History of the Arena Football League in Milwaukee

Last updated

The Milwaukee Iron were announced as an af2 expansion team in March 2008 when the team's ownership group announced a three-year lease agreement to play at the Bradley Center beginning with the 2009 season. The announcement came the day before the Milwaukee Bonecrushers kicked off play in the Continental Indoor Football League at Milwaukee's US Cellular Arena.

Milwaukee had been without an arena football team since the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League folded in 2001 after not being allowed to play at the Bradley Center. [1]

Milwaukee Mustangs (1994–2001)

The team was founded in August 1993, when Andrew Vallozzi was approved by the league for expansion. [2] The city of Milwaukee became football hungry, after renovations to Lambeau Field led to speculation that the Green Bay Packers would soon stop playing games in Milwaukee, something they'd been doing since 1933. Later that year, the Packers would confirm the rumors and announced that their December 1994 contest at Milwaukee County Stadium would be their last.

For many in the Milwaukee area, the Mustangs helped fill the void left by the Packers. The team never finished lower than eighth in seasonal attendance, regularly drawing in the 14,000's and 15,000's (at a time when average attendance was approx. 8,500). The Mustangs even led the AFL in attendance in 1996.

After the 2001 season, the Mustangs lost their lease at the Bradley Center. When it was unable to find a replacement facility, the league folded the team. [3] Milwaukee was left without an arena football team until 2008, with the formation of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers of the Continental Indoor Football League, who played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Arena. A year later, the Milwaukee Iron began play in the Arena Football 2 League across the street at te Bradley Center. In January 2011, it was announced that the Milwaukee Iron, now of the Arena Football League would be changing its name to the Milwaukee Mustangs. [4]

Milwaukee Mustangs (2009–2012)

The Iron played its first game on Thursday, March 12, 2009, a 60-0 exhibition shutout of the New Zealand Overstayers at the Bradley Center. [5] They opened the regular season on Friday, March 27, 2009 when they played host to the Iowa Barnstormers. The Iron lost 60–38. [6]

The Iron entered the Arena Football League in 2010. [7] The team finished the year 11–5 and won the Midwest Division.

The team changed its name to the Mustangs on January 27, 2011. The name "Mustangs" was chosen as it was the name of the original franchise that existed from 1994 to 2001. The team's dancers were called the Fillies. The Mustangs were covered locally by WAUK (540 ESPN MILWAUKEE) and Time Warner Cable Sports 32.

On October 2, 2013 the AFL announced that an ownership group led by Portland businessman Terry W. Emmert has been approved by the AFL's Board of Directors to purchase a majority of the Milwaukee Mustangs and relocate the team to Portland, Oregon. The team began regular season play as the Portland Thunder in 2014 at the Moda Center (20,636), home of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Arena Football League Professional American arena football league

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 AF2 was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup championship in August. The AF2 continued to operate while the AFL suspended operations for its 2009 season. The league was effectively disbanded in September 2009 when no team committed to playing in 2010, but several of the stronger franchises transferred into the reconstituted AFL.

Columbus Destroyers Arena football team

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 Milwaukee Mustangs were a professional arena football team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The team was a member of the Arena Football League, playing from 1994 to 2001. The owner of the Mustangs was Andrew Vallozzi. The Mustangs played their home games at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Indoor American football Variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas

Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller arena. It is distinct from traditional American or Canadian football played in larger domed or open-air stadiums, although several early college football games contested on full-sized or nearly full-sized fields at Chicago Coliseum (1890s) and Atlantic City Convention Center helped to show that football could be played as an indoor game.

Fort Worth Cavalry Arena football team

The Fort Worth Cavalry was an Arena Football League team which operated for a single season, 1994, in the National Conference. The league did not want to abandon the idea of having a franchise in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, a major media market, after the demise of the Dallas Texans (1990–1993), and granted a new franchise to an ownership group in Fort Worth. The team was owned by Peter "Woody" Kern and led by head coach Michael Trigg. The team struggled with ticket sales and financial issues lead to the team being folded after the 1994 season.

UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena Arena in Wisconsin, United States

The UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena is an indoor arena located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The arena, which seats as many as 12,700 people and offers 41,700 square feet (3,874 m2) of floor space, is part of a larger downtown campus, that includes the Milwaukee Theatre and Wisconsin Center.

