Massachusetts Marauders | |
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Established 1988 Folded 1994 Played in Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts | |
League/conference affiliations | |
Arena Football League (1988–1994) | |
Current uniform | |
Team colors | Maroon, fuchsia, black, white |
Personnel | |
Head coach | Don Strock |
Team history | |
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Championships | |
League championships (4) (as Detroit Drive) 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 | |
Conference championships (4) Prior to 2005, the AFL did not have conference championship games | |
Division championships (1)
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Playoff appearances (7) | |
Home arena(s) | |
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The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit Drive and was a member of the AFL in 1988 and in all subsequent years through 1993. The club then moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1994 and played in that city through the end of the 1994 season.
The franchise has four AFL championships, all while it was based in Detroit. The first three occurred in back-to-back-to-back fashion from 1988 to 1990, and the final one occurred in 1992.
In 1987, Mike Ilitch began negotiations with the Arena Football League (AFL), to join for the 1988 season. [1] The Drive began play in 1988 as a member of the AFL. [2] Under head coach Tim Marcum, the Drive finished the regular season 9–3 after starting the season 2–3. [3] [4] Two of the Drive's losses came at the hands of the Chicago Bruisers, who finished the season with one loss. The Drive would get a chance at revenge when they advanced to ArenaBowl II against the Bruisers, [5] and they were able to defeat the Bruisers 24–13. [6]
With the AFL suspending operations prior to the 1989 season, [7] the league was revived and decided to play a short season, but that forced the Drive to begin the 1989 season by replacing quarterback Rich Ingold, who didn't want to take the pay cut of the short season. [8] The Drive won ArenaBowl III 39–26 over the Pittsburgh Gladiators. [9]
Head Coach Tim Marcum stepped away from the Drive in 1990 to join the University of Florida's football staff, and was replaced by Perry Moss. [10] The Drive bolstered their offense by signing quarterback Art Schlichter [11] (Who would become the AFL's MVP in 1990). Moss lead the Drive to a 6–2 regular season record and they remained a dominant force, leading the going to ArenaBowl IV, where they defeated the Dallas Texans 51–27. [12]
Marcum returned to coach the Drive in 1991. The Drive traded Schlichter to the expansion Cincinnati Rockers, partly because the league believed that since he'd grown up in the area and starred at Ohio State, he'd lend the new franchise needed credibility. [13] [14] However, another factor was the compulsive gambling that had derailed his NFL career almost a decade earlier. Despite Ilitch's efforts to keep Schlichter on the straight and narrow, by the end of 1991 it was no longer safe for Schlichter to stay in Detroit. [15]
The Drive didn't miss a beat, finishing with the best record in the league for the fourth season in a row. However, despite hosting ArenaBowl '91, they were defeated by the Tampa Bay Storm, ending their three-year reign as league champions.
In 1992, the Drive played in the Northern Division. The Drive won ArenaBowl VI, claiming their fourth title in five seasons.
Following the 1992 season, Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball and Vitto was transferred to the Tigers front office. Marcum assumed GM duties for 1993 and led the team to its final Arena Bowl. Ilitch sold the Drive so that they would not compete with the Tigers for attendance. [16] Ilitch still claims that he only kept the Drive because they were constant contenders.[ citation needed ]
The Drive had, arguably, the best management team in the league. Owner Mike Ilitch, General Manager Gary Vitto, and Head Coach Tim Marcum are all in the AFL Hall of Fame.
The new owners moved the team to Worcester, Massachusetts as the Massachusetts Marauders, playing their home games at the Worcester Centrum, but folded after going 8–4 and making the semifinals in their first and only season. Whereas the Drive averaged over 14,000 fans a game during their six seasons in Detroit, the Marauders averaged less than 7,400 a game. Nearly three years after the Marauders folded, Dan DeVos won their assets in bankruptcy court and used them to launch the Grand Rapids Rampage, who played until 2008.
Detroit later received a second Arena Football team, the Detroit Fury. The Fury played from 2001 to 2004 in The Palace of Auburn Hills and were co-owned by William Davidson, owner of the Detroit Pistons and William Clay Ford, Jr., son of the owner of the Detroit Lions. The Fury were never as successful as the Drive, compiling a 22–41 record and averaging 8,152 fans per game before they folded in 2004.
While the Drive's history was relatively brief, they had an inarguable importance in the history of Arena Football, with ArenaBowl trips every year of their existence, and creating the first dynasty in the Arena Football League.
Detroit Drive Hall of Famers | ||||
No. | Name | Year inducted | Position(s) | Years w/ Marauders |
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88 | John Corker | 2002 | OL/DL | 1988–1993 |
98 | Dwayne Dixon | 1998 | WR/LB | 1988–1991 |
– | Mike Ilitch | 2002 | Owner | 1988–1993 |
27 | George LaFrance | 2011 | WR/DB | 1988–1993 |
– | Tim Marcum | 1998 | Head Coach | 1988–1989, 1991–1993 |
– | Perry Moss | 2000 | Head Coach | 1990 |
1 | Gary Mullen | 1998 | WR/DB | 1989–1992 |
29, 35 | Tate Randle | 1998 | WR/LB | 1988, 1990–1992 |
44 | Alvin Rettig | 1998 | FB/LB | 1988–1993 |
62 | Jon Roehlk | 1999 | OL/DL | 1988–1993 |
– | Gary Vitto | 1999 | General Manager | 1988–1993 |
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The following Drive/Marauders players were named to All-Arena Teams:
Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | Reference | ||||
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W | L | T | Win% | W | L | ||||
Tim Marcum | 1988–1989, 1991–1993 | 40 | 8 | 0 | .833 | 10 | 2 | [17] | |
Perry Moss | 1990 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 2 | 0 | [18] | |
Don Strock | 1994 | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 1 | 1 | [19] |
The Drive and Marauders both appeared on the game EA Sports Arena Football as hidden bonus teams.
