms with the CIFL to return for the 2014 season. The team eventually won a second straight championship over the Marion Blue Racers . With the partial collapse of the CIFL in the 2014 season and the exodus of several of its teams to X-League Indoor Football the following offseason,
2992-615: The city's previous indoor football team, the Erie Freeze . (The Explosion's departure came two weeks before the SIFL broke up into the Lone Star Football League and the Professional Indoor Football League , neither of which included Pennsylvania in its territory). Erie was tasked with replacing MVP quarterback DiMichele, who had signed with the Arena Football League 's Philadelphia Soul . The job fell on
3060-601: The country, along with the Latrobe Athletic Association and the Canton Bulldogs . Both teams were constantly fighting for the best players in football. In fact the Bulldogs, or Canton Athletic Club as it was called at the time, formed their football team in 1905 with sole objective of beating the Tigers, who had won every Ohio League championship since 1903. Both teams spent lavish amounts of money to bring in ringers from out of town. The teams first played each other twice in 1905, with Massillon winning
3128-505: The crowds could never be big enough to pay for the stars. Teams desperately needed something like the old "Ohio League" sub-rosa agreement where the managers agreed to not raid other team rosters. Only that sort of agreement could hold salaries at a responsible level. In 1917, Bob Nash promised an "Ohio League" championship to the fans in Massillon. In doing so he put together an offensive line that included Charlie Copley at tackle and Al Wesbecher at center . However, after storming out to
3196-472: The field, and their backers dropped $ 4,700 at the gate. After the season, a "Cleveland critic" chose an all-pro team from among the four major northeastern Ohio teams. The Massillon players on the all-pro listing were Bob Nash, Bob Peck, Pike Johnson , Charley Copley, and Stan Cofall. One of the teams Massillon would play (and defeat soundly) in 1917 was the Buffalo All-Stars , who would later join
3264-420: The first game 14-4. The second game saw a 10-0 Massillon win, however the win drew protests from Canton coach Blondy Wallace , who argued against a 10-ounce ball used by Massillon during the game, instead of the regular 16-ounce ball. The 10-ounce ball was provided to the Tigers by their owner, a Massillon newspaper editor. The protest fell on deaf ears, and Massillon was named the 1905 Ohio League champions. In
3332-474: The league for 1925 and this is the New York Giants team that is in the NFL today.) The Tigers did play well in 1919, however once again they came in second to Canton in the "Ohio League" standings. The team's backers then decided to fold the team after losing over $ 5,000 during the season. Stan Cofall also abandoned the Tigers after the season. He and many of the now former-Tigers players left to play for
3400-566: The leagues number 1 offense to 1 first down in the first half. The Xtreme did not score until 13 minutes remained in the game. The defensive charge was led by Ricardo Kemp who had 2 interceptions in the game. The Erie Explosion hosted the CIFL championship game on Mothers Day, May 12, 2013, where they beat the Sting, 37–36, to win the 2013 CIFL Championship Game . The 2013 CIFL Championship is the Erie Explosion's first championship, as well as
3468-487: The meeting, however the Massillon Tigers were counted as present at the charter meeting of the NFL. Hay, who'd tried to get a real Massillon team restarted, considered himself as their spokesman. Once the meeting started, he stood up and announced that Massillon was withdrawing from professional football for the season of 1920. And to ensure that Maginnis wouldn't try to reestablish a Massillon "franchise", Hay told
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#17327834018673536-649: The off-season prior to the 1906 season, a news story in The Plain Dealer alleged that the Canton Athletic Club was financially broke and could not pay its players for that final game. The club denied the allegation and insisted that every dollar promised had indeed been delivered. Many Canton followers believed the story had originated in Massillon as a trick to discredit their team and make it tougher for Canton to recruit players for 1906. Massillon coach, Ed Stewart , who had newspaper connections
3604-469: The offer because they didn't feel the franchise would pan out and because nobody wanted to see the proud Massillon Tigers name demeaned and made a road attraction. The current Akron owners, now renamed the Pros, Art Ranney and Frank Nied were also associated with Maginnis during his ownership of the team in 1919, and had many problems with him during that season. Maginnis' representative was not admitted to
3672-426: The players were getting only about $ 50 per game. However, it is believed, like with Canton, that Massillon's area boosters picked up whatever losses the Tigers incurred during 1905. For the 1906 season, Canton coach Wallace signed the entire backfield of the Tigers to the Canton team. While in Massillon, Ed Stewart was promoted from head coach to manager. Sherburn Wightman , who played under Amos Alonzo Stagg at
3740-403: The roster, as most of the 2008 roster followed Liotta to Wheeling. As a result of all the changes, the RiverRats struggled all season to score points, resulting in offensive coordinator Paul Pennington's resignation after an 0–3 start. After dropping to 0–7, the RiverRats got their first win of the season on a last second field goal by Joe Lindway. The RiverRats ended up finishing with
