# Minnesota Fighting Pike

The Minnesota Fighting Pike were an Arena football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in 1996 as an expansion team. The Fighting Pike were the first ever attempt at an arena/indoor football team in the state of Minnesota. The owner of the Fighting Pike was Tom Scallen. The Fighting Pike played at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The team colors were green and gold. In a 2012 AFL Poll, the Fighting Pike were voted as the 8th greatest nickname in AFL history.

## Franchise history

In November 1995, the announced that they would be nicknamed the "Fighting Pike" and that Art Haege was named the team's head coach.
During the team's first tryout, Haege walked out, stating he was going "Back to Iowa." The next day, Haege faxed in his resignation to team owner Tom Scallen.
The Pike were 0-7 at home, and the average attendance for the seven home games was 8,894.
The roster was full of players who had played at the University of Minnesota or other Minnesota colleges and universities. Tony Levine, a former Golden Gopher, joined the team and received 8 passes for a total of 83 yards and 1 touchdown. Former Gopher Rickey Foggie was the quarterback and he struggled adapting to the Arena Football League after many years in the Canadian Football League. Once during the season he was benched in favor of Southwest State's Jeff Loots, who threw four interceptions in a game. Loots was playing on his third expansion team in three seasons. Another player from Southwest State was Alvin Ashley. The best-known ex-Pike is kicker Mike Vanderjagt, later a star in the CFL and NFL.
Ray Jauch was the head coach. He was assisted by John Coatta Jr. on offense and Frank Haege on defense.
The team's lack of exposure or advertising was the key reason for the team's folding at the end of the 1996 season. The team did not have a regional television deal to promote their games or have the games advertised in newspapers and other media.
The Pike's final game of the season against the Memphis Pharaohs was played in Tupelo, Mississippi, because the Pharaohs had been evicted from their arena.
The Pike's official mascot was a giant Pike named "Tackle." He was known to "dive" into a promotional hot tub at the arena.

## Legacy

In 2024, a revival of the Arena Football League brought it the Minnesota Myth, a team which played only two games (one at Target Center) before folding themselves.

## Coaches
### Head coaches

| Name | Term | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Awards |
| Name | Term | W | L | T | Win% | W | L | Awards |
| Ray Jauch | 1996 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 0 | 0 | |

### Coaching staff
## 1996 season results

| Arena Bowl Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason results |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | Postseason results |
| 1996 | 1996 | AFL | American | Western | 4th | 4 | 10 | 0 | |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 4 | 10 | 0 | All-time regular season record (1996) | All-time regular season record (1996) | All-time regular season record (1996) |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 0 | 0 | - | All-time postseason record (1996) | All-time postseason record (1996) | All-time postseason record (1996) |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 4 | 10 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (1996) | All-time regular season and postseason record (1996) | All-time regular season and postseason record (1996) |
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
| April 27 | Texas Terror | Away | W 36–24 |
| May 4 | Iowa Barnstormers | Home | L 43–59 |
| May 10 | St. Louis Stampede | Home | L 22–59 |
| May 18 | Albany Firebirds | Away | L 30–85 |
| May 24 | Tampa Bay Storm | Home | L 16–41 |
| May 31 | Anaheim Piranhas | Home | L 23–49 |
| June 7 | Arizona Rattlers | Home | L 27–59 |
| June 15 | Florida Bobcats | Away | L 28–63 |
| June 28 | Milwaukee Mustangs | Home | L 49–61 |
| July 5 | Connecticut Coyotes | Away | W 44–40 |
| July 12 | Orlando Predators | Away | L 12–56 |
| July 19 | Texas Terror | Home | L 51–54 |
| July 26 | San Jose SaberCats | Away | W 40–31 |
| August 3 | Memphis Pharaohs | Away | W 50–25 |

## Statistics
### Team leaders

* Leading rusher: Harry Jackson 22 carries, 26 yards and 0 touchdowns
* Leading passer: Rickey Foggie 224-443 for 2,269 yards, 40 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
* Leading receiver: Reggie Brown 79 catches, 964 yards 17, touchdowns

### Offense
#### Passing

| Place | Player Name | Completions | Attempts | Comp% | Yards | TD's | INT's | Rating |
| 1 | Rickey Foggie | 224 | 443 | 50.6% | 2269 | 40 | 16 | 73.1 |
| 2 | Jeff Loots | 40 | 75 | 53.3% | 484 | 7 | 8 | 57.2 |

#### Rushing

| Place | Player Name | Car | Yards | Avg | TD's |
| 1 | Harry Jackson | 22 | 26 | 1.2 | 0 |
| 2 | Guy Howard | 11 | 19 | 1.7 | 0 |
| 3 | William Freeney | 5 | 18 | 3.6 | 0 |
| 4 | Rickey Foggie | 17 | 17 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Bruce LaSane | 6 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Wayne Hawkins | 3 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | Willie Jennings | 8 | 9 | 1.1 | 0 |
| 8 | Kevin Wolfolk | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | Norman Brown | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | David Andrews | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | Jeff Loots | 3 | −2 | −0.7 | 0 |

