Milwaukee Mustangs (original) | |
---|---|
Established 1994 Folded 2001 Played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
League/conference affiliations | |
Arena Football League (1994–2001)
| |
Current uniform | |
Team colors | Deep purple, teal, white |
Personnel | |
Owner(s) | Andrew Vallozzi |
Head coach | Rick Frazier |
Team history | |
| |
Championships | |
League championships (0) | |
Conference championships (0) Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games | |
Division championships (0) | |
Playoff appearances (4) | |
| |
Home arena(s) | |
|
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.
The team was founded in August 1993, when Andrew Vallozzi was approved by the league for expansion. [1] 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. [2] 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 the 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. [3]
In 2018, the Milwaukee Mustangs' intellectual properties were acquired by Counterbalance Sports & Entertainment, LLC, the sports-entertainment division of Counterbalance Group Inc. Additionally, Counterbalance Sports began using the Milwaukee Iron / [Second] Milwaukee Mustangs branding in 2021.
Milwaukee Mustangs roster | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Wide receivers/Defensive backs
| Running backs/Linebackers
Offensive linemen/Defensive linemen
| Defensive specialist
Kickers Rookies in italics | ||||
Milwaukee Mustangs retired numbers | ||||
N° | Player | Position | Seasons | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Gary Compton | WR | 1994–2001 | [4] |
5 | Todd Hammel | QB | 1994–99 | [4] |
8 | Kenny Stucker | K | 1994–99 | [4] |
Note: These players' numbers were retired by the Milwaukee Iron in 2009.
Milwaukee Mustangs Hall of Famers | ||||
No. | Name | Year Inducted | Position(s) | Years w/ Mustangs |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gary Mullen | 1998 | WR/DB | 1995 |
?? | Carl Aikens, Jr. | 2000 | WR/DB | 1994 |
|
|
|
The following Mustangs players were named to All-Arena Teams:
The following Mustangs players were named to All-Ironman Teams:
The following Mustangs players were named to All-Rookie Teams:
Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
Lou Saban | 1994 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
Art Haege | 1994 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
Michael Trigg | 1995-1997 | 22 | 18 | 0 | .550 | 0 | 2 | |
Rick Frazier | 1998-2001 | 24 | 32 | 0 | .429 | 0 | 2 |
The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League and were the third oldest active franchise in the AFL until their departure in 2016. They play their home games at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. They previously played at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix. The Rattlers are led by head coach Kevin Guy. Since the team's establishment in 1992, the Rattlers have won ten division titles and have played in nine ArenaBowl Championship games, winning championships in 1994, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2014. The Rattlers also won the 2017 United Bowl in their first season in the IFL.
The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded in 1995 as the original iteration of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in 2001. They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded. They played in the Eastern Division of the National Conference, and played their home games at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Their last coach was Weylan Harding.
The Indiana Firebirds were a team in the Arena Football League. The team was based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Home games were played at the Conseco Fieldhouse, also the home of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association and Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association.
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.
The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. The Desperados played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from 2002 to 2008.
The Chicago Rush are a professional arena football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Arena Football League. They are the second Chicago Rush team to play in the league. The original team played at the Allstate Arena from 2001 to 2013. They were a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the AFL. Founded in 2001, the team qualified for the playoffs 11 out of 12 seasons and won one AFL championship, ArenaBowl XX in 2006. During their history, the Rush won five divisional titles and competed in the AFL Conference Championship six times, including four consecutive appearances from 2004 to 2007. They also had the largest market in the AFL.
The Georgia Force is the name of three separate versions of Arena Football League (AFL) teams based in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area of Georgia, United States, that played in the South Division of the American Conference.
The Nashville Kats is the name of three separate franchises in the Arena Football League all located in Nashville, Tennessee. The original incarnation of the Kats launched in 1997 and were coached by Pat Sperduto, who coached that team to two ArenaBowl appearances prior to their move to Atlanta in 2002, then becoming the original Georgia Force. The second incarnation of the Kats joined the league as an expansion team in 2005, also coached by Sperduto, lasted two seasons before folding in 2007. The third incarnation of the team is set to play in 2024 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. The first two teams played at what is now the Bridgestone Arena.
The Orlando Predators are a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team is currently owned by John Cheney, and play its home games at Amway Center.
The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team began play in 1998 in the Arena Football League as an expansion team. They were last coached by Steve Thonn. Their home arena was the Van Andel Arena.
The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beach and Sunrise in the Miami metropolitan area.
The Houston ThunderBears were a professional arena football team based in Houston, Texas. The team finished the 2001 season as a member of the Western Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team joined the AFL in 1996 as the expansion Texas Terror. After their first two years of existence, the franchise changed their name to the Houston ThunderBears. Plagued with attendance problems through the majority of their existence, the team folded in 2001. Home games were played at the Compaq Center.
The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike.
The Kentucky Horsemen was an indoor football team based in Lexington, Kentucky. The team played its home games at Rupp Arena. The organization began as a 2003 expansion member of the National Indoor Football League, where they were successful. Following the 2004 season, where they defeated the Sioux Falls Storm to win Indoor Bowl IV, the Horsemen and other NIFL teams joined the new United Indoor Football (UIF) as a charter member, where they made the playoffs. They lost to the Sioux Falls Storm. They made the playoffs again in 2006 and advanced to United Bowl II where they lost to the Sioux Falls Storm. From 2008 to 2009, the Horsemen played in the AF2. The team announced intentions to compete in the new Arena Football League following the dissolution of the AF2, but instead ceased operations in October 2009.
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 Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.
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.
The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. As of 2024, they are members of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
The Nashville Venom were a professional indoor football team, one of eight franchises of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). Based in Nashville, Tennessee, the Venom were members of the American Conference. The team began play in 2014 as an expansion team. The team played at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, which opened in 1962.
The 2016 Pac-12 Conference football season is the sixth season for the conference as a twelve-team league. The season began on August 26, 2016, with California vs. Hawaii. The final game was the 2016 Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 2, 2016, with Fox televising the game.