The 1992 Birmingham Fire season was the second and final season for the franchise in the World League of American Football (WLAF). The team was led by head coach Chan Gailey in his second year, and played their home games at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of seven wins, three losses and one tie (7âÂÂ3âÂÂ1) and with a loss against the Orlando Thunder in the WLAF semifinals as a wild card.
After a preseason loss to London, the Fire lost their opening game on the road at Sacramento. They then rebounded and went unbeaten over their next four games with wins over San Antonio, Frankfurt and Sacramento in addition to the first tie in league history against London at Wembley Stadium. Birmingham then lost in their rematch at San Antonio before they completed the regular season with four consecutive victories over Barcelona, Montreal, Orlando and Ohio to clinch the final playoff spot. In the WLAF semifinals, the Fire lost to Orlando 45âÂÂ7 to finish the season with an overall record of 7âÂÂ3âÂÂ1.
In February 1992, the second WLAF Draft was held in Dallas, Texas. It was held over two days with rounds 1 through 14 on February 4 and rounds 15 through 29 on February 5. In addition to those players drafted, as part of their partnership with the National Football League (NFL), 101 NFL players were allocated to the WLAF. The players allocated to the Fire included: quarterbacks Shawn Moore from the Denver Broncos, and Greg Jones from the Detroit Lions; running backs Steve Avery from the Green Bay Packers and Brian Lattimore from the Indianapolis Colts; guard Joe Valerio from the Kansas City Chiefs and linebacker Kyle Freeman from the Los Angeles Raiders.
The 1992 preseason featured a single game for each team. The winner of the game would then serve as the number two tiebreaker, behind results in head-to-head competition, for playoff position. For their preseason game, the Fire lost 14âÂÂ13 to the defending World Bowl champion London Monarchs before 10,150 fans at Legion Field. In the game, Birmingham took a 13âÂÂ0 lead late into the fourth quarter. The Fire scored on a pair of 32-yard Philip Doyle field goals and on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mike Norseth to Willie Bouyer. With just over six minutes remaining in the game, Monarchs' back-up quarterback Fred McNair led London on two touchdown drives for the win. The touchdowns were scored on McNair touchdown passes of 77-yards to Sean Foster and two-yards to Greg Harrel.
To open the 1992 season, the Fire were defeated by the Sacramento Surge before 17,920 fans at Hornet Stadium. After Birmingham opened the scoring with a 50-yard Philip Doyle field goal in the first quarter, Sacramento answered with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to take a 13âÂÂ3 halftime lead. The second quarter points came on a two-yard Mike Pringle run and on a 47-yard David Archer pass to Eddie Brown. The Surge extended their lead further to 20âÂÂ3 early in the third on a 10-yard Archer pass to Carl Parker before Doyle scored the final points of the game with his 46-yard field goal later in the quarter. With the loss, the Fire began their season at 0âÂÂ1.
In their home opener, the Fire rebounded from their loss to Sacramento and defeated the San Antonio Riders 17âÂÂ10. After the Riders took a 3âÂÂ0 lead on a 22-yard Jim Gallery field goal in the first quarter, the Fire responded with 17 second quarter points that proved to be enough for the victory. In the quarter, Eugene Rowell scored on a seven-yard touchdown run, a 47-yard Philip Doyle field goal and on a 32-yard Arthur Hunter interception return. In the third quarter San Antonio scored on a four-yard Brad Goebel touchdown pass to George Searcy to make the final score 17âÂÂ10. The Riders had an opportunity to tie the game in the final minute of the game, but the Goebel pass was intercepted by John Miller on the Fire six-yard line. With the victory, the Fire improved their record to 1âÂÂ1.
At the Waldstadion in Frankfurt, the Fire earned their first all-time victory in Europe with their 17âÂÂ7 win over the Galaxy. After a scoreless first quarter, Birmingham took a 14âÂÂ0 halftime lead with a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. Both were scored by Elroy Harris with the first on a nine-yard pass from Mike Norseth and the second on a one-yard run. The Galaxy responded in the third quarter on a one-yard Tony Baker touchdown run to cut the Fire lead to 14âÂÂ7. A late Philip Doyle field goal in the fourth provided for the final points of the game in the 17âÂÂ7 Birmingham victory. The 33,857 in attendance was the second largest crowd to attend a Galaxy game at Waldstadion to that point in the history of the franchise. With the victory, the Fire improved their record to 2âÂÂ1.
At Wembley Stadium in London, the Fire battled the London Monarchs to a 17âÂÂ17 tie, the first tie in the history of the WLAF. Birmingham took an early 7âÂÂ0 lead after Mike Norseth scored on a two-yard run before the Monarchs scored 17 consecutive points to take a 17âÂÂ7 lead into the fourth quarter. London points were scored on a two-yard Charlie Young touchdown run and 33-yard Phil Alexander field goal in the second quarter and a 35-yard Stan Gelbaugh touchdown pass to Bernard Ford in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Fire cut the London lead to 17âÂÂ14 after Elroy Harris scored on a one-yard touchdown run. With less than three minutes remaining in the game, Gelbaugh threw an interception that set up the game-tying, 42-yard Doyle field goal with only 0:10 remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. In the overtime period, London failed on a pair of opportunities to win the game. The first came when Alexander missed a 39-yard field goal wide right with only 0:12 remaining, and the second when Howard Feggins intercepted a Norseth pass and returned it to the Fire three-yard where he was tackled as time expired.
The tie remained as the only one in league history through the 2006 season when Berlin and Hamburg battled to a 17âÂÂ17 tie. With the tie, the Fire's record moved to 2âÂÂ1âÂÂ1.
