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 Cleveland Thunderbolts were an Arena football team based in Richfield, Ohio. The Thunderbolts were founded in 1991 and were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL). In 1994, the franchise relocated to Columbus The team played for four seasons total, making the playoffs once. They played their home games in the Richfield Coliseum. The team was moved to Cleveland by John J. Kuczek.
Weylan Harding is the former head coach of the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League.
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.
Charles Christopher Spielman is an American former professional football player who is a special assistant to the owner and CEO for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes, twice earning All-American honors. He played professional football for the Detroit Lions in the NFL, where he was a three-time All-Pro. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns, and coached for the Arena Football League (AFL)'s Columbus Destroyers. He was a broadcaster for Fox Sports and ESPN from 1999 to 2020.
The Rochester Brigade was a professional arena football team based in Rochester, New York. The team was a member of af2, the minor league of the Arena Football League, and played their home games at the Blue Cross Arena. The Brigade began play in 2001 and ceased operations following the 2003 season.
Matthew Louis D’Orazio is a former American football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Otterbein College.
Calvin Leon Russell is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Tuskegee.
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.
The 2007 Arena Football League season was the 21st season of the Arena Football League. The regular season began play on March 1, 2007 and concluded on June 25. The league broke its regular-season total attendance record of 1,887,054.
Nathan Filipo Ilaoa is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Hawaii.
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.
Kelvin Lamonta Kinney is a former American football defensive lineman. His nickname is K2.
Jerald Brown is a former Canadian football defensive back. He played college football at Glenville State College. Brown has played for the New York Dragons, Arizona Rattlers, Columbus Destroyers, and Kansas City Brigade of the Arena Football League (AFL), as well as the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.
Matthew Sauk is an arena football coach and former quarterback. He played college football at Utah State, was an af2 quarterback from 2001 to 2005, and an AFL quarterback from 2002 to 2008. He has been a football coach since 2008. After being the offensive coordinator for the Utah Blaze from 2011 to 2013, he became the Portland Thunder head coach in 2014. He was the head coach of the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles of the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2017 and the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League in 2019.
Scott McMullen is a former American football quarterback who played one season with the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Ohio State University. He was also a member of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL).
Bobby Lee Olive Jr. is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Indianapolis Colts. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also played in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Buffalo Destroyers/Columbus Destroyers and Carolina Cobras and in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Olive was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the eleventh round of the 1991 NFL draft.
The 2019 Columbus Destroyers season was the 11th and last season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, their sixth season in Columbus, and their first season following a 10-year hiatus. The Destroyers played their home games at Nationwide Arena and were coached by Matthew Sauk for the 2019 season.
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).