Editing Bob Long (section)

== Ironmen division and later teams ==

Long left the original Ironmen organisation in late 1996 and assembled a separate team which became known as [[Bob Long's Ironmen]]. The original organisation continued independently and was subsequently identified as the Southern California Ironmen.[4]

Bob Long's Ironmen entered professional competition during the 1997 NPPL season and finished third at the [[1997 NPPL Las Vegas Desert Open]]. Contemporary coverage explicitly distinguished the new team from the original Ironmen, whose members refereed the tournament.[4]

At the 1998 NPPL Chicago Open, Bob Long's Ironmen and Dave Youngblood's Ironmen played their first documented tournament game against one another following the division.[5] Bob Long's team subsequently won the 1998 NPPL professional season championship.[6]

Long remained active as a player and captain during the early 2000s. Bob Long's Ironmen won the professional five-player division at the 2001 Mardi Gras Open, and contemporary reports continued to document Long playing for the team during the 2002 season.[7][8]

With the establishment of the original [[National Xball League]] in 2003, Long became associated with the [[Oakland Assassins]]. The Assassins competed as a professional NXL franchise and won the league's Western Division championship in both 2004 and 2005.[9]

Long was also associated with teams competing as Bob Long's Blast, Bob Long's Assassins and the Philadelphia Assassins. Results and roster relationships for these organisations are covered in their respective team articles.