AFL 1986-87

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	Test Game
27.04.1986	Rockford Metros	30	Chicago Politicians	18
	Showcase Game
27.02.1987	Chicago Bruisers	30	Miami Vice	33

AFL 1987

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
Pittsburgh Gladiators	6	4	2	0	268	199	.667
Denver Dynamite	6	4	2	0	261	252	.667
Chicago Bruisers	6	2	4	0	217	310	.333
Washington Commandos	6	2	4	0	288	273	.333

Reference: [1]

Home Team		Away Team
Arena Bowl I
Denver Dynamite	45	Pittsburgh Gladiators	16

Reference: [1]

AFL 1988

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Chicago Bruisers	12	10	1	1	526	374	.792
*Detroit Drive	12	9	3	0	472	310	.750
*Pittsburgh Gladiators	12	6	6	0	507	491	.500
*Los Angeles Cobras	12	5	6	1	463	449	.458
New England Steamrollers	12	3	9	0	330	506	.250
New York Knights	12	2	10	0	337	505	.167

Reference: [1]

Home Team		Away Team
Semi-Finals
Detroit Drive	34	Pittsburgh Gladiators	25
Chicago Bruisers	29	Los Angeles Cobras	16
Arena Bowl II
Detroit Drive	24	Chicago Bruisers	13

Reference: [1]

AFL 1989

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Detroit Drive	4	3	1	0	154	84	.750
*Denver Dynamite	4	3	1	0	159	147	.750
*Pittsburgh Gladiators	4	3	1	0	159	147	.750
*Chicago Bruisers	4	1	3	0	167	155	.250
Maryland Commandos	4	0	4	0	79	170	.000

Reference: [1]

Home Team		Away Team
Semi-Finals
Detroit Drive	43	Chicago Bruisers	10
Pittsburgh Gladiators	39	Denver Dynamite	37
Arena Bowl III
Detroit Drive	39	Pittsburgh Gladiators	26

Reference: [1]

AFL 1990

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Detroit Drive	8	6	2	0	326	215	.750
*Dallas Texans	8	6	2	0	299	308	.750
*Denver Dynamite	8	4	4	0	289	287	.500
*Pittsburgh Gladiators	8	3	5	0	289	287	.375
Albany Firebirds	8	3	5	0	188	268	.375
Washington Commandos	8	2	6	0	244	264	.250

Reference: [1]

Home Team		Away Team
First Round
Detroit Drive	61	Pittsburgh Gladiators	30
Dallas Texans	26	Denver Dynamite	25
Arena Bowl IV
Detroit Drive	51	Dallas Texans	27

Reference: [1]

AFL 1991

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
*Detroit Drive	10	9	1	0	437	262	.900
*Tampa Bay Storm	10	8	2	0	421	309	.800
*Denver Dynamite	10	6	4	0	389	365	.600
*Albany Firebirds	10	6	4	0	427	342	.600
Dallas Texans	10	4	6	0	286	334	.400
New Orleans Night	10	4	6	0	314	401	.400
Orlando Predators	10	3	7	0	321	363	.300
Columbus Thunderbolts	10	0	10	0	241	460	.000

Reference: [1]

Home Team		Away Team
Semi-Finals
Detroit Drive	37	Albany Firebirds	35
Tampa Bay Storm	40	Denver Dynamite	13
Arena Bowl V
Tampa Ba Storm	48	Detroit Drive	42

Reference: [1]

Report

On February 11, 1981, James Foster witnessed an Indoor Soccer game at Madison Square Garden, and drew out the outline of an Indoor American Football field on a manilla envelope, using the same basic premise of a football field on a converted Ice Hockey rink. [2]

The first AFL test game was held on 27 April 1986 in Rockford, Illinois between the Rockford Metros and Chicago Politicians , and following positive public response the first “showcase game” in Chicago in front of 8,200 fans on February 27, 1987. [2]

The AFL debut season began on 19 June 1987, with four teams: Chicago Bruisers, Denver Dynamite, Pittsburgh Gladiators & Washington Comandos. Denver Dynamite won Arena Bowl I, defeating Pittsburgh Gladiators 45-16 [2]

The second AFL season featued an additional three teams: Los Angeles Cobras, New England Steamrollers & New York Knights, who played only that season. Washington Commandos sat out the season Detroit Drive won Arena Bowl II, 24-13 over Chicago Bruisers. [2]

The third AFL season, in 1989, was a shortened four-game season, with five teams, including the returned Commandos, now playing in Maryland. Detroit again won the Arena Bowl, beating Pittsburgh 39-26. Following the season, the league played two successful exhibition games in Paris (France) & London (England). THE US Patent office granted the league a Patent, making it the first patented, rival-free sports league in history. [2]

the fourth AFL season, saw an expansion of two teams: Albany Firebirds & Dallas Texans, with Chicago dropping out. Detroit Drive won the Arena Bowl for the third year in succession, defeating Dallas 51-27. [2]

A further expansion in 1991, saw teams added in Orlando (Predators) and New Orleans (Night) and Columbus (Thunderbolts), with Pittsburgh relocating to Tampa Bay, becoming the Storm and the Commandos ceasing operation.The league’s expansion into the Southeast would prove enduringly successful, with the Tampa Bay & Orlando franchises remaing in existence right through to the league’s waning years in the late-2010s. Detroit was defeated in the Arena Bowl 48-42 by the Tampa Bay Storm, ending the Drive’s attempts at a four-in-a-row. [2]

In 1992 the league expanded to 12 teams and three divisions, ending the AFL’s formative years, and beginning the AFL’s rise to become what the Wall Street Journal called the fifth Major [2].

References:

Bibliography

[1] Arena Football League (2016) “2016 Record and Fact Book” pp. 57-65.

[2] Arena Football League (2016) “2016 Record and Fact Book” pp. 52-56.

Social Media

[3] Arena Fan Facebook Page (2021) Post, April 27, 1987 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/arenafan/posts/10160818695018222 [Accessed 4 June 2021]

Websites

[4] Arena Fan (2021) History 1986 Schedule [Internet] Available from: http://www.arenafan.com/history/?page=yearly&histleague=1&fpage=schedule&year=1986 [Accessed 4 June 2021]

[5] Arena Fan (2021) History 1987 Schedule [Internet] Available from: http://www.arenafan.com/history/?page=yearly&histleague=1&fpage=schedule&year=1987 [Accessed 4 June 2021]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Richard Conville, Conor Lynch, Maurice Lynch, Dylan Brennan, Jonathan Brennan, Simon Brennan & Robert Byron.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball – Irish North American & World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 4 June 2021

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and World Gridiron Archive 2021

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved. The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only.