Alabama Hammers
Established 2010
Folded 2016
Played in Huntsville, Alabama
at the Von Braun Civic Center
League/conference affiliations
Southern Indoor Football League (2011)
Professional Indoor Football League (2012–2015)
Current uniform
Team colorsGreen, gold, silver, white
       
NicknamesHammers
MascotSlammer the Hammer
Personnel
Owner(s)Southern Sports and Entertainment LLC (Jeff Knight, CEO)
ChairmanJeff Knight
PresidentJoe Stroud
Head coachScott Sharp
Team history
  • Alabama Hammers (2017–present)
Championships
League championships (1)
PIFL: 2013
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (1)
PIFL: 2013
Home arena(s)

The Alabama Hammers were a professional indoor football team based in Huntsville, Alabama. The team played in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) from 2012 to 2015. The Hammers originally began play as an expansion team in the Southern Indoor Football League in 2011. The Hammers are the fourth indoor football team to play at the Von Braun Center; these were the Alabama Vipers of the AFL (2010), the Tennessee Valley Vipers of the af2 (2000–2004 and 2006–2009), and the Tennessee Valley Raptors of the United Indoor Football league (2005).[1] The owner of the Hammers is Southern Sports Entertainment, LLC. The Hammers play their home games at the Von Braun Center. Their name comes from the Yellowhammer, the state bird of Alabama.

Franchise history

2011

On November 5, 2010, it was announced that indoor football was to stay at the Von Braun Center in the form of the Alabama Hammers who would be playing in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL).[2] The nickname "Hammers" was chosen due to the state bird of Alabama being the yellowhammer.[3] On December 19, 2010, the Hammers announced that Marty Hammond, who had coached the Rio Grande Valley Dorados from 2006 to 2009, as their first ever head coach.[4] On March 19, 2011, the Hammers took the field for their first ever game as a franchise, losing 20–67 to the Columbus Lions.[5] The Hammers achieved the first victory in forfeit fashion, as the Mobile Bay Tarpons forfeited their April 29 game.[6] The Hammers finished the regular season with a 4–8 record, failing to qualify for the postseason.[7]

2012

Before the season began, the Hammers joined the Professional Indoor Football League after the Southern Indoor Football League dissolved. The Hammers went 3–9 in 2012, failing to making the playoffs.

2013

For the 2013 season, the Hammers hired former Alabama Vipers coach Dean Cokinos to be their head coach.[8] The Hammers have achieved the level of success expected of coach Cokinos, who has a great winning percentage in lower level indoor football. They won their first championship when they won the PIFL title over the Richmond Raiders 70–44.[9]

2014

The Hammers did not return to their championship form in 2014, losing their first 4 games of the regular season. After the Hammers seemed to have righted the ship with 3-straight wins, they went on another 4-game losing streak. The Hammers finished the season 4–8, tied for 4th placed in the American Conference, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

2015

During the offseason, Cokinos took a job as the head coach of the New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League. He was replaced with Cosmo Dematteo, who had coached the filler team, Georgia Fire in 2014. However, in January 2015, Dematteo stepped down due to family issues before coaching a game for the Hammers. Scott Sharp was named the new Hammers' head coach on January 27, 2015.[10]

In 2015, the Hammers folded upon the league folding.

Players

Final roster

Alabama Hammers roster
Quarterbacks
  • 22 Billy Cosh
  •  8 Anthony Speight
  • 10 Garrett Sutphen

Running backs

  • 11 Erwin McGuire

Wide receivers

  • 20 Philander Browder
  •  3 Rob Brown
  •  5 Maurice Dupree
  •  4 Mico McSwain
Offensive linemen
  • 70 Brandon Haskin
  • -- Quintel Rutledge
  • 54 John Smith
  • 53 Derrick Ziegler

Defensive linemen

  • 72 Nicholas Finney
  • -- Jason Gains
  • -- Brandon McCauley
  • 42 Tony Patterson
  •  1 Desmond Rainford
  • 19 Byron Sneed
  • 90 Jeremiah Zene
Linebackers
  • 33 Tyrell Dammerman
  •  9 Keon Lattimore