The Arena Football League (AFL) can refer to one of three successive professional indoor American football leagues in the United States. The first of these was founded in 1986, and played its first official games in the 1987 season, running for 22 consecutive seasons until going bankrupt following the 2008 season. The second league, consisting largely of teams from the first AFL and arenafootball2, purchased the first league's assets out of bankruptcy and resumed play in 2010 as a continuation of the first AFL; this second AFL ran for ten further seasons, before again going bankrupt following the 2019 season. A third AFL, which is not directly connected to the previous two iterations of the league but claiming their histories, intends to launch in 2024.
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 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 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 Chicago Bruisers were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They were founded in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Rosemont Horizon.
The Los Angeles Cobras were a professional arena football team based in Los Angeles, California that played one season (1988) in the Arena Football League.
The Cincinnati Rockers were an arena football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They began play in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League and competed through the 1993 season before they suspended operations due to low attendance. The Rockers played their home games at the Riverfront Coliseum.
Arthur Ernest Schlichter is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the Colts franchise. He also played one Canadian Football League (CFL) season with the Ottawa Rough Riders and three Arena Football League (AFL) seasons with the Detroit Drive and Cincinnati Rockers. A highly-touted collegiate prospect at Ohio State, Schlichter's professional career was cut short by a gambling addiction that resulted in him facing legal trouble for nearly four decades.
Richard Ingold was an Arena Football League (AFL) quarterback who played with the Washington Commandos and the Detroit Drive. He holds the all-time record for most career head coaching wins in af2 history, coaching the Quad City Steamwheelers and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers, whom he led to Arena Cup VIII in 2007. His head coaching career also included a partial season coaching the Dallas Vigilantes of the AFL in 2010.
Clint Dolezel is an American football coach and former professional arena football player in the Arena Football League (AFL).
Willie "Satellite" Totten is an American football coach and former player. He is the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at Mississippi Valley State University, a position he had held since 2019. Totten played college football at Mississippi Valley State and was as the starting quarterback at Delta Devils. Teamed with wide receiver Jerry Rice, Totten set more than 50 NCAA Division I-AA passing records while Rice setting many receiving records. The Delta Devils averaged 59 points a game during the 1984 season, with Totten throwing for a record 58 touchdowns and leading the Delta Devils to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. Archie Cooley, who was the head coach at MVSU from 1980 to 1986, was the architect of the pass-oriented offense that utilized the skills of Totten. Totten served as the head football coach at Mississippi Valley State from 2002 to 2009.
The 1994 Arena Football League season was the eighth season of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Arizona Rattlers, who defeated the Orlando Predators in ArenaBowl VIII.
The 1987 Arena Football League season was the first season, also known as the "demonstration season", of the Arena Football League (AFL). The league champions were the Denver Dynamite, who defeated the Pittsburgh Gladiators in ArenaBowl I.
ArenaBowl '91 was the Arena Football League's fifth ArenaBowl. The game featured the #2 Tampa Bay Storm (8-2) against the #1 Detroit Drive (9-1). The Storm were in their first season in Tampa, Florida since moving from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and having spent their first four seasons as the Pittsburgh Gladiators, while the Drive were trying to win an unprecedented fourth-straight ArenaBowl title.
Steve Thonn is an American football coach. He was previously was a head coach in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Houston Thunderbears, Grand Rapids Rampage and Cleveland Gladiators. Thonn is also a former AFL player. He played WR/DB for the Chicago Bruisers (1988) and the Albany Firebirds (1990–1993). He was the offensive coordinator of the Georgia Force from 2004 to 2007 before being hired as the Rampage head coach.
The Denver Dynamite were an arena football team based in Denver, Colorado. The team began play in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League. The team was brought in by businessman Sidney Shlenker and the team achieved success instantly, winning the first ever ArenaBowl under future AFL Hall of Fame coach Tim Marcum. After sitting out the 1988 season, the Dynamite were purchased by investment banker Gary Graham for $125,000. Graham then hired former NFL and AFL coach Babe Parilli to lead the team. Under Parilli, the Dynamite would return to the playoffs every season, but failed to return to the ArenaBowl. After the 1991 season, the franchise was sued by their public relations firm and filed for bankruptcy. They played their home games at McNichols Sports Arena. The team's logo was a bundle of dynamite sticks with a burning fuse.
The 1988 Detroit Drive season was the first for the Drive.
Gary Mullen is a former professional American football and Arena football player who played wide receiver and defensive back for eight seasons for the Denver Dynamite, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Cobras, Detroit Drive, Cincinnati Rockers and the Milwaukee Mustangs. He was elected into the Arena Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
Tim Marcum was an American football coach, best known for his long and successful career in the Arena Football League. He was the head coach of the AFL's Denver Dynamite in 1987, the Detroit Drive from 1988–1992 and the Tampa Bay Storm from 1995–2010. Marcum also served as an assistant coach in the NJCAA, NCAA, United States Football League, World Football League, NFL and the Arena Football League. Marcum head coached in eleven ArenaBowl championship games, winning seven. Marcum was one of two men to win seven ArenaBowls ; and the only man to win seven ArenaBowls as a head coach. He was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 1998. Marcum was one of the most successful coaches in the history of the sport of indoor football, and is considered the greatest coach in the Arena Football League's 32-year history.