3808-549: The season with a 9–4 record, winning the Northeast Division, but were defeated 68–43 by the Albany Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the playoff loss, DiMichele was named SIFL MVP, finishing the season with 91 touchdown passes. On August 25, 2011, the Explosion left the SIFL and joined the United Indoor Football League . The change reunited Erie with Andrew Haines, who founded
3876-587: The season-ending game against Akron. At the same time, pro football declined in the Pittsburgh area, and the emphasis on the pro game moved west from Pennsylvania to Ohio. The team opted not to join the APFA (later renamed the NFL) in 1920; it remained an independent club through 1923, when the Tigers folded. During their time as an independent, the Tigers never played against any team in the NFL, even though several other independent teams did. The Massillon Tigers team name
3944-504: The second game, the scandal tarnished the Bulldog and Tiger names and helped ruin professional football in Ohio until the mid 1910s. To this day the details of the scandal consist only of charges and counter-charges. A reorganized "All-Massillons" played in 1907, after which professional football in Massillon effectively stopped. The team was made up of many of the former Tigers players and was managed by Sherburn Wightman. The team defeated
4012-601: The shoulders of rookie Colton Hansen. In the second game of the season, Hansen struggled in a loss to the Johnstown Generals , and he was replaced by A. J. McKenna. McKenna led the Explosion to an 8–3 regular-season record, losing the top seed in the UIFL North during the last game of the season. While still securing a home playoff game, the Tullio Arena had begun a 45-million-dollar renovation, which forced
4080-454: The team announced its new Erie Explosion identity, albeit retaining the same color scheme as the Storm. The Explosion was also one of six AIFA teams which merged with the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) prior to the 2011 season. On May 21, 2011, the Explosion set a single-game franchise record, including an indoor football record, for the most points scored in a 138–0 decisive win over
4148-442: The team was officially named the Erie Storm via a press conference, in which the team logo and colors were also released. On May 5, 2010, the Painesville, Ohio -based Lake Erie College sued the team over the "Erie Storm" name because their athletic teams use the "Storm" moniker. In July 2010, they dropped "Storm" in favor of "Erie Professional Football", which remains the name of the team's corporate entity. On December 3, 2010,
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#17327834018674216-400: The team's coach, he later appointed himself as the team's quarterback . J.J. Wise , who was the Massillon Clerk of City Council, led a committee to secure the necessary funds for a new football and jerseys that were nearly the same color. The local venders only had a sufficient quantity of one jersey style to outfit an entire team. Those jerseys imitated the orange and black striped attire of
4284-418: The upcoming season. However, the big surprise came when Massillon backer Jack Donahue refused to go along with a proposal to limit salaries. Massillon had trouble with the increasing cost of players and would profit more by a salary cap than anyone else. Donahue insisted, "If a manager wants to pay $ 10,000 for a player, that's his business." The Tigers were set to begin their 1919 season in New York City against
4352-468: Was believed by Canton to have planted the story. However, while Canton was in fact losing money in 1905, a group of area businessmen shouldered the losses. In a counter-charge, Canton insisted that the Tigers were also deeply in debt. However, a statement by the Tigers showed $ 16,037.90 in receipts and only $ 16,015.65 in expenditures. The only problem with Massillon's figures was that they only listed salaries, including railroad fare, at $ 6,740.95, which means
4420-399: Was elected the team captain . Meanwhile, Stewart lined himself up at quarterback. The Tigers first game against Wooster College ended in a 6-0 defeat. A biased official was the excuse for the loss. The Tigers followed their first ever game with a 16-0 victory over Stewart's alma mater , Mount Union College , a 6-0 victory over the Akron Imperials , and a 38-0 over the Akron Blues . After
4488-420: Was to Erie. The Commandos defeated the Explosion 62–40 to advance to the Ultimate Bowl . The Explosion left the UIFL after the 2012 season. The team remained idle for about a month, while fielding offers to join four different leagues. Owner Bill Stafford ultimately decided to join the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL). Liotta needed to replace McKenna, who had left Erie for the Saginaw Sting (also of
4556-440: Was to be a member of the Indoor Football Alliance . However, the league disbanded on November 4, leaving it uncertain where the Explosion would play in 2016; the Alliance announced it would continue as a six-team league in and of itself, with the Cape Fear Heroes , Explosion, Buffalo Lightning , Atlanta Sharks and two expansion teams playing in the circuit. On January 18, 2016, the Explosion announced they would not participate in
4624-403: Was transferred to Massillon Washington High School , which still uses it. The Massillon area had fielded several amateur football teams featuring only local players since the early 1890s. However while some had performed well, the others were more likely to be defeated when they played their cross-county arch-rival, Canton . Therefore, a group of 35 area businessmen met on September 3, 1903 at
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