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The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional indoor American football league in the United States. It was founded in 1987, 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 AFL played a proprietary code known as arena football, a form of indoor American football played on a 66-by-28 yard field, with rules encouraging offensive performance, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game. The sport was invented in the early 1980s and patented by Jim Foster, a former executive of the United States Football League (USFL) and the NFL. Each of the league's 32 seasons culminated in the ArenaBowl, with the winner being crowned the league's champion for that season.
The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The VooDoo were a member of the East Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games in Smoothie King Center. The VooDoo were unrelated to an earlier AFL team, the New Orleans Night, who had competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons in the Louisiana Superdome.
The Alabama Vipers were a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original Arena Football League, where they won ArenaCup IX in 2008. They played their home games at the Von Braun Center. They were coached by Dean Cokinos.
The Green Bay Blizzard is a professional indoor football team based in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the Indoor Football League in 2010, after having played the previous seven seasons in af2, the now-defunct minor league of the Arena Football League. They play their home games at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin. The team's logo represents Bruiser, the team mascot.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runners-up in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.
Michael Joseph Stoops is an American football coach and former player, who is the defensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic University. Most recently, he worked as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama. Stoops also served as the head football coach at the University of Arizona from 2003 until his firing during the 2011 season. He previously served as an assistant football coach at the University of Iowa, Kansas State University, and University of Oklahoma. He is the younger brother of Bob Stoops, the former head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football program, and the older brother of Mark Stoops, head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats football program. He returned to Oklahoma as the defensive coordinator in 2012. He served in the position until he was fired on October 7, 2018.
Michael Louis Hohensee is a former professional football quarterback who played in the United States Football League, Canadian Football League, National Football League and Arena Football League. He most recently the head coach of the AFL's Portland Thunder. He played college football at the University of Minnesota, and was in the AFL for two seasons, from 1987 to 1988. Hohensee has been a head coach since 1990, beginning at the Washington Commandos. He has served as head coach of eight different arena football franchises, winning ArenaBowl XX with the Chicago Rush in 2006.
Erik Meyer is a former professional American football quarterback. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Eastern Washington. He was also a member of the Cologne Centurions, Seattle Seahawks. Oakland Raiders, Utah Blaze, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Spokane Shock, San Jose SaberCats and Washington Valor.
Jay Michael Gruden is an American football coach and former quarterback. He previously served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014 to 2019 and as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2011 to 2013. During his time in the Arena Football League (AFL), he won four ArenaBowls as a player and two more as a head coach. He is the younger brother of former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, and was an assistant coach of the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII.
Kevin Guy is an arena football coach and former wide receiver and defensive back who is the head coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played his college football at the University of West Alabama, and was an AFL wide receiver and defensive back from 1996 to 1999. He has been a football coach since 2000, and first served as a head coach in 2000 as the interim head coach for the New Jersey Red Dogs. After being the defensive coordinator for the San Jose SaberCats from 2006 to 2007, he became the Rattlers head coach in 2008. In 2018, he and his wife Cathy became two of the co-owners of a new Tucson-based IFL franchise, called the Tucson Sugar Skulls, set to play in 2019.
Robert John Landsee is a former American football player and coach. He was also the head coach and owner of the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League (AFL) till the team folded. He is a former American football center and guard who played for two seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986–1987. He was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin.
The Alabama Hammers were a professional indoor football team based in Huntsville, Alabama. The team played in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) from 2012 to 2015. The Hammers originally began play as an expansion team in the Southern Indoor Football League in 2011. The Hammers are the fourth indoor football team to play at the Von Braun Center; these were the Alabama Vipers of the AFL (2010), the Tennessee Valley Vipers of the af2, and the Tennessee Valley Raptors of the United Indoor Football league (2005). The owner of the Hammers is Southern Sports Entertainment, LLC. The Hammers play their home games at the Von Braun Center. Their name comes from the Yellowhammer, the state bird of Alabama.
Ron James is an American football coach who was most recently the head coach of the Atlantic City Blackjacks of the Arena Football League (AFL). 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.
Dean Cokinos is an American football coach.
The Washington Valor were a professional arena football team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Capital One Arena. The Valor were owned by Monumental Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL), Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League and fellow AFL team the Baltimore Brigade.
The Baltimore Brigade was a professional arena football team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that played in the Arena Football League (AFL) from 2017 to 2019. The team's home arena was the Royal Farms Arena. The franchise was owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which also owned the Washington Valor of the AFL, as well as the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Ronald R. Selesky, Jr. is a former American football center and arena football coach. He played college football at North Central College and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He also served as the Director of Football Operations for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), and held the same position with the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL in 2020 prior to the league folding.
Tracy J. Belton is an American football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and attended Largo High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He has also been a member of the Arkansas Twisters, Green Bay Blizzard, Milwaukee Iron, Georgia Force, Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators, New Orleans VooDoo and the Philadelphia Soul.
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 Times Union Center located in downtown Albany.
Washington, D.C. originally had one of the 1987 AFL charter teams called the Washington Commandos. The team played its home games during its first season at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland in 1987. The Commandos did not play in 1988, but returned as the Maryland Commandos the following season. The team moved to Virginia in 1990, again as the Washington Commandos and played at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. The team was folded after the 1990 season. Later, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder tried to launch an expansion team called the Washington Warriors, but could not get the trademarks and was eventually abandoned.
References
- ↑ "Presbyterian, Carson-Newman Lead SAC All-Conference Football Team; Ellis, Robinson Named Players of Year". www.thesac.com. South Atlantic Conference. November 7, 2005. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
- ↑ Adam Zielonka (May 16, 2018). "Washington Valor fire head coach Dean Cokinos". www.m.washingtontimes.com. Washington Times. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
- ↑ "McDowell Named Valor Head Coach". OurSportsCentral.com. September 10, 2018.
- ↑ "Benji McDowell Coaching Record". ArenaFan.com. Retrieved July 28, 2018.