No Punts Intended: A Quick Look at Past Arena Football League Playoffs
But, before we begin this AFL postseason, let’s take a quick – and fun – look back at some past moments in Arena Football playoff history.
1987: The Denver Dynamite claim the first-ever ArenaBowl championship by defeating the homestanding Pittsburgh Gladiators 45-16 in front of 13,232 fans. Denver did not have an AFL franchise in 1988.
1988: Wide receiver/defensive back Steve Griffin was named the first-ever ArenaBowl MVP as the Detroit Drive defeated the now-defunct Chicago Bruisers 24-13 in ArenaBowl II.
1990: Gary Mullen of the Detroit Drive sets an AFL playoff record with a 57-yard missed field-goal return against the Pittsburgh Gladiators.
1991: The Tampa Bay Storm win the first of their AFL-record five ArenaBowl titles, defeating the Detroit Drive 48-42 in front of a then-record 20,357 fans at Joe Louis Arena. Tampa Bay would defeat Detroit again in ArenaBowl VII. The Storm have appeared in a record seven ArenaBowls (twice as the Pittsburgh Gladiators).
1993: The Detroit Drive rout the Dallas Texans 51-6 in the most lopsided playoff game in AFL history.
1999: The Iowa Barnstormers advance into the second round the AFL playoffs a season after finishing 5-9. Iowa’s 14-4 record in 1999 tied the Orlando Predators (1991) and Milwaukee Mustangs (1994) for best single-season turnaround in league history.
2001: The Grand Rapids Rampage defeat the Indiana Firebirds 83-70 in the highest-scoring playoff game in Arena Football League history.
2005: The Colorado Crush and San Jose SaberCats combine to set an new AFL playoff record by recording a combined 32 first downs. Colorado, owned by former Denver Broncos great John Elway, would go on to win ArenaBowl XIX.
Past ArenaBowl champions and results:
ARENABOWL I (Aug. 1, 1987)
Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh
Attendance: 13, 232
DENVER DYNAMITE 45, PITTSBURGH GLADIATORS 16
ARENABOWL II (July 30, 1988)
Rosemont Horizon, Chicago
Attendance: 15,018
DETROIT DRIVE 24, CHICAGO BRUISERS 13
ARENABOWL III (Aug. 18, 1989)
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Attendance: 19,875
DETROIT DRIVE 39, PITTSBURGH GLADIATORS 26
ARENABOWL IV (Aug. 11, 1990)
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Attendance: 19,875
DETROIT DRIVE 51, DALLAS TEXAN 27
ARENABOWL V (Aug. 17, 1991)
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Attendance: 20,357
TAMPA BAY STORM 48, DETROIT DRIVE 42
ARENABOWL VI (Aug. 22, 1992)
Orlando Arena, Orlando, Fla.
Attendance: 13,680
DETROIT DRIVE 56, ORLANDO PREDATORS 38
ARENABOWL VII (Aug. 21, 1993)
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Attendance: 12,989
TAMPA BAY STORM 51, DETROIT DRIVE 31
ARENABOWL VIII (Sept. 2, 1994)
Orlando Arena, Orlando, Fla.
Attendance: 14,368
ARIZONA RATTLERS 36, ORLANDO PREDATORS 31
ARENABOWL IX (Sept. 1, 1995)
Thunderdome, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Attendance: 25,087 (league record)
TAMPA BAY STORM 48, ORLANDO PREDATORS 35
ARENABOWL X (Aug. 26, 1996)
Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium, Des Moines, Iowa
Attendance: 11,411
TAMPA BAY STORM 42, IOWA BARNSTORMERS 38
ARENABOWL XI (Aug. 25, 1997)
America West Arena, Phoenix
Attendance: 17,436
ARIZONA RATTLERS 55, IOWA BARNSTORMERS 33
ARENABOWL XII (Aug. 23, 1998)
Ice Palace, Tampa, Fla.
Attendance: 17,222
ORLANDO PREDATORS 62, TAMPA BAY STORM 31
ARENABOWL XIII (Aug. 21, 1999)
Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
Attendance: 13,652
ALBANY FIREBIRDS 59, ORLANDO PREDATORS 48
ARENABOWL XIV (Aug. 20, 2000)
TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando, Fla.
Attendance: 15,989
ORLANDO PREDATORS 41, NASHVILLE KATS 38
ARENABOWL XV (Aug. 19, 2001)
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Attendance: 11,217
GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE 64, NASHVILLE KATS 42
ARENABOWL XVI (Aug. 19, 2002)
Compaq Center at San Jose, San Jose, Calif.
Attendance: 16,942
SAN JOSE SABERCATS 52, ARIZONA RATTLERS 14
ARENABOWL XVII (June 22, 2003)
St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla.
Attendance: 20,469
TAMPA BAY STORM 43, ARIZONA RATTLERS 29
ARENABOWL XVIII (June 27, 2004)
America West Arena, Phoenix
Attendance: 17,391
SAN JOSE SABERCATS 69, ARIZONA RATTLERS 62
ARENABOWL XIX (June 12, 2005)
Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas
Attendance: 10,822
COLORADO CRUSH 51, GEORGIA FORCE 48
