History of the Arena Football League in Pittsburgh

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Outside of the NFL, the city was represented by the Pittsburgh Americans of the second American Football League in 1936 and 1937. It was also briefly represented by the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League, in 1984, and the Pittsburgh Gladiators (now the Tampa Bay Storm), of the Arena Football League from 1987 until 1990. A second Arena Football League team, the Pittsburgh Power, played in the Consol Energy Center from 2011 until 2014. [1]

Pittsburgh Gladiators (1987–90)

When arena football was first announced in 1986, Jim Foster targeted Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for an inaugural franchise due to the great football tradition of the area. [2] The franchise was originally known as the Pittsburgh Gladiators, and was one of the original four AFL teams formed in 1987. The team was named by Robert Ninehouser whose entry for the team name was selected in 1987. They originally played their home games at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. On June 19, 1987, the Gladiators defeated the Washington Commandos 48–46 in the first ever AFL regular season game. [3] The Gladiators participated in ArenaBowls I [4] and III, [5] losing both. [6]

Pittsburgh Power (2011–14)

Prior to the announcement of Pittsburgh's 2011 expansion team, the city was the home to the Pittsburgh Gladiators, one of the four original franchises of the Arena Football League in 1987. The AFL's very first league game, not counting the playtest games at the Rockford MetroCenter and the Rosemont Horizon, was played in the Pittsburgh Civic Arena between the Gladiators and Washington Commandos. The Gladiators would go on to lose ArenaBowl I to the Denver Dynamite, 45–16, that season in a game played at the Civic Arena. Two years later, the team lost ArenaBowl III, held at Joe Louis Arena, to the Detroit Drive by a score of 39–26.

The following season was the Gladiators' fourth and last in Pittsburgh after co-owner Bob Greis decided to move the franchise to Tampa, Florida. The team was renamed the Tampa Bay Storm. Greis, who had several business interests in Florida, sold the franchise a few years later. During the Storms' first year in Tampa, the team defeated the Detroit Drive, 48–42, to win ArenaBowl V. The Storm remained in Tampa and reached the playoffs in each of their next 15 seasons, winning four more AFL titles.

In 2011, Jerry Kurz, the commissioner of the Arena Football League, stated to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the Gladiators move to Tampa had nothing to do with the attendance for the games. He instead stated that the issues that prompted the team to relocate had more to do with the lack of additional accouterments at the Civic Arena, such as updated luxury suites. [7]

The current AFL policy is to give expansion teams in markets previously served by AFL teams the same name as their predecessor, since the league owns almost all rights to all team names in the league's history. However, because the unrelated Cleveland Gladiators already use the "Gladiators" name, that required the adoption of a new franchise name. Incidentally, the Power's logo is a thunderbolt, the same as a previous Cleveland AFL team, Cleveland Thunderbolts. [8]

The team was originally rumored to be called the Pittsburgh River Wizards, according to sports blog Inside Pittsburgh Sports and by Pittsburgh-area radio host Mark Madden. The team name was changed to the Power before the official announcement by the team. [9]

The Power played their first game in franchise history on March 11, 2011 at Consol Energy Center in front of 13,904 fans. They lost to the Philadelphia Soul in overtime by a score of 58–52. [10] Despite this loss, the Power led the East Division with a 7–4 record at the end of week 13. However, they lost five of their final seven games, falling to 9–9 at the end of the season and finishing second in the division.

On March 9, 2012, the entire Pittsburgh Power roster was released prior to its opening game against the Orlando Predators due to a labor disagreement between the owners and the players' union. However, with the aid of a few replacements, the team managed to win 40–26. [11] Following the victory, 22 of the 24 released players were offered their jobs back (quarterback Kyle Rowley and kicker Taylor Rowan being the lone exceptions), with 18 immediately accepting and returning to the team. Neil Purvis signed a contract a few days later, bringing the total to 19. Defensive backs Josh Lay and Tyrrell Herbert and offensive lineman Dan Jones elected not to re-sign with the Power and were consequentially placed on the League Suspension list. Jones was traded to the Kansas City Command on May 2, 2012.

On June 8, the Power were scheduled to face the Cleveland Gladiators at Quicken Loans Arena. However, due to yet another labor dispute, the Gladiators failed to field enough players and forfeited, making the Power the first team in Arena Football League history to win in this manner. [12] [13]

With a 5–13 record, the Power failed to qualify for the playoffs with a last place finish in the division.

On March 23, the Power opened the 2013 season against the Utah Blaze. The Power were still in the playoff hunt through Week 10 with a 3-6 record, but a 7-game losing streak lost the Power their chance at a playoff spot.

With a 4–14 record, the Power failed to qualify for the playoffs with a last place finish in the division. [14]

During the off-season following the 2013 season, the Power made drastic changes to their roster. In addition to reassigning nearly every player from the previous season's roster, the team acquired quarterback Tommy Grady and wide receiver Aaron Lesué in the Utah Blaze dispersal draft. The Power also traded their franchise leader in nearly every receiving category, Mike Washington, to the Spokane Shock for quarterback Arvell Nelson. Near the end of the off-season, the team acquired wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez in a trade with the Orlando Predators. By the time of the season opener, the Power's 24-man roster contained only four players who had played with the team in 2013 (Curtis Young, Brandon Freeman, Sergio Gilliam and Julian Rauch).

At 3–3, the Power returned home to face the Philadelphia Soul, whom they had never defeated at Consol Energy Center. The Power set a new record against the Soul for points scored at home (65) in what would become their first of 12 consecutive wins to conclude the regular season. During this streak, the Power set new team records for wins in a season (15), consecutive wins (12), consecutive home wins (8) and consecutive road wins (6). The Power clinched their first winning season on June 14 against the Soul and their first playoff berth on June 20 against the Iowa Barnstormers.

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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.

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References

  1. Rossi, Rob (August 20, 2010). "Pittsburgh Power unveiled as arena football expansion team". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  2. "Arena football: a whole new indoor ball game". Gettysburg Times. May 16, 1986. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  3. Gary Tuma (June 20, 1987). "Gladiators smashing in 48-46 win". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  4. "Glads wilt in 'Bowl'". Pittsburgh Post=Gazette. August 3, 1987. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  5. "Drive Arena Bowl Champs". The Argus-Press. August 18, 1989. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  6. "Arena Football League Championship : Taylor Leads Dynamite, 45-16". Los Angeles Times . August 2, 1987. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  7. DiPaola, Jerry (February 24, 2011). "Indoor football returns to the City of Champions". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  8. Anderson, Shelly (August 20, 2010). "New arena football team called Pittsburgh Power". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  9. "Expansion Arena Football League team to be announced on Friday". Inside Pittsburgh Sports. August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
  10. "AFL Box Score: Philadelphia Soul @ Pittsburgh Power (Mar 11, 2011)". Arenafan.com. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  11. Chase, Chris (March 12, 2012). "Entire Arena Football team cut during pregame meal at Olive Garden". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  12. "Cleveland forfeits matchup against Pittsburgh". ArenaFan.com. June 8, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  13. Manoloff, Dennis (June 8, 2012). "Cleveland Gladiators players' strike causes forfeit loss to Pittsburgh Power". The Plain Dealer . Retrieved May 16, 2013.
  14. "Power end rough season on losing note". www.triblive.com. Trib Total Media, Inc. July 27, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013.