The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in 1999 as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in 2004. They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of ten seasons of play.
HMCS Haida is a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1943 to 1963, participating in World War II and the Korean War. She was named after the Haida people.
Doug Kay is a retired American football coach who was most recently assistant head coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL), which league ceased operations after the 2017 season. He has more than 55 years of football experience, including 12 seasons in the AFL. He was the head coach of the Charlotte Rage, Carolina Cobras and Columbus Destroyers. He was also the head football coach at Olivet College from 1971 to 1975.
Ray Russell Bentley is an American broadcaster, author, and former football player. He played professionally as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Central Michigan Chippewas.
Kurt Schottenheimer is an American former football coach who was a position coach and coordinator at the college and professional levels for almost 40 years. During his National Football League (NFL) career, Schottenheimer coached with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions, and finished as the head coach for the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League.
JaMarcus Trenell Russell is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, winning the Manning Award as a junior en route to becoming the most valuable player of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. Russell was selected first overall by the Raiders in the 2007 NFL draft, but his tenure would be marked by inconsistent play and questions over his work ethic. He would be released from Oakland in 2010 and, despite attempts at returning to the NFL, was unable to sign with another team. Due to not meeting the expectations of being the first pick and the short length of his career, he is considered one of the NFL's biggest draft busts.
HMCS Iroquois was a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and Korean War. She was named for the Iroquois First Nations. Iroquois was the first ship to bear this name and the first ship of the class to serve with the Royal Canadian Navy.
HMCS Sioux was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy which fought in the Second World War and the Korean War. She was launched as HMS Vixen for the British Royal Navy before being transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy. She was then named for the Sioux people of Canada's western provinces.
Johnnie Lee Higgins is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UTEP Miners, earning first-team All-American honors in 2006. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft. He was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and Virginia Destroyers.
Vincent Eugene Clark is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football at Ohio State University. He was selected by the Packers in the first round of the 1991 NFL draft with the 19th overall pick.
The United Football League (UFL) was a professional American football minor league based in the United States that began play in October 2009 and played four seasons, the final one being cut short in October 2012. The small league, which never had more than five teams playing at one time, played most of its games in markets where the National Football League (NFL) had no current presence. Unlike most professional football leagues since the 1980s, the UFL played all of its games in the traditional fall season, competing directly with the NFL, college football, and high school football.
USS Lyman (DE-302) was an Evarts-class destroyer escort of the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Theatre, escorting convoys and other ships. She received a total of five battle stars for her service during the war, but was decommissioned and sold for scrap within 18 months of the war's end.
Russell Stanley Berkey was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II.
Captain Ralph Kerr CBE was an officer in the Royal Navy. He served in the First and Second World Wars, and was killed in the sinking of HMS Hood by the German battleship Bismarck at the Battle of the Denmark Strait.
Russell Carrington Wilson is an American professional football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and two seasons for the Denver Broncos. With the Seahawks, Wilson was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and helped Seattle win their first Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl XLVIII. He is regarded as one of the greatest dual-threat quarterbacks of all time.
The Virginia Destroyers were a professional American football team based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. They began play in the United Football League (UFL) in the 2011 season. They played their home games at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.
HMS Halsted (K556), ex-Russell, was a Captain-class frigate of the Buckley class of destroyer escort, originally intended for the United States Navy. Before she was finished in 1943, she was transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of Lend-Lease, and saw service from 1943 to 1944 during World War II.
Dave Whinham is a sports and entertainment executive, filmmaker, and former American football coach and team executive. Whinham formed in 2002 and has since served as president of a consulting and production company now known as The TEAM Productions. Based in Columbus, OH, The TEAM focuses its efforts in four areas: (1) brokering of sports and entertainment opportunities and entities, (2) providing comprehensive consulting services to the sports and entertainment industry, (3) producing live sports and entertainment events, and (4) creating, producing, and placing media elements. Whinham resides in Columbus and is a native of Detroit.
Grant Russell is an American football quarterback for the Wheeling Miners of the National Arena League (NAL).
Pete Costanza is a professional Canadian football coach who is the pass game coordinator and receivers coach for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
