Colorado Crush

Last updated
Colorado Crush
Established 2003
Folded 2008
Played in Ball Arena
in Denver, Colorado
Colorado Crush.svg
League/conference affiliations
Arena Football League (20032008)
  • American Conference (2003–2008)
Current uniform
Team colorsNavy, burnt orange, beige
   
MascotCrusher
Personnel
Owner(s) John Elway
Pat Bowlen
Stan Kroenke
General manager John Elway
Head coach Mike Dailey
Team history
  • Colorado Crush (2003–2008)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (1)
Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games
Division championships (2)
Playoff appearances (5)
Home arena(s)

The Colorado Crush were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. They began play as a 2003 Arena Football League expansion team. The Crush played in the Central Division of the American Conference until the Arena Football League suspended operations in 2009. They were last coached by Mike Dailey and owned by a coalition of Denver sports figures led by John Elway.

Contents

Negotiations with a Denver ownership group were underway for a future AFL expansion franchise in Denver, but it was unclear whether or not it will use the Crush branding or that of the Denver Dynamite, an earlier AFL team. Like the Dallas Desperados, the Crush's branding is partially based on NFL teams (the Denver Broncos and St. Louis Rams, though to a much lesser degree), which would have given the late Pat Bowlen or Stan Kroenke a potential veto over any usage of the Colorado Crush branding. On July 15, 2015, the Crush name was acquired by the Indoor Football League franchise formerly known as the Colorado Ice as the trademark for the name expired in 2014 according to their ownership. [1]

History

On August 8, 2001, the team entered an application for expansion into the Arena Football League. [2] In June 2002, it was announced that John Elway (Co-Owner and Chief Executive Officer), with Stan Kroenke, owner of the Avalanche, the Nuggets, the Rapids, Pepsi Center, & the Altitude Sports network and the majority Broncos owner Pat Bowlen would be bringing an arena football team to Denver. [3] The Crush competed in the Central Division of the American Conference. After a bad inaugural season in 2003, in which they finished 2-14, the Crush rebounded to go 11–5 and make the playoffs in their second year. On June 12, 2005 they won ArenaBowl XIX (19) in Las Vegas' Thomas & Mack Center over the Georgia Force 51–48, in only their third year of existence. [4]

In their fourth year the Crush ended up 11–5, with the American Conference Central title for the second year in a row. In the divisional round, however, the Crush lost in an upset to the fifth-seeded (and eventual ArenaBowl champion) Chicago Rush 63–46.

The team's mascot was an anthropomorphic bull named "Crusher." [5]

On July 15, 2015, the Indoor Football League franchise previously known as the Colorado Ice announced that they would change their name to the Colorado Crush, but would have no ties to the former AFL franchise. [1] According to team owner Tom Wigley, the trademark of the Crush name expired the year before meaning that the original Crush ownership no longer had a say in the use of the name.

Highlights

Coaches

Head coach TenureRegular season
record (W-L)
Postseason
record (W-L)
Most recent coaching staffNotes
Bob Beers 2003 2–140–0
Mike Dailey 20042008 46–34 [10] 6–3 [10] DC: Tommy Johnson (2009) [11]
OC: Chris MacKeown (2009) [12]
DL: Tony Federico (2003–2008)
ST coordinator / WR coach: Matt Gardner (2004–2008)

Season-by-season

Players of note

Clay Rush (#3) and John Dutton (#8) Clay Rush Colorado Crush Pepsi Center 62 yard field goal.jpg
Clay Rush (#3) and John Dutton (#8)

Individual awards

Offensive Player of the Year
SeasonPlayerPosition
2005 Damian Harrell OS
2006 Damian Harrell OS

Arena Football Hall of Famers

Colorado Crush Hall of Famers
No.NameYear InductedPosition(s)Years w/ Crush
-- Mike Dailey 2012 Head Coach 2004–2008

All-Arena players

The following Crush players were named to All-Arena Teams:

All-Ironman players

The following Crush players have been named to All-Ironman Teams:

All-Rookie players

The following Crush players have been named to All-Rookie Teams:

Trivia

The team's main color and name are in reference to the Denver Broncos 1970s defensive squad (the "Orange Crush").

Denver was host to one of the four charter teams, the Denver Dynamite, which won the first-ever ArenaBowl in 1987.

Van Montgomery from the TV show Reba played for the Crush at the end of his football career.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Introducing the Colorado Crush Archived 2015-07-16 at the Wayback Machine , goifl.com, July 15, 2015
  2. "Elway expected to land Denver AFL team". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. August 8, 2001. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  3. "Elway to bring Arena Football team to Denver". Lodi News-Sentinel. June 19, 2002. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  4. "Crush wins 1st Arena title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 14, 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  5. http://coloradocrush.com/content/index.cfm?&ATCLID=153624&DB_OEM_ID=3500&fuseaction=showContent&contentID=105&navID=108 Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20090116020423/http://www.arenafootball.com/mediaPlayer/video.dbml?DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=38064&SPID=3172&DB_OEM_ID=3500&CLIP_ID=24437&CLIP_FILE_ID=27899&CONTENT_TYPE=ONDEMAND. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2007-04-10.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20090116020428/http://www.arenafootball.com/mediaPlayer/video.dbml?DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=38064&SPID=3172&DB_OEM_ID=3500&CLIP_ID=28742&CLIP_FILE_ID=32776&CONTENT_TYPE=ONDEMAND. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2007-04-10.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. https://web.archive.org/web/20090116020627/http://www.arenafootball.com/mediaPlayer/video.dbml?DB_MENU_ID=&SPSID=38064&SPID=3172&DB_OEM_ID=3500&CLIP_ID=29664&CLIP_FILE_ID=33642&CONTENT_TYPE=ONDEMAND. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2007-04-10.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. "Pat Bowlen | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site".
  10. 1 2 "ArenaFan Online: AFL coaches: Mike Dailey" . Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  11. "Crush Hire New Defensive Coordinator". 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  12. "Crush Hire New Offensive Coordinator". 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-10-24.

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