1988 Arena Football League season

Last updated
1988 Arena Football League season
League Arena Football League
Sport Arena football
DurationApril 28, 1988 – July 30, 1988
Regular season
Season champions Chicago Bruisers
Season MVP Ben Bennett (CHI)
League postseason
1 vs 4 Semifinals champions Chicago Bruisers
  1 vs 4 Semifinals runners-up Los Angeles Cobras
2 vs 3 Semifinals champions Detroit Drive
  2 vs 3 Semifinals runners-upPittsburgh Gladiators
ArenaBowl II
Champions Detroit Drive
  Runners-up Chicago Bruisers
Finals MVP Steve Griffin (DET)
AFL seasons
Usa edcp relief location map.png
ButtonGray.svg
Bruisers
ButtonGray.svg
Cobras
ButtonGray.svg
Drive
ButtonGray.svg
Gladiators
ButtonGray.svg
Knights
ButtonGray.svg
Steamrollers

The 1988 Arena Football League season was the second season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Chicago Bruisers in ArenaBowl II.

Contents

Standings

TeamWLTPCTPFPAPF (Avg.)PA (Avg.)STK
xy-Chicago Bruisers 1011.87552637443.831.2T 1
x-Detroit Drive 930.75047231039.325.8W 7
x-Pittsburgh Gladiators 660.50050749142.340.9L 1
x-Los Angeles Cobras 561.45846344938.637.4T 1
New England Steamrollers 390.25033551127.942.6W 1
New York Knights 2100.16734251028.542.5L 2

y – clinched regular-season title

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Semifinals ArenaBowl II
      
1Chicago29
4 Los Angeles 16
1 Chicago 13
2Detroit24
2Detroit34
3 Pittsburgh 25

Awards and honors

Regular season awards

AwardWinnerPositionTeam
Most Valuable Player Ben Bennett Quarterback Chicago Bruisers
Ironman of the Year Dwayne Dixon Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Detroit Drive
Coach of the Year Perry Moss Head coach Chicago Bruisers

All-Arena team

PositionFirst teamSecond team
Quarterback Ben Bennett, Chicago Matt Stevens, Los Angeles
Fullback/Linebacker Walter Holman, Detroit Osia Lewis, Chicago
Wide receiver/Defensive back Gary Mullen, Los Angeles
Carl Aikens, Jr., Chicago
Dwayne Dixon, Detroit
Jim Hockaday, New England
Vince Courville, New York
Reggie Smith, Chicago
Offensive lineman/Defensive lineman Quinton Knight, New York
Craig Walls, Pittsburgh
Jeff Faulkner, Chicago
Kevin Murphy, New England
Sylvester Bembery, New England
Jon Roehlk, Detroit
Defensive specialist Durwood Roquemore, Chicago Nate Miller, Detroit
Kicker Marco Morales, Chicago Novo Bojovic, Detroit

Team notes

# of TeamsExpansion TeamsFolded TeamsSuspended TeamsTeams returning from previous seasonTeams returning after hiatusRelocated TeamsName Changes
6 Detroit Drive
Los Angeles Cobras
New England Steamrollers
New York Knights
Denver Dynamite
Washington Commandos
Chicago Bruisers
Pittsburgh Gladiators

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Marauders</span> Arena football team

The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit Drive and was a member of the AFL in 1988 and in all subsequent years through 1993. The club then moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1994 and played in that city through the end of the 1994 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Bruisers</span> Arena football team

The Chicago Bruisers were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They were founded in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Rosemont Horizon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Cobras</span> Arena football team

The Los Angeles Cobras were a professional arena football team based in Los Angeles, California that played one season (1988) in the Arena Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Bennett</span> American football player and coach (born 1962)

Allen Beverly Bennett II is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Jacksonville Bulls, Chicago Bruisers, Dallas Texans, Sacramento Surge, San Antonio Riders, Orlando Predators, San Jose SaberCats and Portland Forest Dragons. He was a football coach in the Arena Football League (AFL), AF2, and National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at Duke University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArenaBowl II</span>

Arena Bowl '88 was the Arena Football League's second championship game. The game featured the number 2 Detroit Drive (9–3) against the number 1 Chicago Bruisers (10–1–1). With 37 combined points it is the lowest-scoring ArenaBowl in history. Chicago's 13 points are the fewest points by a single team in Arenabowl history.

The 1993 Arena Football League season was the seventh season of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Detroit Drive in ArenaBowl VII. The AFL also re-aligned to two conferences.

The 1992 Arena Football League season was the sixth season of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl VI.

The 1991 Arena Football League season was the fifth season of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Detroit Drive in ArenaBowl V.

The 1990 Arena Football League season was the fourth season of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Dallas Texans in ArenaBowl IV.


The 1989 Arena Football League season was the third season of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Detroit Drive, who defeated the Pittsburgh Gladiators in ArenaBowl III.

The 1987 Arena Football League season was the first season, also known as the "demonstration season", of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Denver Dynamite, who defeated the Pittsburgh Gladiators in ArenaBowl I.

The 1987 Chicago Bruisers season was the first season for the arena football franchise. The Bruisers took a chance with a young team that averaged 25 years of age. The Bruisers' lost their first game in franchise history, 44–52 in overtime, to the Denver Dynamite. The Bruisers struggled in their second game, giving up 45 points in the first half before losing 23–60 to the Pittsburgh Gladiators. Despite getting off to a 2–3 start, the Bruisers had an opportunity to make it to ArenaBowl I with a win in the final week of the season against the Dynamite. The Bruisers however would lose 35–52. They finished with a record of 2–4 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Steve Thonn is an American football coach. He was previously was a head coach in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Houston Thunderbears, Grand Rapids Rampage and Cleveland Gladiators. Thonn is also a former AFL player. He played WR/DB for the Chicago Bruisers (1988) and the Albany Firebirds (1990–1993). He was the offensive coordinator of the Georgia Force from 2004 to 2007 before being hired as the Rampage head coach.

The 1988 Chicago Bruisers season was the second season for the Chicago Bruisers. The Bruisers finished 10–1–1 and lost ArenaBowl I to the Detroit Drive.

The 1988 Detroit Drive season was the first for the Drive.

The 1988 Los Angeles Cobras season was the first and only season for the Cobras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Mullen (American football)</span> American football player (born 1963)

Gary Mullen is a former professional American football and Arena football player who played wide receiver and defensive back for eight seasons for the Denver Dynamite, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Cobras, Detroit Drive, Cincinnati Rockers and the Milwaukee Mustangs. He was elected into the Arena Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

The 1993 Tampa Bay Storm season was the seventh season for the Arena Football League franchise. They finished 9–1 in the Southern Division, tied with the Orlando Predators, but Orlando won the division due to having scored more points than the Storm. The Storm would later beat Orlando in the league semi-final then win ArenaBowl VII against the Detroit Drive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ArenaBowl XXVII</span> Annual league championship game

ArenaBowl XXVII was the 27th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers defeated the American Conference champion Cleveland Gladiators, 72–32. The game was played on August 23, 2014 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of the Gladiators.