#### Receiving

| Place | Player Name | Rec. | Yards | Avg | TD's |
| 1 | Reggie Brown | 79 | 964 | 12.2 | 17 |
| 2 | Alvin Ashley | 69 | 971 | 14 | 19 |
| 3 | Eric Jennings | 29 | 230 | 7.9 | 0 |
| 4 | Bruce LaSane | 22 | 275 | 12.5 | 6 |
| 5 | Wayne Hawkins | 15 | 164 | 10.9 | 1 |
| 6 | Harry Jackson | 15 | 128 | 8.5 | 1 |
| 7 | Kevin Guy | 9 | 96 | 10.6 | 0 |
| 8 | Tony Levine | 8 | 83 | 10.4 | 1 |
| 9 | Guy Howard | 5 | 22 | 4.4 | 0 |
| 10 | Franklin Thomas | 3 | 43 | 14.3 | 0 |
| 11 | D.J. McCarthy | 2 | 53 | 26.5 | 1 |
| 12 | Fernando Evans | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 0 |
| 13 | Tony Harris | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 |
| 14 | Nate Johnson III | 2 | 14 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | Tony Young | 1 | 45 | 45 | 1 |
| 16 | Tracey Martin | 1 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| 17 | Adrian Lunsford | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 18 | Norman Brown | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 |

#### Touchdowns

| Place | Player Name | TD's | Rush | Rec | Ret | Pts |
| 1 | Alvin Ashley | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 114 |
| 2 | Reggie Brown | 17 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 102 |
| 2 | Bruce LaSane | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 36 |
| 4 | Rickey Foggie | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 5 | Adrian Lunsford | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 6 | Wayne Hawkins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | Harry Jackson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 8 | Tony Levine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 9 | D.J. McCarthy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 10 | Tony Young | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |

### Defense

| Place | Player Name | Tackles | Solo | Assisted | Sack | Solo | Assisted | INT | Yards | TD's |
| 1 | Kevin Guy | 52.5 | 49 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Tony Harris | 43.5 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 3 | Adrian Lunsford | 41 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 29 | 2 |
| 4 | Alvin Ashley | 28.5 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 1 |
| 5 | Brian Krulikowski | 25 | 19 | 12 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Nate Johnson III | 23 | 19 | 8 | 4.5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Norman Brown | 22.5 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Mike Sunvold | 21.5 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Harry Jackson | 19 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Franklin Thomas | 16 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Bruce LaSane | 15.5 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Guy Howard | 14.5 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Joe Fuller | 11.5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| 14 | Roosevelt Nix | 10 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Kevin Wolfolk | 9.5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Reggie Brown | 9 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Scott Dolfi | 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Randy Smith | 6.5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 0 |
| 19 | William Freeney | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Wayne Hawkins | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Sheldon Haliburton | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Tony Levine | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Ty Stewart | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | D.J. McCarthy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Jeff Loots | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Tony Young | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Jon Garber | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Fernando Evans | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Ricky Foggie | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Eric Jennings | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Macey Stephens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Special teams
#### Kick return

| Place | Player Name | Ret | Yards | TD's |
| 1 | Alvin Ashley | 52 | 951 | 0 |
| 2 | Adrian Lunsford | 22 | 393 | 2 |
| 3 | Reggie Brown | 3 | 23 | 0 |
| 4 | Tony Harris | 2 | 26 | 0 |
| 5 | Wayne Hawkins | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| 6 | Kevin Guy | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Eric Jennings | 1 | 0 | 0 |

#### Kicking

| Place | Player Name | Extra pt. | Extra pt. Att. | FG | FGA | Pct. | Pts |
| 1 | Ty Stewart | 37 | 43 | 16 | 52 | 30.8 | 87 |
| 2 | Mike Vanderjagt | 7 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 33.3 | 13 |

## 1996 regular season
### Week 1: vs Texas Terror

at The Summit, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 4,520

### Week 2: vs Iowa Barnstormers

at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 14,840

### Week 3: vs St. Louis Stampede

at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,726

### Week 4: vs Albany Firebirds

at the Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Attendance: 11,712

### Week 5: vs Tampa Bay Storm

at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 7,781

### Week 6: vs Anaheim Piranhas

at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,117

### Week 7: vs Arizona Rattlers

at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 8,207

### Week 8: vs Florida Bobcats

at the West Palm Beach Auditorium, West Palm Beach, Florida
Attendance: 4,450

### Week 10: vs Milwaukee Mustangs

at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 7,207

### Week 11: vs Connecticut Coyotes

at the Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Attendance: 9,249

### Week 12: vs Orlando Predators

at the Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 15,107

### Week 13: vs Texas Terror

at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 7,380

### Week 14: vs San Jose SaberCats

at the HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
Attendance: 14,901

### Week 15: vs Memphis Pharaohs

at the BancorpSouth Arena, Tupelo, Mississippi
Attendance: 4,520

## Other media

* The team appeared on the game EA Sports Arena Football as a hidden bonus team.