The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in North America after the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the National Football League (NFL) until the AFL closed in 2019.
The Philadelphia Soul can refer to one of two successive professional arena football teams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They both have competed in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Soul made six ArenaBowl appearances, winning their first appearance and losing their next two appearances. The Soul won in their fourth appearance, against the Rattlers in 2016, winning 56–42. They also won in their fifth appearance in 2017 against the Tampa Bay Storm, winning 44–40 before losing in their sixth appearance in 2019 to the Albany Empire 45-27.
Ronald Vincent Jaworski, nicknamed "Jaws", is an American former football quarterback who played 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Youngstown State Penguins and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 1973 NFL draft. After spending four seasons mostly as a backup for the Rams, Jaworski was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1977, where he would lead the Eagles to four consecutive playoff appearances, including a division title and the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance in 1980. After ten seasons with the Eagles, Jaworski signed with the Miami Dolphins, where he would spend two seasons as a backup.
Clint Dolezel is an American football coach and former professional arena football player in the Arena Football League (AFL).
James Beaumont "Beau" Bell is a former American football linebacker. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at UNLV. Bell was also a member of the Omaha Nighthawks, Las Vegas Locomotives, Spokane Shock, BC Lions, Los Angeles Kiss, and Philadelphia Soul.
Rob Keefe is a former arena football defensive specialist and coach. Keefe has five championship victories and is the only person in arena football history to win ArenaCup (af2) and ArenaBowl (AFL) titles as both a player and a coach. As of the 2022 season, he is an assistant head coach and defensive coordinator with the Bay Area Panthers in the Indoor Football League.
Les Moss is an American football coach and current head coach of the Northern Arizona Wranglers in the Indoor Football League (IFL). He was the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2010 to 2016 and the assistant head coach of the Albany Empire of the AFL from 2018 to 2019. He was the head coach of the IFL's Iowa Barnstormers for the 2021 season. He is the son of former NFL, AFL, CFL and NCAA head football coach Perry Moss, who is enshrined in the AFL Hall of Fame.
Ron James is an American football coach. He is the head football coach for Juan Diego Catholic High School, a position he has held since 2020. He was the head coach of the Atlantic City Blackjacks of the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2019. He played college football at Siena College. He has been a football coach since 1986. Before becoming the Blackjacks' head coach for their inaugural 2019 season, James coached for the Las Vegas Gladiators from 2005 to 2006, the Utah Blaze from 2010 to 2013, the Pittsburgh Power in 2014, the Portland Steel in 2016, and the Tampa Bay Storm in 2017.
The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. For the upcoming 2024 season, the league consists of six teams.
Dwayne Hollis is an American football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at North Carolina Wesleyan College and attended Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia. He has also been a member of the Helsinki Roosters, Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Trenton Freedom, Shanghai Skywalkers, and Atlanta Legends.
The Albany Empire was a professional arena football team based in Albany, New York, that began play in the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2018. Home games were played at MVP Arena located in downtown Albany.
The 2018 Arena Football League season was the 31st season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted from five to four teams with one team folding, one going on hiatus, and one added expansion team. The 12-game regular season began on April 13 and ended on July 7.
Marvin Ross is an American football defensive back for the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League (NAL). Ross started out with the Lions from 2013 to 2015 as part of the Professional Indoor Football League. As an Arena Football League player, Ross was the 2016 AFL Rookie of the Year with the Cleveland Gladiators before playing with the Atlantic City Blackjacks in 2019. In between these years, Ross played in the National Arena League with the Columbus Lions and the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders from 2017 to 2018. With the Lions, Ross was awarded the 2021 NAL Defensive Player of the Year and had the season record for most interceptions.
Darius Prince is an American football wide receiver for the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League (AFL). Before joining the San Antonio Commanders of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in 2019, he played on various indoor football teams including the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks from 2016 to 2017 and the Soul from 2017 to 2018. Prince received 1st Team All-NAL team honors with the Steelhawks and the ArenaBowl MVP Award with the Soul during ArenaBowl XXX in 2017.
The 2019 Arena Football League season was the 32nd season and final in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL) before filing for bankruptcy. Prior to the start of the season, the league expanded from four to six teams with two added expansion teams. The 12-game regular season began on April 26 and ended on July 21.
The 2019 Atlantic City Blackjacks season was the only season for the Atlantic City Blackjacks in the Arena Football League. The Blackjacks played their home games at Boardwalk Hall and were coached by Ron James for the 2019 season.
The 2019 Columbus Destroyers season was the 11th and last season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, their sixth season in Columbus, and their first season following a 10-year hiatus. The Destroyers played their home games at Nationwide Arena and were coached by Matthew Sauk for the 2019 season.
ArenaBowl XXXII was the 32nd and most recent ArenaBowl and the championship game of the 2019 Arena Football League season. The game took place on August 11, 2019, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. It featured the winners of the two semifinals, the No. 1 seed Albany Empire and the No. 3 seed Philadelphia Soul.
The 2024 Arena Football League season is the first season in the new version of the Arena Football League (AFL).
The Arena Football League (AFL) is a professional indoor American football league founded in 2023 with their first season beginning in 2024. The current AFL takes its identity, history, rulebook and some team names from, but is not directly connected to, the previous iteration of the Arena Football League founded by Jim Foster in 1986.
