Arena Football League
An Arena Football stadium
The Arena Football League (or AFL) is a defunct American football league in the United States that ran from 1987 to 2008, and 2010 to 2019. After it ended the first time, another league like it started in 2010, called Arena Football 1. Some, but not all, of the AFL teams joined Arena Football 1. The league later changed its name to the Arena Football League. There were 6 teams in 2019 when the league folded due to bankruptcy.
Unlike what people in this league call the outdoor league (the NFL), Arena football is played in an smaller arena. Arena Football is played with only 8 players on a team, not 11 like the NFL.
Teams
Timeline
The Arena Football League has had many teams join and leave the league. Every year, there has been at least one team which did not play with the same name as the year before.
| Year | # of Teams | New Teams | Folded Teams | Suspended Teams | Returning Teams | Relocated Teams | Name Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 4 | Chicago Bruisers Denver Dynamite Pittsburgh Gladiators Washington Commandos |
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| 1988 | 6 | Detroit Drive Los Angeles Cobras New England Steamrollers New York Knights |
Denver Dynamite Washington Commandos |
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| 1989 | 5 | Los Angeles Cobras New England Steamrollers New York Knights |
Denver Dynamite Maryland Commandos |
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| 1990 | 6 | Albany Firebirds Dallas Texans |
Chicago Bruisers | Washington Commandos (from Maryland) | |||
| 1991 | 8 | Columbus Thunderbolts New Orleans Night Orlando Predators |
Washington Commandos | Pittsburgh → Tampa Bay Storm | |||
| 1992 | 12 | Arizona Rattlers Charlotte Rage Cincinnati Rockers Sacramento Attack San Antonio Force |
Denver Dynamite | Columbus → Cleveland Thunderbolts | |||
| 1993 | 10 | New Orleans Night San Antonio Force |
Sacramento → Miami Hooters | ||||
| 1994 | 11 | Fort Worth Cavalry Las Vegas Sting Milwaukee Mustangs |
Cincinnati Rockers Dallas Texans |
Detroit → Massachusetts Marauders | |||
| 1995 | 13 | Connecticut Coyotes Iowa Barnstormers Memphis Pharaohs St. Louis Stampede San Jose SaberCats |
Cleveland Thunderbolts | Massachusetts Marauders Fort Worth Cavalry |
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| 1996 | 15 | Texas Terror | Las Vegas → Anaheim Piranhas Fort Worth → Minnesota Fighting Pike (dormant from 1995) |
Florida Bobcats (from Miami Hooters) | |||
| 1997 | 14 | Nashville Kats New Jersey Red Dogs New York CityHawks |
Charlotte Rage Connecticut Coyotes Minnesota Fighting Pike St. Louis Stampede |
Memphis → Portland Forest Dragons | |||
| 1998 | 14 | Anaheim Piranhas | Massachusetts Marauders → Grand Rapids Rampage (dormant for three years) |
Houston Thunderbears (from Texas Terror) | |||
| 1999 | 15 | Buffalo Destroyers | New York → New England Sea Wolves | ||||
| 2000 | 17 | Carolina Cobras Los Angeles Avengers |
Portland → Oklahoma Wranglers | ||||
| 2001 | 19 | Chicago Rush Detroit Fury |
Albany → Indiana Firebirds Iowa → New York Dragons New England → Toronto Phantoms |
New Jersey Gladiators (from New Jersey Red Dogs) | |||
| 2002 | 16 | Dallas Desperados | Florida Bobcats Houston Thunderbears Milwaukee Mustangs Oklahoma Wranglers |
Nashville → Georgia Force[1] | |||
| 2003 | 16 | Colorado Crush | Toronto Phantoms | New Jersey → Las Vegas Gladiators | |||
| 2004 | 19 | Austin Wranglers New Orleans VooDoo Philadelphia Soul |
Buffalo → Columbus Destroyers | ||||
| 2005 | 17 | Nashville Kats | Carolina Cobras Detroit Fury Indiana Firebirds |
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| 2006 | 18 | Kansas City Brigade Utah Blaze |
New Orleans VooDoo | ||||
| 2007 | 19 | New Orleans VooDoo | |||||
| 2008 |
17 | Austin Wranglers[2] Nashville Kats |
Las Vegas → Cleveland Gladiators | ||||
| 2009 |
0 | New Orleans VooDoo Los Angeles Avengers |
Arizona Rattlers Chicago Rush Cleveland Gladiators Colorado Crush Columbus Destroyers Dallas Desperados Georgia Force Grand Rapids Rampage Kansas City Brigade New York Dragons Orlando Predators Philadelphia Soul San Jose SaberCats Tampa Bay Storm Utah Blaze |
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| 2010 |
15 | Alabama Vipers* Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings* Dallas Vigilantes Iowa Barnstormers* Jacksonville Sharks Milwaukee Iron* Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz* Spokane Shock* Tulsa Talons* Utah Blaze** (* Former af2 team) (** Former AIFA team) |
Arizona Rattlers Chicago Rush Cleveland Gladiators Orlando Predators Tampa Bay Storm |
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| 2011 |
18 | Pittsburgh Power | Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz | Kansas City Command Philadelphia Soul San Jose SaberCats |
Alabama Vipers → Georgia Force Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings → New Orleans VooDoo[3] |
Kansas City Command (from Kansas City Brigade) Milwaukee Mustangs (from Milwaukee Iron) | |
| 2012 |
17 | Dallas Vigilantes | Tulsa Talons → San Antonio Talons |
References
- ↑ The history of the Kats stayed in Nashville, similar to the agreement made between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens of the NFL.
- ↑ The Austin Wranglers changed leagues from the AFL to af2.
- ↑ Hogan, Nakia. "The New Orleans VooDoo and the Arena Football League are returning". NOLA.com.
Other websites
- Official website of the Arena Football League Archived 2003-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Official website of Arena Football 1 Archived 2003-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
