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Vito "Babe" Parilli was an American football quarterback and coach who played professionally for 18 seasons. Parilli spent five seasons in the National Football League (NFL), three in the Canadian Football League (CFL), and 10 in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at Kentucky, where he twice received consensus All-American honors and won two consecutive bowl games.
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.
The 1996 Arena Football League season was the tenth season of the Arena Football League. It was succeeded by 1997. The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Iowa Barnstormers in ArenaBowl X. The AFL finally stabilized its scheduled number of games. It expanded to a 14-game season, which would remain until 2003. Previously, the scheduled number of games had not stayed the same for more than three years.
The 1995 Arena Football League season was the ninth season of the Arena Football League (AFL). It was succeeded by 1996. The league champions were the Tampa Bay Storm, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl IX. The AFL realigned its divisions for the third straight year to two divisions per conference, a format that was then used until 2016.
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 Pittsburgh Gladiators season was the first season for the Gladiators. They finished 4–2 and lost a 45–16 game against the Denver Dynamite in ArenaBowl I.
The 1987 Denver Dynamite season was the first season for the Denver Dynamite. Businessman and owner of the Denver Nuggets, Sidney Shlenker announced the forming of the Denver Dynamite. The franchise played in the inaugural four-team "demonstration" season of 1987. Despite the team and league's doubters, the Dynamite tied for the best record in the league with the Pittsburgh Gladiators, going 4–2. On August 1, 1987, the team participated in ArenaBowl I, which they won 45–16 over the Gladiators. The Dynamite were led on offense by quarterback Whit Taylor, and wide receiver Gary Mullen. After winning the ArenaBowl, Head Coach Tim Marcum was named the league's first ever Coach of the Year. After leading the Dynamite to the Despite averaging the league's best attendance with over 12,000 a game, it did not return for the league's second season due to Shlenker refusing to abide by the AFL's financial rules.
The 1987 Washington Commandos season was the first season for the Commandos.
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The Denver Dynamite were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. The team began play in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League. The team was brought in by businessman Sidney Shlenker and the team achieved success instantly, winning the first ever ArenaBowl under future AFL Hall of Fame coach Tim Marcum. After sitting out the 1988 season, the Dynamite were purchased by investment banker Gary Graham for $125,000. Graham then hired former NFL and AFL coach Babe Parilli to lead the team. Under Parilli, the Dynamite would return to the playoffs every season, but failed to return to the ArenaBowl. After the 1991 season, the franchise was sued by their public relations firm and filed for bankruptcy. They played their home games at McNichols Sports Arena. The team's logo was a bundle of dynamite sticks with a burning fuse.
Mike Malone is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He had also been the head coach of the Sacramento Kings in 2013–2014. Malone previously served as an assistant coach of the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets, and Golden State Warriors.
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.
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The 1991 Denver Dynamite season was the fourth, and what would be the final, season for the Arena Football League franchise. Despite the financial turmoil that occurred the season before, the Dynamite once again fielded a team in 1991. The team finished 6–4 during the regular season, again clinching the 3rd seed for the playoffs. The team lost to the relocated Gladiators, who became the Tampa Bay Storm, in the semi-finals. After the season, the franchise filed for bankruptcy after being sued by their public relations firm. When he learned of the situation in Denver, AFL commissioner, Jim Foster has this to say, "Three things can happen. One, he finds a buyer, or we find him a buyer, and the team stays in Denver. Two, a buyer is found and moves to another city. Three, no one is interested and the franchise goes down." The Dynamite went up for sale, but with the city trying to attract investors to land a Major League Baseball franchise, the team did not attract potential buyers.
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The 1992 Charlotte Rage season was the first for the Arena Football League (AFL) franchise. They were coached by Babe Parilli. The Rage finished 3–7 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Richard B. Buffington is an American former football player and coach. After briefly playing college football at BYU, he played for 17–19 different minor league teams in several leagues. He became a coach afterwards, beginning in 1968 with Bristol Community College. Buffington was a scout and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) in the late 1970s, and was an administrator and coach in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1982 to 1984. From 1988 to 2000, Buffington was a coach for several teams in the Arena Football League (AFL), including serving as head coach for the Albany Firebirds (1990–1993), Connecticut Coyotes (1995), Charlotte Rage (1996), and Florida Bobcats. He also coached the New Haven Ninjas (2002) and Albany Conquest (2004) in AF2, the New England Surge (2007) in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), and the Boston Blaze (2017) in the Can-Am Indoor Football League.
References
- 1 2 Joey Bunch (October 22, 2012). "Denver Dynamite exploded in Arena League's first season, then fizzled out". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
- ↑ "ON THE SIDELINES : Parilli Named Dynamite Coach". Los Angeles Times. June 27, 1989. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
- ↑ "1989 Denver Dynamite Team History". www.arenafan.com. ArenaFan. Retrieved January 28, 2013.