# 1996 Albany Firebirds season

The 1996 Albany Firebirds season was the seventh season for the Albany Firebirds. They finished the 1996 Arena Football League season 10–4 and finished the season with a loss in the semifinals of the playoffs to the Iowa Barnstormers.

## Schedule
### Regular season

| Week | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Game site (attendance) |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Final score | Team record | Game site (attendance) |
| 1 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 2 | May 4 | Charlotte Rage | W 63–32 | 1–0 | Knickerbocker Arena (13,029) |
| 3 | May 10 | at San Jose SaberCats | L 40–69 | 1–1 | San Jose Arena (15,561) |
| 4 | May 18 | Minnesota Fighting Pike | W 85–30 | 2–1 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,712) |
| 5 | May 24 | at Connecticut Coyotes | W 58–26 | 3–1 | Hartford Civic Center (7,539) |
| 6 | June 1 | St. Louis Stampede | L 56–66 | 3–2 | Knickerbocker Arena (12,015) |
| 7 | June 8 | Memphis Pharaohs | W 67–21 | 4–2 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,764) |
| 8 | June 15 | at Iowa Barnstormers | L 46–55 | 4–3 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (11,411) |
| 9 | June 21 | at Charlotte Rage | W 88–36 | 5–3 | Charlotte Coliseum (6,898) |
| 10 | June 29 | Connecticut Coyotes | W 59–45 | 6–3 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,117) |
| 11 | July 6 | Orlando Predators | W 53–41 | 7–3 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,079) |
| 12 | July 12 | at Tampa Bay Storm | L 52–65 (OT) | 7–4 | ThunderDome (13,202) |
| 13 | July 20 | at Florida Bobcats | W 66–63 | 8–4 | West Palm Beach Auditorium (3,601) |
| 14 | July 27 | Texas Terror | W 86–24 | 9–4 | Knickerbocker Arena (12,345) |
| 15 | August 2 | at Milwaukee Mustangs | W 54–49 | 10–4 | Bradley Center (16,411) |

### Playoffs

The Firebirds were awarded the No. 4 seed in the AFL playoffs.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Game site (attendance) |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Final score | Playoff record | Game site (attendance) |
| Quarterfinals | August 10 | (5) Milwaukee Mustangs | W 70–58 | 1–0 | Knickerbocker Arena (11,613) |
| Semifinals | August 17 | at (1) Iowa Barnstormers | L 55–62 | 1–1 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (11,411) |

## Standings

| Team | Overall | Overall | Overall | Division | Division | Division |
| Team | Wins | Losses | Percentage | Wins | Losses | Percentage |
| National Conference |||||||
| Eastern Division |||||||
| Albany Firebirds | 10 | 4 | 0.714 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Charlotte Rage | 5 | 9 | 0.357 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
| Connecticut Coyotes | 2 | 12 | 0.143 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
| Southern Division |||||||
| Tampa Bay Storm | 12 | 2 | 0.857 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| Orlando Predators | 9 | 5 | 0.643 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| Florida Bobcats | 6 | 8 | 0.429 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
| Texas Terror | 1 | 13 | 0.071 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
| American Conference |||||||
| Central Division |||||||
| Iowa Barnstormers | 12 | 2 | 0.857 | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
| Milwaukee Mustangs | 10 | 4 | 0.714 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| St. Louis Stampede | 8 | 6 | 0.571 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Memphis Pharaohs | 0 | 14 | 0.000 | 0 | 6 | 0.000 |
| Western Division |||||||
| Arizona Rattlers | 11 | 3 | 0.786 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
| Anaheim Piranhas | 9 | 5 | 0.643 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 |
| San Jose SaberCats | 6 | 8 | 0.429 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 |
| Minnesota Fighting Pike | 4 | 10 | 0.286 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
* Green indicates clinched playoff berth
* Blue indicates division champion
* Grey indicates best regular season record

## Awards

| Position | Player | Award | All-Arena team |
| Offensive specialist | Eddie Brown | Offensive Player of the Year | 1st |
| Wide receiver/defensive back | David McLeod | Defensive Player of the Year | 2nd |
| Kicker | Pete Elezovic | Kicker of the Year | 2nd |
| Quarterback | Mike Perez | - | 2nd |
| Offensive/defensive lineman | Jerome Brown | - | 2nd |