Huntsville Fire

The team, a charter member of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League, was founded as the Daytona Beach Speedkings. They played their home games at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, under the direction of coach Scott Cooper. The team played the first-ever game in EISL history, losing to the Savannah Rug Ratz in front of a "disappointing" crowd of 600 fans. Despite having a winning record (5–3) and the league's top offense, the team failed to draw fans and suffered financially. Before the season, team owner Blake Cullen told the Orlando Sentinel that the team would need to average about 3,000 fans per game to break even. The team's official home attendance average was 609 per game but the bulk of those were complimentary tickets with the SpeedKings selling fewer than 200 tickets per game.

This failure prompted Cullen to sell the team to Major League Indoor Football, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, who announced the team would relocate to the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In just three weeks the new management headed by team president Bryan Dresden, moved the team from Daytona Beach opening to an inaugural crowd of over 2500 new fans in Huntsville, Alabama. The renamed Huntsville Fire finished the season with a record of 13 wins and 11 losses, including 1 shootout win. This gave the team a total of 38 points for the 1997 season and 4th place in the seven-team league.

The Fire returned for the 1998 season. They finished the season with a record of 16 wins and 12 losses (including 1 shootout win and two shootout losses) for 49 points. This placed them 3rd overall in the seven-team league. The Fire made the playoffs, losing to the Mississippi Beach Kings 2 games to 1 in the semi-final round. The Fire averaged 2,535 fans per game, fourth-best in the EISL where the average league game saw 2,733 fans in attendance.

Lee Edgerton was named EISL Most Valuable Player for the 1998 season. Ed Carmean was honored with the EISL's first Sportsmanship Award, presented to the player who "displays gentlemanly play and the ability to treat players, fans and officials with genuine respect and kindness." Huntsville Fire players named to the 1998 EISL All-League Team included midfielder Lee Edgerton and defender Ed Carmean. Players named to the EISL All-League Third Team included defender Carlton Williams. Players receiving All-League Honorable Mentions included defender Abraham Francois and midfielder Jamie Harding.

After the season, in late September 1998, the team fired its five-person staff, including head coach Scott Cooper and general manager Jim Krause, citing "significant" financial losses. Team president Bryan Dresden said he would not move or fold the team but that additional local investors were required for the team to continue. This became moot when the EISL itself folded in late December 1998.

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite web |first=David |last=Litterer |publisher=USA Soccer History Archives |title=Eastern Indoor Soccer League |url=http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/eisl.html |access-date=February 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303113920/http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/eisl.html |archive-date=March 3, 2009 |url-status=dead }}

{{cite news |first=Javier |last=Solano |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |publisher=Tribune Publishing |location=Orlando, FL |title=Cullen Returning With New League; Former Baseball Executive Blake Cullen Is Coming Back To Daytona Beach With The Eastern Indoor Soccer League |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1996/08/18/cullen-returning-with-new-league/ |date=August 18, 1996 |access-date=February 27, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Javier |last=Solano |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |publisher=Tribune Publishing |location=Orlando, FL |title=Ocean Center To Have Indoor Soccer Team; The Daytona Beach Speedkings, Part Of The Eastern Indoor Soccer League, Are Set To Play June 1997 |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1996/10/09/ocean-center-to-have-indoor-soccer-team/ |date=October 8, 1996 |access-date=February 27, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Javier |last=Solano |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |location=Orlando, FL |publisher=Tribune Company |title=Speedkings Ready To Get Started |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1997/04/13/speedkings-ready-to-get-started/ |date=April 13, 1997 |access-date=June 5, 2013}}

{{cite news |first=Javier |last=Solano |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |location=Orlando, FL |publisher=Tribune Company |title=Speedkings Not Successful In Debut |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1997/06/14/speedkings-not-successful-in-debut/ |date=June 14, 1997 |access-date=June 5, 2013}}

{{cite news |first=Javier |last=Solano |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |location=Orlando, FL |publisher=Tribune Company |title=Lack Of Support Sends Speedkings Packing; The Floundering Minor League Soccer Franchise Has Been Sold And Is Being Relocated To Huntsville, Ala. |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1997/07/10/lack-of-support-sends-speedkings-packing/ |date=July 10, 1997 |access-date=June 5, 2013}}

{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Gadsden Times |publisher=Halifax Media Group |location=Gadsden, AL |title=Huntsville getting minor league soccer team |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19970711&id=Jr8fAAAAIBAJ&pg=6247,1022158 |date=July 11, 1997 |access-date=February 24, 2015}}