Defensive backs

  •  7 Travis Blanchard
  •  6 Justin Broome
  • 18 Svante Davenport
  • 21 Johnnie Dixon
  •  2 Ginikachi Ibe

Kickers

  • 44 Brandon Rutherford
Injured reserve
  •  5 Loucinel Fonfile WR
  • -- Kenny Mainor DL
  • 44 Marvin Newkirk DL
  • -- Lance Smith FB
  • -- Justin Williams DB

Exempt list

  • 18 Cameron Bailey WR
  • -- Cameron Blake DL
  •  3 Charles McClain WR
  •  8 Austin Trainor QB

Suspension

  • currently vacant

Failure to report-exempt

  • -- Dominique Bacon OL
  • -- Jeremy Grier WR

Left squad

  • 54 Cole Alexander OL
  •  9 Justin Kenyon WR
  • -- Andrew Mick WR
  • rookies in italics
  • Roster updated June 4, 2015
  • 28 Active, 14 Inactive

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Hammers players who won league awards:

SeasonPlayerPositionAward
2013Mico McSwainWRMost Valuable Player
2013Mico McSwainWROffensive Player of the Year
2013Jake TrantinLBDefensive Rookie of the Year

Head coaches

Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Marty Hammond 2011–2012 7 17 0 .292 0 0
Dean Cokinos 2013–2014 13 10 0 .565 2 0 PIFL Coach of the Year (2013)
Scott Sharp 2015 5 7 0 .417 0 0

Coaching staff

Alabama Hammers staff
Front office
  • Founder/Owner – Southern Sports and Entertainment LLC
  • President / Director of Operations - Joe Stroud
  • Director of Corporate Sales - Trent Iley

Head coach

  • Head Coach - Scott Sharp

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator –
  • Running Backs -
  • Wide Receivers –
  • Offensive Line –
  

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive Coordinator –
  • Defensive Line/Linebackers –
  • Secondary –

Season-by-season results

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth League Leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2011[11] 2011 SIFL Eastern South 3rd 4 8 0
2012[12] 2012 PIFL 5th 3 9 0
2013 2013 PIFL 1st 9 2 0 Won PIFL Semifinals 61–46 vs. Albany
Won PIFL Cup II 70–44 vs. Richmond
2014 2014 PIFL American 4th 4 8 0
2015 2015 PIFL 6th 5 7 0
Totals 25 34 0 All-time regular season record
2 0 – All-time postseason record
27 34 0 All-time regular season and postseason record

References

  1. ↑ McCarter, Mark (March 25, 2015). "Von Braun Center has celebrated much sports success, but also been graveyard for some franchises". The Huntsville Times. Huntsville, AL: Advance Publications. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  2. ↑ Bryant, Bill (November 4, 2010). "Indoor football to return to Von Braun Center next spring". The Huntsville Times. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  3. ↑ Bill Bryant (November 13, 2010). "Hammers officially Huntsville's latest indoor football team". www.al.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ Reggie Benson (December 19, 2010). "Alabama Hammers name Hammond head coach". www.al.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ Bill Bryant (March 19, 2011). "Alabama Hammers routed by Columbus in SIFL opener". www.al.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Former Viper QB Eakin Now a Hammer". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. April 27, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Hammers end 2011 SIFL season with loss at Albany". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. June 11, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ McCarter, Mark (October 4, 2012). "Dean Cokinos returning to Huntsville as head coach of Alabama Hammers' football team". The Huntsville Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Alabama Hammers roll impressively to PIFL championship by dismantling Richmond (Updated) (Gallery)". 9 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Daniel Boyette (January 27, 2015). "Scott Sharp makes preps-to-pros jump to become new Hammers coach". www.al.com. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ "SIFL - 2011 Regular Season, Alabama Hammers". The Stat Guys.
  12. ↑ "PIFL - 2012 Regular Season, Alabama Hammers". The Stat Guys. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
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