Iowa Barnstormers Arena football team

The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well".

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 2002 Arena Football League season was the 16th season of the Arena Football League. It was succeeded by 2003. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI. In the process the SaberCats came closer to a perfect season than any other team in the history of the league, winning sixteen of seventeen games.

Milwaukee Mustangs (2009–2012) Arena football team

The Milwaukee Mustangs were a professional arena football team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They were members of the Arena Football League (AFL), which they joined in 2010 during the league's restructuring. They played their home games at the Bradley Center in downtown Milwaukee.

Wisconsin Wolfpack

The Wisconsin Wolfpack was an American football franchise based in Wisconsin. The Wolfpack name and brand was used for two teams: an indoor football team in the Continental Indoor Football League and a traditional (outdoor) football team in the Mid Continental Football League.

Chicago Knights

The Chicago Knights were a professional indoor football team based in Loves Park, Illinois. The Knights were founded in 2010 as a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), playing their home games at the Victory Sports Complex.

Robert John Landsee is a former American football player and coach. He was also the head coach and owner of the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League (AFL) till the team folded. He is a former American football center and guard who played for two seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1986–1987. He was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin.

The 2010 Milwaukee Iron season was the second season for the franchise, and the first in the Arena Football League (AFL), coming from the AF2, which dissolved following the 2009 season. The team was coached by Bob Landsee and played their home games at Bradley Center. For the opening round of the playoffs, the Iron played at U.S. Cellular Arena. The Iron won the Midwest Division to qualify for the playoffs, and defeated the Chicago Rush in the conference semifinals, 64–54. Advancing to the National Conference Championship, their season ended after losing on the road to the top-seeded Spokane Shock, 57–60.

The 2011 Milwaukee Mustangs season is the third season for the franchise, and the second in the Arena Football League (AFL). This is the first season for the team as the Mustangs, having previously been known as the Milwaukee Iron. The team is coached by Bob Landsee and plays their home games at Bradley Center. The Mustangs finished 7–11, missing the playoffs.

The 2008 Milwaukee Bonecrushers season was the 1st season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) expansion franchise. The franchise made an immediate splash in Milwaukee when it announced former Green Bay Packer Gilbert Brown signed a three-year contract to be the team's first head coach. However, the optimism quickly faded when Brown announced he was resigning from the position after just three games on April 8, 2008. Much of the team's staff and many of the team's players also left at the same time, raising eyebrows among the Milwaukee media and fans. The Bonecrushers finished 2008 with a hodgepodge of players and coaches, winning just one game, a 51-46 road contest against the Muskegon Thunder featuring a 26-yard touchdown run by Bonecrushers' quarterback Brian Ryczkowski on the final play of the game.

The 2009 Wisconsin Wolfpack season was the first season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) franchise. Prior to the Wolfpack franchise's 2008 outdoor campaign, the Milwaukee Bonecrushers of the Continental Indoor Football League approached the Wolfpack coaches and staff and asked them to assist with the completion of their 2008 season following Gilbert Brown's decision to resign as head coach and the resulting resignation of most of the Bonecrushers' staff. Kopac assumed the role of general manager for the Bonecrushers, and brought with him the core coaches of the Wolfpack outdoor team that would later become the core of the Wolfpack indoor team. Kopac led the team to its only win, a 51-46 victory of the Muskegon Thunder.

The 2014 Arena Football League season was the 27th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 14, 2014 and ended on July 26, 2014.

Portland Steel Arena football team

The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Angeles Kiss. The team played their home games at the Moda Center. They were known as the Thunder until the franchise went under league ownership in 2016 and became the Steel.

References

  1. ↑ "New team has lease agreement". 2008-03-20. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  2. ↑ Andy Olson (August 10, 1993). "Milwaukee franchise will join indoor league for 1994 season". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved November 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ Don Walker (November 22, 2001). "Mustangs won't field an arena team in 2002". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ Don Walker. "Iron will be Mustangs". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  5. ↑ "Milwaukee Iron Reminders for Monday, March 2, 2009". oursportscentral.com. February 27, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Milwaukee Iron Team Schedule". 2009-07-24.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "ARENA FOOTBALL IS BACK FOR THE 2010 SEASON". 2009-09-28.
  8. ↑ "Arena Football to Return to Portland in 2014".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.