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The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional indoor American football league in the United States. It was founded 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 AFL played a proprietary code known as arena football, a form of indoor American football played on a 66-by-28 yard field, with rules encouraging offensive performance, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game. The sport was invented in the early 1980s and patented by Jim Foster, a former executive of the United States Football League (USFL) and the NFL. Each of the league's 32 seasons culminated in the ArenaBowl, with the winner being crowned the league's champion for that season.
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 Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances in the AFL in 2006 and in af2 in 2008. They played their home games at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Oklahoma Wranglers were a professional arena football team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They were members of the Central (1996–1997) and Western (1998–2001) Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). They previously played as the Memphis Pharaohs and Portland Forest Dragons. The team played at the Myriad, now known as the Cox Convention Center, in downtown Oklahoma City.
The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 season.
Christopher Jackson is an American football coach and former Arena football wide receiver of the Arena Football League (AFL). He began his football career in junior college at Orange Coast College before moving onto Washington State Cougars after one year.
Tom Briggs is a former Arena Football League defensive lineman. He was originally signed by the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at West Virginia.
The Western Division was one of four divisions that previously made up the Arena Football League. The Western Division was formed in 1992 when the AFL first split into three divisions. The League used only conferences in 1993 and 1994, but returned to division play in 1995. Because the number of active AFL teams has decreased greatly in recent years, the league no longer uses divisions.
The 2011 Arena Football League season was the 24th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 11, 2011 and ended on July 23, 2011. The Jacksonville Sharks, in their second year of existence, defeated the Arizona Rattlers 73–70 in ArenaBowl XXIV on August 12, 2011 to conclude the playoffs.
Justin James Fuente is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 2016 to 2021. He was the 2016 ACC Coach of the Year. Fuente was the head football coach at the University of Memphis from 2012 to 2015. He was an assistant at Texas Christian University from 2007 to 2011 and previously at Illinois State University from 2001 to 2006. Fuente attended the University of Oklahoma before transferring to Murray State University after his redshirt sophomore season. He played quarterback for both schools. Fuente played a single season with the Oklahoma Wranglers of the Arena Football League.
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.
Jeff Loots is a former American football quarterback who played eight seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Milwaukee Mustangs, Minnesota Fighting Pike, Albany Firebirds, Oklahoma Wranglers, Chicago Rush, Buffalo Destroyers and Grand Rapids Rampage. He played college football at Southwest Minnesota State
Robert Bees is a former American football quarterback who played two seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Oklahoma Wranglers, San Jose SaberCats and Buffalo Destroyers. He played college football at Rocky Mountain. He was also a member of the Richmond Speed, Billings Outlaws/Mavericks, Las Vegas Gladiators and Tulsa Talons.
Mark Ricks is a former American football defensive back who played ten seasons in the Arena Football League with the St. Louis Stampede, Nashville Kats, Portland Forest Dragons, Portland Forest Dragons/Oklahoma Wranglers, Los Angeles Avengers, Arizona Rattlers, Grand Rapids Rampage and New York Dragons. He played college football at Western Michigan University. He was also a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League.
Bryan Henderson is a former American football defensive lineman who played six seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Arizona Rattlers, Austin Wranglers, Utah Blaze, Kansas City Brigade, Grand Rapids Rampage and Columbus Destroyers. He first enrolled at Los Angeles Valley College before transferring to Northwestern Oklahoma State University.
Tim Martin is a former American football lineman who played eight seasons in the Arena Football League with the Oklahoma Wranglers, Dallas Desperados, New Orleans VooDoo, Grand Rapids Rampage and San Jose SaberCats. He played college football at the University of Tulsa and attended Sequoyah High School in Claremore, Oklahoma. He was also a member of the Miami Dolphins, Barcelona Dragons, Chicago Enforcers and New York Dragons.
Jeff Jarnigan is an assistant general manager and coach for the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).
Lorenzo "Chuck" Reed was an American football offensive lineman who last played the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to joining the SaberCats, he played for the Shreveport Pirates of the Canadian Football League and the Anaheim Piranhas, Portland Forest Dragons, and Oklahoma Wranglers of the AFL. Prior to playing professionally, Reed played collegiate football at UNLV.
The 2001 Oklahoma Wranglers season was the seventh and ultimately final season for the Arena Football League franchise, and the second in Oklahoma City. The team was coached by Bob Cortese and played their home games at The Myriad in Oklahoma City. The Wranglers came off a 7–7 record from the previous season and a loss in the second round of the AFL playoffs. They finished the season with a 5–9 record.
References
- ↑ Kramer, Bill (April 15, 2000). "Wranglers owner brings new football to old football state". The Oklahoman. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ↑ Kramer, Bill (January 7, 2000). "Wranglers new name for AFL team" . Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ↑ "2000 Oklahoma Wranglers". Arenafan.com. Retrieved September 5, 2020.