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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 the 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.
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was 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 season in 1987. The club was relocated to the Tampa Bay area 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 Philadelphia Soul can refer to one of two successive professional arena football teams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They both have competed in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Soul made six ArenaBowl appearances, winning their first appearance and losing their next two appearances. The Soul won in their fourth appearance, against the Rattlers in 2016, winning 56–42. They also won in their fifth appearance in 2017 against the Tampa Bay Storm, winning 44–40 before losing in their sixth appearance in 2019 to the Albany Empire 45-27.
The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, 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 Orlando Predators are a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team is currently owned by John Cheney, and play its home games at Kia Center.
The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015.
The New Orleans Night were an Arena Football League (AFL) team that competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons and were based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team was officially announced at a press conference on March 18, 1991. On April 9, the name Night was unveiled as was Eddie Khayat, former head coach of the Nashville Kats, as head coach.
Lemuel Jackson Barney is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and return specialist for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1967 to 1977, playing occasionally as a punter as well. He played college football for the Jackson State Tigers from 1964 to 1966. He was selected by the Lions in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft and played. He was selected as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1967, played in seven Pro Bowls, and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1968 and 1969. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He has also been inducted into the Detroit Lions Hall of Fame, the Jackson State Sports Hall of Fame, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Sherdrick Deon "Sed" Bonner is an American former professional football quarterback who played fifteen seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL).
The Iowa Barnstormers are a professional indoor football team based in Des Moines, Iowa, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena, known in indoor football circles as "The Well".
Siaha Burley is an American former arena football wide receiver and former head coach. He played college football at UCF and was also the head coach of the Jacksonville Sharks from 2017 to 2019 before returning to the team for 2022.
Eddie Brown, nicknamed "Touchdown", is a former arena football offensive specialist who played for the Albany/Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1994 to 2003. He played college football at Louisiana Tech.
Daniel Aaron Southwick is an American professional football quarterback for the Billings Outlaws of the Arena Football League. He played college football for BYU, Oregon State, Dixie State, Utah, and Occidental. He has also been a member of the Louisville Fire of the af2; the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL); the Dallas Vigilantes, Tampa Bay Storm, San Jose SaberCats, San Antonio Talons, Chicago Rush, Cleveland Gladiators, Portland Thunder/Steel, Spokane Shock, Los Angeles Kiss, Orlando Predators, Philadelphia Soul, and Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL); the Massachusetts Pirates, Jacksonville Sharks, Jersey Flight, Columbus Lions, and Orlando Predators of the National Arena League (NAL); and the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF).
Ron James is an American football coach. He is the head football coach for Northern Arizona Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. He was the head coach of the Atlantic City Blackjacks of the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2019. He played college football at Siena College. He has been a football coach since 1986. Before becoming the Blackjacks' head coach for their inaugural 2019 season, James coached for the Las Vegas Gladiators from 2005 to 2006, the Utah Blaze from 2010 to 2013, the Pittsburgh Power in 2014, the Portland Steel in 2016, and the Tampa Bay Storm in 2017.
The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the official Hall of Fame of the Arena Football League (AFL). The inaugural class was announced in 1998 and the Hall was not formally organized until 2011. Prior to 2011, there were four classes: 1998–2000 and then another in 2002. The Arena Football Hall of Fame is the highest honor for players, coaches, and contributors involved in the AFL. The voting process consists of fans and current Hall of Fame members voting on the finalists. The finalists are selected by the League Office in which they collect ballots from the Arena Football Hall of Fame Advisory Board, a group which consisted of former players, executives, journalists and media personnel with a long-time involvement in the league. The league began to decline in 2015, so no Hall of Fame announcements have been made since this year. The league folded for a second time in 2019. After the league's second closure, ArenaFan, a long-running fan site, announced it had taken over operations of the Arena Football Hall of Fame.
The 2017 Arena Football League season was the 30th season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to five teams. Due to this, for the first time since 1991, the league was not divided into conferences or divisions. The 14-game regular season began on April 7, 2017, when the two new teams, the Baltimore Brigade and the Washington Valor, faced off in the Verizon Center, and ended on August 5, 2017, when the Tampa Bay Storm lost against the Philadelphia Soul.
Marcus Brad Palazzo is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker and punter. He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL).
The West Texas Desert Hawks were a professional indoor football team and an inaugural member of the relaunched Arena Football League. The Desert Hawks were based in Odessa, Texas, with home games at the Ector County Coliseum. The team played their first several seasons as the West Texas Warbirds.
Milton Jeffery Barney Jr. is a baseball coach and former infielder, who served as the head baseball coach of the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils. He played college baseball at Southern in 2007 and Grambling State from 2008 to 2010.
References
- ↑ "Falcs trade 2 players; new faces in backfield". The Gadsden Times . Associated Press. September 9, 1987. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Milton Barney". ArenaFan. Retrieved April 18, 2014.