It was a glorious storyline from the get-go. The legendary Ironmen football team, the same squad that represented the Wheeling area back in the 1960s, was making a comeback. And they were “WOW!!” good, too.
Ironmen 45, Cincinnati Dukes 0.
Ironmen 39, Erie Express 0.
Ironmen 82, Tennessee Hornets 0.
In just 14 days’ time, the Ironmen compiled a 3-0 record in the International Football Alliance with four games to go, and then, POOF!!
“Wow!!” good was too good.
“Well, when you were beating your opposition 166 to nothing in the first three games, people started to second-guess if they wanted to spend the money to come here to play against the terrific team that (head coach and general manager) Manny (Matsakis) built,” explained Carrie Scanlon Copley, the team’s Chief of Staff. “The first team (Cincinnati) to cancel on us was one we had beaten by a significant score and they decided not to travel here, and then the others (Michigan Bills, Huntsville Astros, and the Washington Hawks) on the schedule decided the same.
“The goal of those particular teams was not on the same level or frequency as what the Ironmen were doing,” she explained. “I know when we were preparing for the start of the season, we were preparing for a very competitive year, but the other teams just didn’t match up. I’m sure the fans didn’t mind how dominant the team was, but we came to the point where no other teams on the schedule wanted to play and that was that.”
Matsakis was the Ironmen’s team architect after spending his professional career coaching the game at several different colleges and universities before moving home about five years ago to be closer to family, and Scanlon Copley was impressed. Not only were the young men impressive on the field, but they were warm and welcoming during a number of community functions, as well.
“I can tell you as a lifelong football fan that we had high-quality athletes who were high-quality men,” she explained. “And when you put that together with a great coach who has a great staff, you get really positive results. Very positive.
“We had a lot of momentum at the time, too, and it was really heartbreaking when it all just ended. Manny was even at his daughter’s wedding in Greece when it all collapsed,” Scanlon Copley recalled. “It was really incredible while it lasted, but then it all just fell apart and that’s not what we wanted for the team. That’s why we made the decision to shut it down and to start preparing for where we are now. That’s what made sense to us.”
But there is a future for the organization now that the Ohio Valley franchise has joined the resurrected Continental Football League, a circuit initially formed in the 1960s and the last league in which the Ironmen competed before folding in 1969. The Ironmen became the flagship franchise when officially joining in September, and it was announced yesterday the San Antonio Toros will rejoin the CoFL, too.
There were seven teams in the original Continental, and now the Toros join Texas and the Ironmen in the current league with Commissioner Mike Kelly negotiating with several other potential franchises.
“This opportunity to compete at a significantly higher level of professional football is something our players—and our fans—will be excited to embrace next summer,” Matsakis told the media once the CoFL was announced.
Scanlon Copley is excited, too, for the Ironmen’s new chance to celebrate the team’s history with continued success.
“We knew the best thing we could do for our future was to take what we learned, find a new league, and come back stronger in 2026. That’s why I’m so excited about our new league,” Scanlon Copley said. “The league just added another new team and there is structure to everything. That wasn’t the case last year.
“The plan is for the season to begin the regular first week of May, and for it to continue through July,” she said. “The postseason would follow all the way to the championship, and, of course, we’re hoping the Ironmen will be there in the end.”
