Friday Flashback: Hawaii Hammerheads


Team:  Hawaii Hammerheads
Home:  Honolulu, Hawaii
Sport:  Indoor Football
League:  Indoor Professional Football League (IPFL)
Years Active:  1999
Home Arena:  Neal S. Blaisdell Center
Head Coach:  Guy Benjamin
Best Players:  Brian Ah Yat (QB)

Season Review:
4/17/99    vs. Mississippi Fire Dogs (Won 27-24)
4/24/99    vs. Texas Terminators (Lost 36-21)
4/29/99    vs. Texas Terminators (Lost 49-34)
5/9/99      vs. Idaho Stallions (Won 53-37)
5/15/99    vs. Idaho Stallions (Lost 27-26 ot)
5/23/99    vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder (Won 57-40)
5/28/99    vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder (Won 37-18)
6/5/99       vs. Idaho Stallions (Won 38-34)
6/12/99    vs. Idaho Stallions (Lost 63-51)
6/19/99    vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder (Won 48-44)
6/26/99    vs. Rocky Mountain Thunder (Won 28-17)
7/3/99        vs. Texas Terminators (Won 55-44)
7/10/99    vs. Louisiana Bayou Beast (Won 36-13)
7/17/99    vs. Mississippi Fire Dogs (Lost 35-20)
8/1/99    vs. Louisiana Bayou Beast (Won 24-20)
8/4/99    vs. Louisiana Bayou Beast (Lost 32-30)
IPFL Semifinal
8/14/99    vs. Mississippi Fire Dogs (Won 36-16)
IPFL Championship
8/20/99    vs. Texas Terminators (Won 28-13)

The Hawaii Hammerheads played in the Indoor Professional Football League in 1999.  They only played one season but made the most of it winning the championship.  The Hammerheads finished the regular season with a 10-6 record.  The Hammerheads defeated the Mississippi Firedogs 36-16 on the road in the semifinals. They gave Hawaii their first ever football championship over the Texas Terminators 28-13. 

In the championship game, the Hammerheads held the Texas offense, the league's highest-scoring unit, well below its regular-season average of 40.8 points per game. In doing so, Texas finished with just eight first downs and 144 yards of total offense. Aside from recording four turnovers (two fumble recoveries and two interceptions), Hawaii also held the regular-season champion Terminators scoreless for two quarters.

The Hammerheads were coached by Guy Benjamin who had played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers.  He would go on to coach the Portland Prowlers (IPFL) and then the Hawaiian Islanders in ArenaFootball 2 (AF2). 

Unfortunately, the team folded after the season and could not obtain financial backing to return for the following season.

 




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