In a rematch of their season opener, the Fire defeated the Sacramento Surge before 20,794 fans at Legion Field. After a scoreless first quarter, Birmingham scored a pair of Philip Doyle field goal from 38 and 52-yards and Sacramento scored on a 19-yard David Archer touchdown pass to Carl Parker for a Surge halftime lead of 7âÂÂ6. In the third quarter, each team scored touchdowns to tie the game at 14âÂÂ14 as they entered the fourth quarter. The Fire scored first on a ten-yard Mike Norseth pass to Jim Bell, followed by the Surge on a ten-yard Archer pass to Eddie Brown. Birmingham then closed the game with a pair of touchdowns first on a 56-yard Norseth pass to Eddie Britton and a one-yard Jim Bell run for the 28âÂÂ14 win. With the victory, the Fire improved their record to 3âÂÂ1âÂÂ1.
In a rematch of their week two matchup, the Fire lost to the San Antonio Riders before 13,590 fans at Bobcat Stadium. After Jim Bell scored on a one-yard run for the Fire in the first, the Riders responded with 17 second quarter points. Wayne Walker scored first on a 23-yard Mike Johnson touchdown pass, a 37-yard Jim Gallery field goal and on 22-yard Chris Oldham interception return. Birmingham responded late in the second with the final points of the game on an 84-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Tracy Sanders. In the second half, the Fire missed on three scoring opportunities after Elroy Harris fumbled on the Riders' three-yard line and Philip Doyle missed field goals of 35 and 45-yards. With the loss, the Fire moved their record to 3âÂÂ2âÂÂ1.
In a rematch of their previous season meeting in the playoffs, the Fire defeated the Barcelona Dragons at Legion Field. Birmingham took an early 3âÂÂ0 lead on a 36-yard Philip Doyle field goal. In the second quarter, touchdowns were scored for the Fire by Tracy Sanders on a 70-yard interception return and for the Dragons on a 16-yard Tony Moss touchdown reception from Scott Erney for a 10âÂÂ7 Birmingham lead at halftime. After a 20-yard Doyle field goal in the third, the Fire extended their lead to 19âÂÂ7 in the fourth after Mike Norseth threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Steve Avery. Although unable to take the lead, the Dragons then scored the final ten points of the game on a three-yard Tony Rice touchdown run and on a 38-yard Teddy Garcia field goal. With the victory, the Fire improved their record to 4âÂÂ2âÂÂ1.
With just under ten seconds remaining in overtime, Jim Bell scored on a one-yard touchdown run to give the Fire a 23âÂÂ16 win over the Montreal Machine at Legion Field. After field goals were scored for the Machine by Björn Nittmo from 43-yards and for the Fire by Philip Doyle from 36-yards in the first quarter, a 16-yard Mike Norseth touchdown run in the second gave Birmingham a 10âÂÂ3 halftime lead. Field goals of 21 and 23-yards by Doyle extended the Fire lead to 16âÂÂ3 early in the fourth before the Machine tied the game with a pair of late touchdowns. Michael Proctor scored first on a six-yard run and then threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Young to send the game into overtime.
With less than a minute remaining in the overtime period, Montreal did not punt on a fourth-and-three on their own 43-yard line. Michael Proctor was subsequently stopped at their own 45-yard line and turned the ball over on downs to Birmingham. On the next play, Mike Norseth threw a 44-yard pass to Willie Bouyer at the one-yard line and two plays later Jim Bell scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run. With the victory, the Fire improved their record to 5âÂÂ2âÂÂ1.
In the final home game of the season, Birmingham defeated the Orlando Thunder 24âÂÂ23 at Legion Field. Birmingham took a 7âÂÂ3 lead at the end of the first quarter after Tracy Bennett connected on a 42-yard field goal for the Thunder and Elroy Harris scored on a seven-yard touchdown run. The Fire extended their lead to 21âÂÂ10 at halftime after touchdown runs of one-yard by Jim Bell and seven-yards by Harris before the Thunder scored their first touchdown on a one-yard Darryl Clack touchdown run. After a 90-yard Joe Johnson punt return brought the score to 21âÂÂ17, Birmingham scored their final points on a 22-yard Philip Doyle field goal early in the fourth. The Thunder then scored on a three-yard Scott Mitchell touchdown pass to Grantis Bell; however, instead of tying the game with an extra point, the Thunder failed on a two-point conversion and the Fire won 24âÂÂ23. With the victory, the Fire improved their record to 6âÂÂ2âÂÂ1.
In the final regular season game of the year, Birmingham defeated the Ohio Glory 27âÂÂ24 at Ohio Stadium to clinch the final playoff spot as a wild card. After the first quarter, the Fire led 14âÂÂ10 with Birmingham points scored on touchdown runs of one-yard by Elroy Harris and two-yards by Jim Bell and Ohio points scored on an eight-yard Greg Frey touchdown pass to Randy Bethel and a 42-yard Jerry Kauric field goals. The Glory then took a 24âÂÂ17 halftime lead after a pair of Frey touchdowns, the first a 51-yard pass to Phil Logan and the second on a one-yard run. The Fire then shutout the Glory in the second half and scored on a two-yard Bell touchdown run in the third and on a 30-yard Philip Doyle field goal in the fourth to win 27âÂÂ24. With the victory, the Fire improved their record to 7âÂÂ2âÂÂ1.
Against the Orlando Thunder in the semifinals of the WLAF playoffs, the Fire lost 45âÂÂ7 at the Florida Citrus Bowl to complete their season.
After the completion of the regular season, the All-World League Team was selected by the league's ten head coaches. Overall, Birmingham had two players selected to the first team. The selections were: