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 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 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.
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. that played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators, the franchise was one of the original four that launched the Arena Football League for its inaugural, 1987 season. The club was relocated to Tampa for the 1991 season, being the last of the original teams to either fold or leave its market. After 26 years in the Tampa market, the team ceased operations in December, 2017.
The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. The franchise was originally based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and then later in Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Cleveland for the 2008 AFL season. The Gladiators qualified for the playoffs eight times in their history, reaching the ArenaBowl in 2014.
The Cincinnati Rockers were an arena football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They began play in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League and competed through the 1993 season before they suspended operations due to low attendance. The Rockers played their home games at the Riverfront Coliseum.
The Charlotte Rage were a professional arena football team based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They were members of the Arena Football League from 1992 to 1996. They played their home games at the Charlotte Coliseum from 1992 to 1994 and then again in 1996 and the Independence Arena in 1995. They were owned by Allen J. Schwalb, Joanne Faruggia and former National Football League and United States Football League quarterback Cliff Stoudt.
The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Crunch compete in the Major Arena Soccer League 2 and began play in March 2021.
The Cleveland Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1976 to 1978. They were a relocation of the California Golden Seals franchise that had played in Oakland since 1967. After just two seasons, the team merged with the Minnesota North Stars. As a result, the NHL operated with 17 teams during the 1978–79 season.
Anthony Robert Graziani is a former American football quarterback who played for the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League (NFL), and the Los Angeles Avengers and Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League (AFL). Graziani played college football at the University of Oregon.
Throughout the years, a number of teams in the National Football League (NFL) have either moved or merged.
The East Division was a division of the Arena Football League's American Conference. It was first formed in 1995 as part of the National Conference when expansion led to the creation of divisions.
Mike Wilpolt is a former American football wide receiver/defensive back for the Charlotte Rage (1992–1993), the Las Vegas Sting (1994–1995), and the Anaheim Piranhas (1996) in the Arena Football League (AFL). He also coached for 10 years in the AFL with the Indiana Firebirds, Los Angeles Avengers and Cleveland Gladiators.
The Columbus Aces were a proposed indoor football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team was set to be the final team expansion team of the Continental Indoor Football League in 2010. The Aces would have been the third attempt at arena or indoor football in Columbus, the first were the Arena Football League's, following prior teams the Columbus Thunderbolts and the Columbus Destroyers. The owners of the Aces were Michael Burtch and Stanley Jackson. The Aces were scheduled to play their home games at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum in Columbus, Ohio.
The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power was the youngest franchise in the AC. The team played its home games at the Consol Energy Center, which they shared with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. The Power shared the same color scheme as Pittsburgh's other professional sports teams, the Penguins, the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League, and the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball.
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 Columbus Beast was a professional indoor football team set to begin play as a charter member of the Xtreme Indoor Football League for its inaugural 2014 season. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the Beast were to play their home games at Stars Indoor Sports.
Ohio is home to many professional and college sports teams. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus are home to major league professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer.
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.