{{cite news |newspaper=The Advocate |location=Baton Rouge, LA |publisher=Capital City Press |title=SpeedKings moving to Huntsville, Ala. |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AD&p_theme=ad&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB47867F32083C3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=July 11, 1997 |access-date=June 6, 2013}}

{{cite news |first=Todd |last=Thompson |newspaper=TimesDaily |publisher=Tennessee Valley Printing Co. |location=Florence, AL |title=Wall to Wall: Fire turns on heat in EISL |page=1D |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19980715&id=kk8eAAAAIBAJ&pg=5125,1997043 |date=July 15, 1998 |access-date=February 24, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Eastern Indoor Soccer League |location=Tallahassee, FL |title=Defender Ed Carmean Honored with Sportsmanship Award |url=http://www.eislsoccer.com/news/aug12b98.html |date=August 12, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990219145809/http://www.eislsoccer.com/news/aug12b98.html |archive-date=February 19, 1999 |access-date=February 27, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Eastern Indoor Soccer League |location=Tallahassee, FL |title=EISL Names All-League Team |url=http://www.eislsoccer.com/news/aug1998b.html |date=August 19, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990220031109/http://www.eislsoccer.com/news/aug1998b.html |archive-date=February 20, 1999 |access-date=February 27, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Eastern Indoor Soccer League |location=Tallahassee, FL |title=Edgerton Takes MVP Honors |url=http://www.eislsoccer.com/news/aug1998.html |date=August 19, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990219230608/http://www.eislsoccer.com/news/aug1998.html |archive-date=February 19, 1999 |access-date=February 27, 2015}}

{{cite web |publisher=Eastern Indoor Soccer League |location=Tallahassee, FL |title=EISL Daily Report |url=http://www.eislsoccer.com/score/currstat.html |date=August 24, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990423135950/http://www.eislsoccer.com/score/currstat.html |archive-date=April 23, 1999 |access-date=March 9, 2015}}

{{cite news |first=Don |last=Hammack |newspaper=Sun Herald |location=Biloxi, MS |publisher=The McClatchy Company |title=Beach Kings Douse Fire in Shootout; Team to Face SwampCats in Championship Series |page=D1 |date=August 23, 1998}}

{{cite news |newspaper=The Daily Iberian |publisher=Wick Communications |location=New Iberia, LA |title=1998 EISL Championship beginning this weekend |url=http://www.iberianet.com/eisl-championship-beginning-this-weekendfrom-staff-reports-the-daily-iberian/article_6baeb6bd-ceaf-5295-9a4f-b9871d253fa1.html |date=August 25, 1998 |access-date=February 25, 2015}}

{{cite news |newspaper=The Gadsden Times |location=Gadsden, AL |publisher=New York Times Company |title=Huntsvlle Fire ceases operations |page=B3 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19980929&id=4L4fAAAAIBAJ&pg=1349,3075252 |date=September 29, 1998 |access-date=June 5, 2013}}

{{cite news |first=Don |last=Hammack |newspaper=Sun Herald |location=Biloxi, MS |publisher=The McClatchy Company |title=EISL Teams Call It Quits; Other Teams to Keep On Playing |page=C1 |date=October 3, 1998}}

{{cite news |first=John |last=Clayton |newspaper=Savannah Morning News |publisher=Morris Communications |location=Savannah, GA |title=Savannah soccer team Rug Ratz and its league are abolished |url=http://savannahnow.com/stories/122498/SPTeislfolds.html |date=December 24, 1998 |access-date=February 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030510094246/http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/122498/SPTeislfolds.html |archive-date=May 10, 2003 |url-status=dead }}

{{cite news |newspaper=Sun Herald |location=Biloxi, MS |publisher=Knight Ridder |title=EISL Folds After Two Seasons; Beach Kings Will Not Return |page=C1 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BX&s_site=sunherald&p_multi=BX&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB625A982529C68&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=December 24, 1998 |access-date=June 6, 2013}}

{{cite news |first=Mark |last=McCarter |newspaper=The Huntsville Times |publisher=Advance Publications |location=Huntsville, AL |title=Von Braun Center has celebrated much sports success, but also been graveyard for some franchises |url=http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/03/von_braun_center_has_celebrate.html#incart_related_stories |date=March 25, 2015 |access-date=April 3, 2015}}

}}

• [http://www.soccertimes.com/directory/eisl/fire.htm Huntsville Fire] at Soccer Times

{{Eastern Indoor Soccer League teams}}

Category:Eastern Indoor Soccer League teams

Category:Association football clubs established in 1997

Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 1998

Category:Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States

Category:Soccer clubs in Alabama

Category:Sports clubs and teams in Huntsville, Alabama

Category:1997 establishments in Florida

Category:1998 disestablishments in Alabama